What habits are you modeling for your team?

It's a little bit past the halfway point of the year, and, Friend, a lot is going on right now.?

For lots of us, this is the time that school starts (if you have school-aged children), or it's that time when you’re enjoying that last summer holiday.?

No matter what you’re doing though, it’s typically a transitional period where you’re juggling many different things.?

And because of that, I think right now is a great time to focus on modeling behavior and what exactly I mean by that.

What I’m Thinking About This Month

When I was a kid, my dad used to always say to me some version of "Kishshana, you have got to be the leader. You cannot be a follower. Your brothers and your sister are looking at you. Your cousins are looking at you. You've got to model what you want them to see.”

And I remember, as a kid feeling so much pressure around having to model because my dad didn't really give me a straight idea about what to model. But I watched. And I would watch the adults around me, and I would watch for cues on what it meant to be a good model and eventually a good role model.?

As I started doing more community work and started to center my work around young people, I realized that how I behaved, carried myself, and responded to things, modeled for folks around me how to be.?

And I unknowingly carried that lesson with me into my management career, my leadership, the C-suite, and now into running my own company.

You've got to model what you want to see.

And as you face this transition period, I want to challenge you to think about what you’re modeling for your team. Because if you are the type of leader who models…

• Overworking
• Crossing boundaries (or worse, not having any boundaries)
• Taking everything on your plate and not allowing your team to do things for themselves or not allowing them to course correct and figure it out.?

You're modeling an environment where folks feel like they cannot fail, that there's no room to learn and grow, and that they have to work themselves to the bone.?

And you know what? It’s inevitable that you’re also gonna start to model resentment.?

Because believe it or not, if you as a leader are taking on all these things, you're not allowing yourself a break, you're not allowing yourself to reset, you're not allowing yourself to fail, and you feel like there's too much on the line, then you are going to start to behave in ways that are protective of you staying on whatever perch that you are on.?

And trust me when I say, for the security of your success and your teams, we can’t have that.?

So this month, I want us to think about modeling. I want you to ask yourself some questions. Or even journal about it!?

• What does it look like to be an actual active leader??
• What does it look like to move your body if you can??
• What does it look like to step away from the computer??
• What does it look like to shift the way your meetings are run so that other team members can have the floor??
• What does it look like to go with ideas that you may not necessarily agree with 100% or even understand?
• What does it look like to model trust in the expertise and education of your team members??

After you gain clarity around that, trust yourself to test out what it would feel like to make those answers your reality.

Inspired Leadership: Learn 3 Ways to Support Yourself in Being an Active Leader

If you’re feeling the struggle to model good behavior and show up the way you want to because of time challenges, communication barriers, and other obstacles plaguing your leadership, then let’s spend some time figuring out how we can help you break down these barriers.?

In this video, you'll learn three ways to overcome common pitfalls plaguing your ability to lead so that you can step into managing people effectively while keeping your sanity.

Escape Resentful Leadership

Are you being led by leaders modeling stunted behavior? If so, The Rooted Collaborative is your place to break free.?

As a free space for women of color, The Rooted Collaborative job board can help you find opportunities with vetted organizations that care about your growth and are looking to fill important positions within the social sector while modeling behavior you’re passionate about embracing.?

To get started, find open positions here.

Be Led Into Greatness

Transitional periods are not always easy to move through alone.

Fulfilling your wellness wheel in life, love, work, and your health, takes active work, and I want to remind you that you’re not required to do that work by yourself.?

With various coaching offers, I can support you in getting laser-focused on the behaviors that are keeping you where you are so that we can formulate steps that will take you where you want to be.?

Click here to see the different steps we can take to lead you (and your team) into greatness.

Questions on topics I cover? Send my team a message here. We’re busy changing lives, but we always have time for you.