Holas Reader,

I'm over here thinking about something one of the participants shared in the workshop series I'm doing.

She said: I'm ready to do the work of getting to a new level of leadership than I have before.

And that just made me so hype for this person and I thought: maybe Reader is also feeling like they're ready to level up their efforts and energy towards collective liberation.

So I thought what better way to start than to define the distinctions between "Business-as-usual" leadership and Liberatory Leadership.

I wrote the short version in this post where I cover lots of the differences:

In these emails, I want to break each of those differences down so you can see what your leadership is supporting.

First up let's talk: top-down and hierarchical vs. bottom-up and decentralized.

"Business-as-usual" leadership is top-down and hierarchical...

• This leadership style says that the ones with the most decision-making power, knowledge, and access are the ones at the top of the leadership channel often with words like Executive and Director in their titles.
• Folks that are at the top of the hierarchy usually have the final say about what activities or projects get funded or implemented and how.
• Folks who are at the bottom of the hierarchy may not be asked about their input or if their input is requested, it is often not taken seriously even if they are in the majority.

This is what this leadership style looks like in practice:

A Board Member/ Advisor/ External person who is not involved in the day-to-day operations has an idea about a program that should be implemented and the organization moves mountains to bring this program into fruition despite this program not being the most aligned, despite staff capacity (or like thereof) and despite client/ community needs.

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Liberatory Leadership is bottom-up and decentralized...

• This leadership style says that no one is as smart as all of us which translates into bringing all the people who are impacted by decisions to contribute their knowledge and experience into decisions that are made together through majority-vote or consensus.
• Information is shared freely and in ways that anyone on the team can access because we understand that secrecy and omission only benefit those who want to hoard power.
• While everyone plays their own distinct role and responsibilities, people are not walking around thinking "WTF does that person do all day".

This is what this leadership style looks like in practice:

The clients/ community members expressed a need to organizational staff that the staff were able to hear because they had an established, ongoing feedback process to listen to the needs on-the ground. The staff begin to assess the feasibility of addressing this need by seeing how aligned it is to the organization's mission and vision, by assessing staff capacity and where shifts would need to be made and would consider ways that the clients/community members would be involved as agents of this process, not just as beneficiaries.

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What ideas or questions are coming up for you? I'd love to know!

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Stay hydrated,

Petra Vega

Liberatory Leadership Coach, Emergent Strategist, Social Justice Facilitator & Radical Social Worker

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P.S. I'm breaking down the differences between "Business-as-usual" leadership and Liberatory Leadership and in this email, I'm getting into the different leadership styles of top-down and hierarchical vs. bottom-up and decentralized. If you're looking for support on integrating a more anti-oppressive, liberation-centered approach into your leadership, check out all the ways we can work together this year.

Want more liberation in your leadership? I'd love to help!

🍄 MUTUAL EXCHANGE CALL --> for the BIPOC + Queer Nonprofit Leader who's navigating self-doubt and would like some personalized support. It's free coaching for you and research for me; win-win. 🍄 SUNDAY'S ARE FOR SPIRIT --> held on the last Sunday of the month for self-care in a communal setting. 🍄 LIBERATORY LEADERSHIP LAB --> A monthly-ish space for Marginalized Leaders to experiment, play, question and practice what it means to lead from a place of liberation, not perfection. 🍄 SPARK SESSION --> one-time support via phone to help you get from point A to point B, with less stress or overwhelm 🍄 STEADY & READY --> a 3-month coaching experience for the QTBIPOC leader who craves being their authentic selves and speaking up during crucial moments and meetings but their self-doubt keeps them silent and stagnant. 🍄 VALUES-ALIGNED ACTION --> a 6-month coaching experience for the BIPOC + Queer leader who's experiencing perfectionism, conflict-aversion and urgency so deeply that it's getting in the way of their liberatory efforts and energy. 🍄 PODCAST FEATURES --> listen + learn on the go 🍄 BLOG --> FAQs, guides, tools, resources, all the things