Introduction
This workbook, Love Notes to Our Social Justice Leaders: A Workbook to Support Your Reflective Leadership Practice, introduces key leadership concepts, reflective leadership questions, inspirational and thought-provoking quotes, as well as resources you can use to deepen your leadership practice.
This workbook was authored by Elsa A. Rios and Surei Quintana and sponsored by Strategies for Social Change. It is organized into seven chapters by topic, covering subjects such as:
- challenging the mythology of leadership
- practicing emotional intelligence, and
- leading in the context of racism and trauma.
Every chapter includes some foundational information on the topic as well as exercises to kickstart reflection, and quotes to spark inspiration.
Contents
Contents
Acknowledgements & Appreciations 2
How To Use This Workbook 3
Introduction 5
Chapter 1: The Art of Leadership Begins with Self-Refection 6
Exercise 1.1: Your Leadership Journey 7
Exercise 1.2: Refecting on Your Journey 8
Exercise 1.3: Do Your Own Leadership Assessment 10
Chapter 2: Challenging Leadership Mythology 12
Exercise 2.1: Challenging Leadership Mythology and Cultivating Authentic Leadership 14
Chapter 3: Practicing Love and Rigor 15
Exercise 3.1: Practicing Love and Rigor 17
Chapter 4: It’s Not Enough to Be Smart, You Need to Be Emotionally Intelligent 20
Exercise 4.1: Building Your Emotional Intelligence 24
Exercise 4.2: Managing Organizational Dynamics 28
Chapter 5: Leading in the Context of the Trauma of Racism 29
Exercise 5.1: Leading in the Context of Racism and Trauma 32
Exercise 5.2: Seeding a Culture of Care 35
Chapter 6: Leading in a VUCA* World 36
Exercise 6.1: Leading in a VUCA World 38
* VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity, and Ambiguity.
Chapter 7: Deepening YOUR Leadership Practice 39
Exercise 7.1: Standing in Your Power 42
Exercise 7.2: On Being a Movement Leader 45
Exercise 7.3: Putting It All Together 46
Exercise 7.4: Drafting Your Leadership Plan 48
Hey Fam, We Could Really Use Your Help! 49
More Resources 50
Endnotes 53
Loving Reminders
Make Space for Self-Refection
Understand that the practice of self-refection is not a luxury or privilege but a responsibility.
Without it, leaders can become frustrated, stagnate, or burn out and your organization and the movement you care about will suffer. Understand that leader self-refection is part of your job and can yield extraordinary results for you, your organization, and the movement.
Foster a Continuous Learning Mindset
Be as passionate about learning to become a better leader as you are about the cause you are working on because they are intertwined. Courses and books can be great but daily practice is paramount. Consider asking questions like:
- What could I have done better or differently today?
- Did I act with integrity and authenticity today?
- What did others teach me today?
Decide on What’s Important and Make a Plan
Just as organizations should have staff development plans, strategic plans, and fundraising plans — you need a leadership plan to help you prioritize and measure progress.
Actively Seek Out Feedback
Learning to be a better leader is not an isolated process; create ongoing opportunities to secure feedback from staff, board, allies, etc.
Build a strong and lasting network of mentors, peers, and coaches who can share their own experiences and strategies to help you see your blind spots.
Workbook Excerpts
Here is a sneak peek into the Workbook.
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Explore Further
- More Resources from Strategies for Social Change
- Power: Training and Planning Tools
- Leaderful Organizing
- Balance or Burnout?
- Transformational Change Leadership: Stories of Building a Just Future
- Templates, Worksheets & Checklists for Changemakers
- Radical Imagination: Developing Conscious Activists’ Capacities
- Efficacy is Essential for Taking Action
- Marshall Ganz Quotes and Wisdom about Leadership, Hope, Organizing and Narrative