Leaders find and ride their waves, and make waves for others

VIDEO | SCRIPT (scroll down)

What: Remarks on leadership by Katie Loovis, a 2019 Women of Achievement, at the 6th annual "Women of Achievement" Luncheon coordinated by Chapel Hill Magazine

When: Friday, May 31, 2019

Where: The Carolina Inn, Chapel Hill, NC

Script: Good afternoon and thank you Ellen and Rory! 

What an honor to be among the 2019 “Women of Achievement” for Chapel Hill, Chatham, and Durham Magazines.  

So many remarkable ladies: from a badass Bouncing Bulldog to the “foodie-stateswomen” of North Carolina and our own Chapel Hill Mayor Pro Tem, what a treat! 

Ellen invited me to share some reflections on leadership. 

There are a lot of layers to leadership, so today, I want to quickly pull back the layers, zoom past any leadership tips and tricks, and get right to what I think is the core – the foundation of leadership: Waves. 

Side note - I’ve been thinking a lot about the ocean waves lately – probably because I want to get to the beach – but bear with me! 

Authenticity 

It was the Persian poet, Rumi, who said “Let the beauty of what you love be what you do.” 

It sounds so simple, right?!... "Let the beauty of what you love be what you do...”  

and yet...  

With all the noise around us, and the expectations on us, it can be really difficult to turn-down the noise, tune-out the expectations, and really hear what makes your heart sing. 

A leader must love her cause. So, I call this first bit – finding your wave. 

Leadership - Finding Your Wave

Finding your wave is all about authenticity - being honest with yourself and getting into the flow. 

Emerson said, “To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.”

This isn’t about stroking your ego, but feeding your soul. It’s about asking yourself: “What does it mean and what will it take to tap the well of deep gladness within me?” 

White House Wave

For me, one of the first and most memorable times that I stepped into this level of authenticity, found my wave, and got into the flow was about twenty years ago, when I was in graduate school at UNC. 

Back then, I was really inspired by all the little faith-based organizations that were making an outsized impact in their communities. I was also really interested in the 1996 welfare reform act and was studying the charitable choice provision. 

I was traveling up and down the east coast, on my own volition, meeting with directors of notable faith-based organizations, learning from them, and soaking up any and all lessons I could, eager to do my part in this important work. 

This was around the same time that then Governor Bush was elected President. Just a week after his inauguration, President Bush signed an executive order establishing the first-ever White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. 

I remember this so clearly because I felt a stirring deep in my gut. I knew, that I knew, that I knew that I could help that initiative, help that office, that I could help them. Now mind you, I didn’t have any political ties, I didn’t come from a wealthy or political family; in fact, I had only just registered to vote!  

Long story longer. That same day that the President signed the Executive Order, the Deputy Director of the new office happened to be speaking at a conference that I happened to be attending. 

After his remarks, I chased him down the hallway, convinced him to consider an internship program in their office, and consider me. Then, I proceeded to call and call and call and call his office for the next several months. I got passed from him, to his assistant, to another assistant… Yes (sigh), I was that annoying persistent one!, but it worked because I was finally invited to come in for an interview. 

I had friends praying for me, for favor, as I drove up. I had no idea where I was going – do you just walk up to the front door of the white house?! Turns out, you don’t. 

Anyway, I got through security, approached the office, and the cheerful staffer who I had been speaking with by phone for weeks greeted me and said, “Hi Katie. Your desk is here. Get started!” 

I played it cool, like I expected that, and asked if I could make a quick personal call (this was before everyone had cell phones). 

She said yes, so I called my friend and said, “I think I’m in!” Miracle! 

I was still in graduate school at the time, so I was taking classes on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, and then I waited tables at Top of the Hill on Thursday Nights, and then drove up to Washington, DC on Friday mornings before sun-up to volunteer all day. 

I would stay the weekend in Baltimore with my family and then return to the White House on Monday to volunteer all day and then drive back to Chapel Hill late Monday evening for class again Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. 

I was often falling asleep on the side of the road commuting back to Chapel Hill on Monday evenings, but it wasn’t exhaustion, it was exhilaration. 

That season I was “in the flow,” as if a wave had crested and I was riding it. 

It wasn’t easy, it took everything I had, but I experienced deep gladness in doing my hearts work. 

Leadership - Riding Your Wave

I share this personal story to encourage you to get dialed-into your true self and get in the flow. 

When you do this, I have found that doors open, your heart expands, and there’s room for great joy.

So, leadership lesson one: Find your wave and ride it. 

And while the blessings are yours, just think what the world would miss if you hide your heart, shun your song, and diminish your potential. 

Just imagine our world if the giants before us quieted the songs in their hearts…

Imagine if Mother Theresa had said: “you know what, I’ll just stay here in this safe classroom, follow the rules, and perhaps someone else will be disturbed enough to show the world how to treat the poor with dignity.” 

Imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King Junior said: “I’ll just stay here in this pulpit and not take this message to the streets or show the world the power of nonviolence.” 

They had an unquenchable desire, found their wave, and had the courage to ride it. 

Leadership – Making Waves for Others

But this bring me to lesson number two. 

Even if you are in this flow, riding the wave, and achieving great things, that doesn’t necessarily mean you are a leader, does it? 

Leaders don’t just achieve, leaders create more leaders (Tom Peters). 

Leaders don’t just ride the waves, they make waves for others.

I want to be a wave-maker. 

As I think about the wave-makers in my life, I think of Jenny Levy, head coach of the UNC Women’s Lacrosse Team. 

She built the program, from scratch, into the two-time national championship program that it is today. 

And I had the very good fortune of being part of her first-ever recruited class in 1995. 

Coach Levy didn’t just coach us, she pushed us through grueling situations that tested our metal. 

Her leadership forged in me a toughness that I never knew was possible. A toughness and resiliency and confidence that has since proven so valuable in all areas of my life. 

Another wave-maker in my life was my UNC graduate advisor, Professor, Michele Hoyman. …one of the first woman arbiters in the nation, part of the first cluster of women scholars in the UNC political science department, and a prolific writer. 

When Dr. Hoyman had an idea for new research topic, she wouldn’t just engage students in the research, she invited them to co-author the papers. 

This is very uncommon in academia and an incredible opportunity for young scholars. She made waves for us to ride.

Both of these remarkable wave-makers are here today. Jenny and Michele – would you please stand to be recognized? 

Closing

In closing, I invite you to consider your own path. 

Are you allowing yourself to be “silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love?" As Rumi says, and I can vouch, “it will not lead you astray.” 

And are you pushing and pulling others along behind you, helping them find their best self – their true, good, and beautiful? 

Wherever you are, whatever you do, may you continue to find and ride your waves, and make waves for others. 

Thank you.