Collaborative Leadership with Sarah Popelka

[00:00:00] Whenever it's hard, because it is hard I think just taking a deep breath and being honest and vulnerable about how it feels at the moment and where your goals are and where you made a mistake and and

[00:00:14] really acknowledging mistakes, I think mistakes are okay that's how we learn and so I would say that that would be my biggest tip about being a collaborative leader is

[00:00:28] just take a breath and and be vulnerable and allow for other folks to be vulnerable too so that you can partner in a way that feels more authentic. I'll use the word again.

[00:00:42] Hi, I'm Roger Kastner and welcome to the What Do You Know To Be True podcast. In these conversations I talk with ordinary people about their extraordinary skill, they're superhero power and the meaningful impact it has on others.

[00:01:00] The goals not to try to emulate or hack our way to a new talent instead. I'm interested in what inspired our guests to develop this talent, how they think about their superhero power and the impact it has on others.

[00:01:14] The intention is to learn more about their experience with their superhero power and in doing so maybe we can learn something about the special talent in each of us that makes us unique. This conversation is with Sarah Popelka and our superhero power of collaborative leadership.

[00:01:31] Sarah and I met four and a half years ago when she joined global visionaries and so you know global visionaries or GV is we'd like to call it as a youth leadership development nonprofit that creates opportunities for youth to gain capabilities and experience and being more empathetic leaders.

[00:01:48] The curriculum is based in social justice and GV has youth programs in Seattle and in Antiqua Guadamala. Over four years ago Sarah joined GV as the development director while I was the chair of the Board of Directors.

[00:02:02] At that time the organization was facing a significant financial challenge stemming from the eruption of a volcano in Guadamala the prior year, which forced cancellation of a couple trips to Guadamala.

[00:02:15] For a non-profit of the size those financial challenges were very crippling and to make matters worse shortly after Sarah joined GV, the executive director at that time left the organization leaving Sarah and Mario Flores the program's director with an even bigger challenge.

[00:02:34] How to survive the financial challenges and keep the organization running without a leader. Their solution was creative. They created the co-executive director roles where they share the responsibilities, accountability, decision making and the ability to run the organization which kept an open for the remaining of that program year.

[00:02:56] And because of their shared commitment to collaborative leadership, GV survived that financial crisis and was able to keep the doors open for another program year which just happened to be 2020 when the world went into shutdown.

[00:03:10] Through all the challenges and forced changes I'm so proud to say that GV is still open to this day and back to pre-pandemic participant levels. This is only possible due to the sacrifices and dedication of the staff in Guadamala and Seattle.

[00:03:26] And due to the leadership styles too capable, humble, authentic and vulnerable, co-executive directors who demonstrate what collaborative leadership looks like every day. And while he doesn't know it yet, I will have Mario Flores on the podcast in the future.

[00:03:44] But today this conversation with Sarah propelka and I ask her to share with us her journey to collaborative leadership. How she shows up the impact it has on others and what she knows to be true about collaborative leadership. And if you're ready let's dive in.

[00:04:05] Hello Sarah welcome to the podcast. I'm very excited to have this conversation with you. Thank you for joining. Well thanks for having me Roger. I'm excited to be here.

[00:04:15] When I first started thinking about this idea of this podcast, you were one of the people who I was thinking of because you and Mario Flores who both of you have been co-executive directors of global visionaries.

[00:04:29] About four years ago you guys came up with a very unique solution to the problem that we were facing and that was for you to both share that role. And four years later, the evidence proves it absolutely was the right decision for that time.

[00:04:46] But I think and I'll definitely want to hear you talk about this. The things that were required for that partnership to be effective was how both of you approach the roles and the skills and capabilities you brought to that experience.

[00:05:04] And so what that leads me to really want to learn more about this idea of collaborative leadership, which you've demonstrated really well in that role. And is a subject that is one of your passion areas.

[00:05:20] So I'm really excited to be having this conversation to learn more about what you know to be true about collaborative leadership.

