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In this episode, Heather joins the show without a guest to talk about the status of her next book, The Art of Caring Leadership, which is based upon this podcast. She also tells her perspective on the death of Chadwick Boseman, a former Marvel star and king of Wakanda, the fictitious country in the Black Panther movie.
Key takeaways:
- All employees are looking for hope, and they need leaders to help them discover it.
- There is power in seeing someone who looks like you in the highest positions of leadership.
- Be flexible in your recruitment and promotion practices to be more inclusive, and to provide the symbols of hope.
Updates on the Book
I did finish writing the Art of Caring Leadership: How Leading with Heart Uplifts Teams and Organizations.
They’ve sent out my book to three reviewers, which could be very scary. It was really nerve-wrecking. But once I got the first one, I felt that it’s not going to be too bad. They gave some really good feedback that made the book richer, more synced, and easier to read. I hope that you will be proud of how I was able to encapsulate some of the most important voices that you’ve heard here. I am super excited about that.
We have to learn to celebrate our little successes, our big successes—all the same. - @HeatherRYounger #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Lessons from Chadwick
Just recently, Chadwick Boseman passed away at 43 years old. He died of cancer. If you’d recall, he played the king of Wakanda for Black Panther. He was the first black superhero. When I saw the news, I felt like I was punched in the chest and the air left out of me.
I didn’t quite think about why until I reflected on some work I’ve been doing on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Looking through survey feedback, we would just keep seeing over and over again their desire to see more people of color in executive leadership roles.
I realized that the reason why people are having such as response about Chadwick’s death is because we saw him as a hero. He was a beacon of light for people who has overcame much and at the same time has represented us.
He got some assistance and good mentorship from other people, and he made it where he was. He did it with grace, even when he was battling with cancer for the last few years.
Inside of organizations, those who are different or considered a minority often don’t feel like they belong. They don’t always feel like they're part of a purpose that's bigger than themselves.
When they are able to see people in the highest parts of the organization, they see that there's so much possibility to become those persons in the role. It's the possibilities that keeps them having hope and makes them want to stay because they want to see how far they can go as well.
We actually have the ability to achieve. We can do more than what we think we can. - @HeatherRYounger #leadershipwithheart Share on X
There are very few limits in front of us. We can place our own limits in front of ourselves with our own mindset. - @HeatherRYounger #leadershipwithheart Share on X
Celebrating Self-care
We have to learn to celebrate our little and big successes all the same, or else, our life becomes one big blur of tasks. It's interesting because in the book, I talked a lot about self-care and self -compassion. We need to make sure that we're doing that more often. I did that for myself during and at the end of this process to celebrate.
If you are someone who leads organization where you have the ability to think outside the box regarding recruitment and your promotion practices, and to diversify the top ranks in your organization, do it.
We're making sure that people of color and those who are different than the mainstream are going to be at the top roots, because you want to give everybody hope, a desire, a bigger purpose, and to know that they can do and be more.
It's the possibilities that keep your people hope and make them want to stay because they want to see how far they can go as well. - @HeatherRYounger #leadershipwithheart Share on X
If you have the power, use the power. Let's not just talk, but let's actually walk on this journey together. - @HeatherRYounger #leadershipwithheart Share on X
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