My Top Recommendations for Leveling Up Your Leadership
It’s been six months since I began sending out my monthly newsletter, and I have been overwhelmed by some of the wonderful responses I’ve gotten. I am continually impressed by the work of the leaders in my network, and it’s so encouraging to know that this touchpoint has been helpful for them.
Why Write a Newsletter?
So, why did I get started with the monthly newsletter in the first place?
It’s not simply because it’s “the thing to do” — although many business coaches recommend that consultants write a newsletter to stay top-of-mind. Instead, the answer comes down to connection and relationship. In the age of social media, there are countless ways to stay superficially connected, but fewer and fewer ways to connect on a deeper level—which is what my work is all about.
Here are a few reasons I started a newsletter:
To take “the next step” with my network. It’s one thing to send an occasional note or LinkedIn comment to my colleagues, prior clients, or business acquaintances, and it’s quite another to start connecting regularly, sharing insights re: what I’m passionate about and inviting them to connect as well.
To spend less time on social media. It’s true that social media gives us access to a huge number of contacts, but it’s also true that it can be time-consuming with little return for the effort—especially since the connections I make there often stay surface-level.
To give extra ongoing support. Many of the people on my email list are current or previous clients—I wanted a way to continue providing them with value even after our work together was done.
To share what I’m learning. Like everyone, I’m constantly learning, growing, and evolving as a leader. Often, I find new resources that become invaluable to me on this journey, and when I do, I want to share them!
In the next six months, I hope to expand on the work I’ve already been doing with this newsletter—widening the audience, digging deeper into the insights, and connecting with my network on a broader level.
For now, however, let’s celebrate all the work we’ve already done! And what better way to do that than to celebrate one of your favorite parts of the newsletter: “What I’m Paying Attention to This Month.”
Each month in the newsletter, I compile a list of resources like podcasts, books, TED talks, and more that are helping me grow in my leadership. It’s the most clicked-on section of my newsletter, and for good reason: these resources really are some of my favorites!
To celebrate all the great work the newsletter has provided me in the last six months, I’ve compiled a master list of every resource I’ve recommended to my list since I began last fall. I hope you find these as helpful as I have!
Every Resource I’ve Recommended to My Email List in the Last 6 Months…
For Listening…
I was completely blown away by a live performance of Rhiannon Giddens and the Silk Road Ensemble, and have been listening to their music ever since. Also deeply inspired by Angélique Kidjo's recent, soul-lifting, hope inspiring concert. Check out her music here!
"Summer Break" episode of Pia Silva's No BS Agency Podcast, where Pia and guest Ediuska Laurens talk about leaning into your big vision. Give it a listen for some fresh takes on leadership!
Are people mostly good, or mostly bad? That's at the heart of the podcast episode The Possum Experiment on This American Life. I loved this segment - it's at once funny, poignant, and deep, and left me thinking for days afterward. Listen to it here.
My dear friend and colleague Dr. Amanda Kemp has started some incredible work on her Mother Tree Network podcast discussing music and meditations for a New Earth Rooted in Love.
Tara Brach's RAIN meditation is great for cultivating compassion when you're stuck with big feelings. RAIN stands for Recognize, Allow, Investigate, and Nurture. Brach's guided meditation through each is a gentle, practical way to sit with emotion. Available for free on her podcast & YouTube channel.
Building Resilient Organizations: Toward Joy and Durable Power in a Time of Crisis by Maurice Mitchell, National Director of the Working Families Party. Jointly published in the Non-Profit Quarterly, The Forge, and Convergence , this is a thought-provoking analysis and call-to-action to build "..movements that exude joy, build power, and secure critical victories for the masses of working people”. I love that it comes with a discussion guide to put to use with your teams, boards & colleagues.
Free Time: Lose the Busywork, Love Your Business by Jenny Blake. Blake's all-too-resonant work is for leaders dealing with what she calls the "four Bs: bored, bottlenecked, burned out, or buried by bureaucracy." Her book is stacked with practical and valuable time-saving insights I think you'll love. I do!
Brene Brown's fantastic podcast interview with Shawn Ginwright on his book, The Four Pivots: Reimagining Justice, Reimagining Ourselves.
Good Ancestor Podcast by Layla Saad. I love Saad's interviews with powerful change-makers from every corner of the world seeking to be a force for good "in honour of those who came before them and in service of those who come after they’re gone."
Brene Brown's fantastic podcast interview with rock legend Bono about his book, Surrender: 40 Songs, 1 Story. It's a deeply personal look on his life and philosophy behind activism, faith, and creativity. One of the best podcast interviews I've listened to.
The Coaching Real Leaders podcast from executive coach Muriel Wilkins and the Harvard Business Review. I appreciate the real-life, all-too-resonant insights from Wilkins and the leaders she coaches. Each episode is full of great wisdom - a must-listen for those leading a team in any capacity.