[00:05:28] So I should also mention in case people are wondering Roger why are you saying we I'm on the board of directors of global visionaries and so Sarah and I've been able.

[00:05:38] Get to work together over the last four years and helping the organization through some some pretty big crises not only the pandemic, but there is the aftermath of a volcano and some budgetary issues that we ran into because of trips that we couldn't do to Guatemala during that.

[00:05:57] During that during that time that was having an impact and actually is one of the key reasons that led to the decision to become co executive directors and so I'm getting.

[00:06:07] Mired in the details but there's been a few other things that have happened in the last four years. The pandemic turning a an organization that was definitely an in person and cultural immersion.

[00:06:23] Organization into a fully online organization and then some of the challenges of coming out of the pandemic and starting trips up again and being in person and and all those all the other fun that ran into it and being able to shepherd the organization.

[00:06:42] And so I think that's the reason why we're doing this. And so I think that through all of those experiences has been quite a feat and I think as a testament not only to you and Mario's leadership, but that sense of collaborative leadership the partnership the.

[00:06:58] To work together and put organization and mission above personal gains or needs and so really excited to learn more as I said about you know about collaborative leadership and what got you.

[00:07:16] To be ready to be in that role, how you think about collaborative leadership and then some of the experiences and the things you've learned through that whole process so let's go back even before. The decision to become a co executive director and in 2019.

[00:07:33] What what event or what which you know who inspired you to be interested and wanted learn more about collaborative leadership.

[00:07:46] It's a great question and if I think about you know my journey in leadership it's gone, you know, I've been in nonprofits for over 20 years and done a lot of different roles. Some leadership roles for sure.

[00:08:04] But I think when I first started thinking about collaborative leadership or style of leadership and how that related to me and my goals was when I was getting my master's degree.

[00:08:15] Around 2017, 18 is when I finished so maybe 17 16 17 is when I was thinking about this taking a course about leadership and really exploring the different types of leadership you know there's.

[00:08:28] The dictatorship you know a thwartative lots of different kinds and collaborative leadership was the one as I was learning about it.

[00:08:36] And thinking about it in my own context one that really spoke to me because I love I love the idea of gaining insight and perspective from other people.

[00:08:47] I very much don't think or I believe to be true going to your title and that that no one knows all of the answers right and when when when you come into a leadership role, if you put yourself up on that pedestal of expecting to know all the answers or thinking that you know all the answers you're wrong.

[00:09:09] And gaining insight from other people and working through those issues together not only creates a collaborative leadership style, but it builds trust and respect and.

[00:09:21] Just come our out of the building that relationship which is I think the cornerstone of all teamwork, but certainly as a leader having that trust and respect is.

[00:09:32] Is is really I think one of the most important things right and I think that was one of I have to say one of the mistakes I made early on as a manager. Like you know many many years ago when I first became a manager.

[00:09:47] I didn't really know what I was doing. And so you know, I thought has the leader I need to be the expert here. I need to know what the answers are.

[00:09:58] I need to know how to do this they're coming to me for advice and so I better know what I'm doing right and.

[00:10:06] And I just learned that no, I don't know exactly what I'm doing and the more vulnerable I become and show that vulnerability in front of you know my teammates and staff that are reporting to me even.

[00:10:22] The more trusted respect I get, but also allows them to be vulnerable and put their opinions out there when you know before maybe they didn't feel like they could.

[00:10:35] And so I think you know making mistakes is how you learn, but I did learn that you know being authentic and being vulnerable is really important to to being a leader.

[00:10:47] That sounds like a really valuable lesson of learning, you know, or showing up in a way that wasn't authentic or wasn't vulnerable as a way of learning those lessons of how important that is to leadership. Why, why does that extra word collaborative.

[00:11:04] What does that mean? Why is that valuable in order to lead and move things forward. We need multiple perspectives and we need input and ultimately you need buy in from your teammates.

[00:11:18] If you want to implement change or progress or anything different, then you need to have buy in and if that's not there from the beginning it's hard to grow that and get that leader.

