I really enjoyed being featured as a part of "Silent Strength: Black Introverts' Experience" for #BIWUK and particularly enjoyed Richard Etienne's exploration of #personalitydiversity. Absolutely want to think about that more and how we can empower leaders to understand how to get the most out of their people and how to show empathy in the face of difference.
UK Black Comms NetworkThe WayFinders GroupLeah Brown FRSA MSoM
🇺🇸 So. #Kamala. I listened to her speech live in Radio 4 this morning as I was driving from Broadstairs to North Wales at 3am (see 📽️ of stunningly beautiful 🏴).
Mindful that The WayFinders Group is apolitical, I haven’t said much publicly about US politics but the pride I felt this morning as an African-American female voter was huge.
Kamala Harris set out her stall this morning. In a world where Black women don’t often win, where an ascendancy like hers is hard to achieve and harder to replicate, the US Democratic Presidential Nominee stands for hope. We really are “charting an uncharted path” with this one and the noise in Chicago has rippled across the pond.
For those of us (Black womenn #IYKYK) who grew up being told things like “you have to be twice as good to get half as far” and “don’t let anything stop you [because people will do anything to get in your way]”, and “remember who you are [because people will want to change you” and “know what you stand for [because that is how you will forge ahead]”, this morning’s rousing speech was a breath of fresh air. The lawyer in me was pleased to hear calls for collective responsibility and advocating for a just US justice system.
But the lines I loved had The WayFinders Group all over them:
⚡️“A chance to chart a New Way Forward.”
⚡️“America, we are not going back.”
⚡️ “America, we are not going back. We are charting. A. New. Way. Forward.”
⚡️“Let’s be clear about how we got here.”
⚡️“An America, where we care for one another, look out for one another, and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us. That none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed. And that, in unity, there is strength.”
We are in a changing world. We do need a new way forwards. In the case of 3️⃣ steps forwards, 1️⃣ step back, going backwards isn’t always to be frowned upon. But right now, we do need hope. Society needs empowerment. Society (and political leaders in particular) need to unearth new ways forwards.
So. We want to challenge the status quo for organisations and leaders navigating complexity; to unearth new ways of bringing positive, enduring outcomes in unparalleled, high stakes situations. At The WayFinders Group, we think this really matters because our world needs positive change makers as much - if not more - than ever.
The lesson Harris closed with is the one I want to adopt wholeheartedly mantra style:
“Never let anyone tell you who you are. You show them who you are.”
People will work it out soon enough. 🎤
Have a great bank holiday weekend!
P.S. cannae wait to interview Laura Schwartz on The Longest Day Podcast after the election✌️
#fridayfeelings#fridayroundup#tgif#wayfinders#change#hope#freedom#politics#kamalaharris#DNC#founderledbusiness
Very excited to share this opportunity in collaboration with incubator and development space, Babes In Development, after months of planning and prep, and over a year of discussions!
Please share with writers you know and head to the post on Babes In Development's Instagram to find out more about how to apply by submitting your writing: https://lnkd.in/eyvvUJtM
Re-Awaken is an exclusive literary experience - we'll be selecting ten unpublished and urepresented/unagented Black women writers to attend a literary brunch in September at Shoreditch Treehouse. Writers will receive mentorship and guidance on their writing career and editorial feedback on their idea at the literary brunch by Black women agents and editors.
The day will consist of an aromatherapy session, with live piano accompaniment, a workshop on the publishing process by yours truly, a Q&A from published author, Yvonne Battle-Felton, with a discussion about her creative writing programme at Cambridge (and how you can apply), one-to-one coffee chats with agents/editors who have read your work and are on-hand to give editorial feedback as well as advice on the publishing process and your writing career, a curated vegan lunch, bespoke vegan bakes, goodie bags with lots of free wellness products, free books and headshots. All of this will be free and provided for by Babes In Development. We will also organise a trip to a major publishing house later on in the year.
The opportunity is open to Black women who are members of the Babes In Development community (you can join by heading to Babes In Development on IG - it is a free and open community).
Riots in Leeds evoke a collective memory of riots in Tottenham.
The Tottenham riots and beyond were sparked by the death of Mark Duggan shot dead by the police on 4 August 2011. The Leeds riots last week were sparked by a row over children from a Roma family being taken into care by social services.
Our society is made up of communities and ordinary people. But social order is fragile. It can be destabilised by a few people who exploit a situation spiralling out of control. As Yeats famously said, “Things fall apart…Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world.” We need to talk to each other and hear each other out now more than ever.
Featuring Leah Brown FRSA MSoM and Foreign Secretary Rt Hon David Lammy MP 🇬🇧
The WayFinders Group#thelongestday#seasontwo#podcaststories#podcasts#leadershippodcast#newpodcast#bestpodcast#media#politician#lawyer#memberofparliament#foreignsecretary#politics
🏑Season 4 Guest Announcement 🏑
Leah Wilkinson: Olympic bronze medalist, Wales’ most capped sportsperson ever, history teacher, and now guest on The Longest Day Podcast. We can’t wait to share this episode with you!
Leah has captained her country, been to four Commonwealth games, and won bronze with Great Britain at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, so it was a real privilege to sit down with her.
There is now less than a week before Season Four launches, so you don’t have long to wait to hear from Leah and her fellow guests in conversation with Leah Brown FRSA MSoM - and don’t forget, our competition in support of The Trussell Trust is running all week in celebration, too.
All you need to do is*
1. Follow this account
2. Like this post
3. Share this post to your stories
And if you share, like or tag someone in any of our other Season 4 related posts in the next week, you’ll get an additional entry every time.
If you want to catch up with any of our previous episodes - fans of sport will love our Mike Gatting episode - you can find them at the link in our bio.
*Entries will close at 7am GMT on Wednesday 1st May. Entries can be made by interacting with any social media post published by The Longest Day between Wednesday 24th April and Tuesday 30th April inclusive. A maximum of 10 entries per post, per person will be counted. Good luck!