This episode of Death, Sex, and Money talks about how to face your fears. True to form, host Anna Sale brings together a writer, a Zen Buddhist priest, and the star of MTV's Jackass to run the gambit of perspectives on fear: why we encounter it, and what we can do to move past it.
This conversation with Tema Okun, author of the seminal work White Supremacy Culture. Originally written in 1999, Okun's piece continues to be deeply relevant and heavily sourced by leaders and activists alike. On this episode of Deconstructed, Okun tells the story of the article she wrote, and the ways it has been used (and misused) since it was published.
The Feather Heist on This American Life. I promise not to recommend TAL every month, but this story truly had me riveted from beginning to end. A great listen for a long car ride, those mundane household tasks (folding laundry!), or a slow afternoon at the office.
I had the phenomenal opportunity to celebrate my dear friends' Ben & Liz's birthdays at New Orleans Jazz Fest, and I heard an AMAZING line up of musicians. I've been on a music high ever since. Some of my faves on repeat right now: Big Freedia for New Orleans Bounce; the Seratones for funk/rock with Shrevesport, LA soul roots; and Dumpstaphunk for NOLA funk.
For Reading….
On the business/marketing front - the book this month is The Widest Net by Pamela Slim, about how to grow your network. I've been fortunate to work with Pam directly, and her insights are so thoughtful.
On personal growth - Just starting the Journal of Radical Permission, by adrienne maree brown and Sonya Renee Taylor, and I love the prompts and reflections.
On the leadership front - Leading for Justice: Supervision, HR, and Culture by Rita Sever. This book is fantastic - a supportive, refreshing look at how to build an inclusive, equitable culture in organizations working for social change. A huge recommendation for my executive directors and senior leaders out there!
On personal growth - American Detox: The Myth of Wellness and How We Can Truly Heal - by Kerri Kelly dives into how perfectionism, isolation, individualism and whiteness feed the $650 billion dollar wellness industry and keep us stuck. Full of reflective exercises and suggestions, she explores how you can learn to disrupt these patterns with true healing.
4,000 Weeks: Time Management for Mortals by Oliver Burkeman. I appreciate this work for the ways it differs from so many productivity books--encouraging us to think about the ways our concepts of time and productivity keep us trapped, and teaching us to flip our perspective in places where we're holding ourselves back
Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey. In this book, the founder of The Nap Ministry (whose work is also worth your attention) makes a fantastic case for rest as a tool of liberation in a too-fast world. A timely message for those of us who feel sluggish !
Frederick Backman's Beartown trilogy, which includes Beartown, Us Against You, and The Winners. Fantastic series about a small Nordic town whose people are passionate about ice hockey. (No, I didn't know anything about hockey before this). Tragedy happens and Backman's skillful writing gently uncovers bigger truths about leadership, community and the world in the microcosm of small-town relationships. I devoured all 3 books.
Waking Beauty by Rebecca Solnit. Solnit has written more than twenty books on feminism, social change, philosophy, and history, but I'm most recently entranced by this re-telling of a classic fairy tale. She has a unique ability to delight us even as she teaches us, and I'd recommend this to anyone looking for a great read with substance for you AND any children in your life (ages 7 - 12).
I'm Not Yelling: A Black Woman's Guide to Navigating the Workplace by Elizabeth Leiba. Leiba's insights offer both strategy for Black women navigating the predominantly white culture of corporate America and a vessel for women to find their voices in the midst of toxic work culture. Leiba is also a great voice to follow on LinkedIn, where she shares wisdom on work, race, gender.
For Following…
My mentor and friend, Dr. Amanda Kemp, is a spiritual justice leader and one of the people I turn to for inspiration and hope. She just completed leading a 28-day love and justice meditation challenge that I loved. Check out her wisdom here.
My dear friend Julia Pimsleur is on a mission to help 1 million women raise $1 million dollars for their businesses, and is giving out daily wisdom on LinkedIn. Definitely give her a follow.
The incredible work coming from the Anti-Oppression Resource and Training Alliance (AORTA) is something every changemaker should be paying attention to. I love seeing the helpful, deep work they're doing in organizations all over the country.
For Your Toolkit….
Are you or your organization looking to expand your network or build partnerships? Pamela Slim's helpful Ecosystem Mind Map is a fantastic visual aid that I've used in planning my next stage of marketing and network building -- and a helpful reminder of all the opportunity that lies in the networks we've built for ourselves. Best of all - it's available to download for free!
Do you wish you had more time in your day? So do most of us! Take a look at this great delegation tool, created by the Management Center, on how to plan and structure delegation effectively.
Join the Journey
It’s amazing to see all of these resources in one place. It’s the culmination of so much thought and growth, and it’s so exciting to share all that I’ve learned with you.
If you’d like to receive these types of resources every month, straight to your inbox, make sure to sign up to join the newsletter mailing list. It’s never spammy, always hand-crafted, and full of the real, deep work I do every month. I can’t wait for you to join us!
And, if you’ve found one of these resources particularly helpful, make sure you reach out—I love to get feedback from you!