From weakness to strength

I listen more than I talk.

I used to think that was a bad thing. Or a weak thing. Or a “who-would-ever-see-me-as-an-expert?” kind of a thing.

Then I co-founded Leadwell with Jodi Akst. And I realized that it’s a strength.

When you’re in a coaching session with one of us, we are fully present, listening. We’re giving you space to define your goals and set your agenda. We’re asking powerful questions that help you see the next best step.

When we work with mission-driven organizations on growth strategy, we ask questions. Why growth now? What might growth mean (depth, breadth, reach, impact…)? Jodi wrote a couple of months ago about our work with Beacon Academy. Here’s what I loved about the collaboration. I got to listen deeply to 8th graders making sense of the world….leaders running other student support organizations… parents navigating complex choices for their kids…. adults making high stakes admissions decisions about students. I got to design and ask a set of questions that gave stakeholders from wildly different ages and positionalities and life experiences space to speak about what matters to them. And then I summarized their voices to help recommend a path forward.

When we designed the Leadwell Accelerator with Detroit Public Schools Community District, we sought input from central office leaders before we conceptualized a Scope & Sequence, as we designed each session, and throughout the implementation of their pilot. This research-based, equity-centered, experiential leadership development program is so successful because it’s grounded in what leaders tell us they need to learn and how they need to learn. The learning sticks because they are applying tactical frameworks to who they are as leaders, how their actual teams operate, and what their work and systems require. 

Here’s the thing. I am good at what I do precisely because I (rarely) enter a room with a strongly-held opinion for what the “right” step is. (Strongly held values? Yes, I do have those!) I make sense of the world from the stories of others. I help mission-driven leaders and mission-driven organizations reach their big, scary, world-changing goals by listening to what they value, who they are, who they dream of being. I listen to what they are saying -and not saying. 

Ok, so now you know (one of) my super powers. How might Leadwell help you unleash yours? 

In Partnership,

Christina (and Jodi)