Wassup Reader,

Have you ever looked at the week ahead and been PRE-tired? That was the week I had last week/ weekend so I’m removing as much as I can from the week ahead and pushing the shit that is not-a-today problem to the following week.

Here’s your reminder/ permission if you needed or wanted one.

Last week, I covered one of the differences between “Business-as-usual” leadership (which is top-down and hierarchical) vs. Liberatory Leadership (which is bottom-up and decentralized).

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This week, I want to get into: Competition vs. Collaboration

“Business-as-usual” leadership values competition…

• This leadership style says that resources are scarce so we need to be cutthroat and make sure we get a piece of the pie at all costs. Other phrases like “survival of the fittest” and “the cream always rises to the top” would live inside the mindset of the “Business-as-usual” leader.
• There’s a belief that those at the top, with the most positional power, are known to be the most cunning and deserving because they have won the competition olympics.
• Folks who value competition may believe that life is filled with winners and losers and the worst thing they can do or be is be a loser.

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This is what this leadership style looks like in practice:

A coordinator learns that there’s a director position that they want to apply for but so do their colleagues. This coordinator believes that the only way to get this position is if they make their colleagues look less qualified for the director position. As a result, this coordinator begins to take on more responsibilities (outside of their job description) and begins to actively verbalize the mistakes their colleagues are making in front of the leadership team. Eventually, the coordinator becomes “the cream” that rises to the top and is rewarded with the director position.

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Liberatory Leadership values collaboration…

• This leadership style says that resources are plentiful if we were taught to share and take what we need (instead of hoarding resources or privatizing resources to make it inaccessible for others).
• There is a belief that everyone has valuable ideas and experiences to share and there is a prioritization of relationships that are built on trust and understanding.
• Folks who value collaboration focus on building a bigger pie together instead of fighting for a single slice.

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This is what this leadership style looks like in practice:

A coordinator learns that there’s a director position that they want to apply for but so do their colleagues. This coordinator acknowledges that they are qualified for a few parts of the role but not all of them. The coordinator brings together their colleagues who are also interested in the role and they each discuss how each of them are suitable for the role in different ways. In the end, they come up with a proposal that they present to their leadership team around how they could each divvy up the role by sharing the salary and responsibilities equitably.

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What ideas or questions are coming up for you? I’d love to know.

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Talk soon,

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 by getting into the different leadership styles of competition vs. collaboration. 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!

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