[00:11:34] So I think adding the word collaborative shows that you're ready for that listening and you're ready for that input and and that it's valuable to you as you were just saying to be able to get people's opinions and get buy in.

[00:11:48] Can you say more about how humility and vulnerability contribute to your style of leadership. Yeah, I actually have an example. And so thanks to you Roger, I a few years ago had an executive coach.

[00:12:06] A friend, a mutual friend now of ours who helped me tremendously during the pandemic because those were moments specifically for a small nonprofit like ours. It was difficult and we were feeling a little isolated from each other.

[00:12:23] Our work was drastically changing because we couldn't be in person and our funds were down there.

[00:12:30] There is a lot going on and on top of that this I think widespread panic about the epidemic and pandemic that we were in right, that was really scary for for lots of reasons.

[00:12:44] And so lots of emotions swirling with everyone and so I was talking to my executive coach and talking about how to.

[00:12:55] How to manage the feelings and and kind of work through everything that everybody was dealing with at the time and his advice was to to be vulnerable and to really let those conversations evolve in a way that.

[00:13:12] And it allows staff to vent and to name all the bad stuff going on in their heads and get it all out there as a team so that we could.

[00:13:25] And try to move forward as a team and so he really coached me to be vulnerable which is scary. Oh my gosh, being vulnerable as a leader, I mean being vulnerable in general is scary. I think that's part of it.

[00:13:38] And you have to be brave and courageous to go through that but I think as a leader for me and my previous mindset of I need to show up with all the answers, you know, being vulnerable.

[00:13:50] And so I'm going to show shows very obviously that I don't have all the answers. I don't have everything all together all the time, I get upset, I have emotions around.

[00:14:03] And the sacrifice is that we're making as as as a person and as a staff member and as an organization and so.

[00:14:13] Showing up to and it was over Microsoft team so was, you know, not in person which also is not my strongest suit I would rather be in person every time.

[00:14:25] So showing up with the team and I went first and I was vulnerable and I shared my emotions and I shared, you know, how disappointed I was at how things were going and frustrated and.

[00:14:42] And just and some ways just sad right because it wasn't doing what I wanted it to do and. And it was out of my control and that was hard for me to.

[00:14:58] Experience but also really hard to say right to say in front of people who were relying on me to keep it all together.

[00:15:07] And so showing up in that vulnerable way really open the door for staff to my teammates to also be vulnerable and also be sad and also acknowledge that that's okay those emotions are okay and we are all having them together.

[00:15:25] And so we got them all out there and bonded in a way that was really meaningful but also. It it increased our trust and respect for each other because we could relate to each other on a different level I really felt.

[00:15:43] I mean all the emotions at the moment right at that time but felt proud of myself for being vulnerable and and putting in out there but also proud that together we could.

[00:15:57] Put it all out there and then also move forward together and I really give credit to my executive coach the time for you know pushing me to do that, but it also made me a better leader because I.

[00:16:11] I experienced being vulnerable and the benefits of that global vision areas is a youth leadership development organization and there's a lot of interaction with youth not only through the curriculum but then we also have youth on the board.

[00:16:28] Which is a wonderful part of the organization and having their voice in these conversations has always been very very helpful. I would love to hear your how you have maybe seen maybe even be inspired by the humility, the vulnerability and the collaborative spirit that the youth.

[00:16:52] I would love to hear your how you have a good voice in these conversations and you can see me just naturally bring. To the organization where maybe you've been able to influence that or reinforce it through your own behavior.

[00:17:06] Yeah absolutely it is such an inspiring piece of the work that I have done at global vision areas. I'm serving on the board of directors but also I've traveled with four cohorts of students to Guatemala and seeing the leadership and the evolution of their leadership skills through.

[00:17:26] Kind of difficult moments right because there are lots of emotions swirling when you're in another country and your peer leaders and you know and and watching that growth has been.

[00:17:37] Absolutely inspiring and exciting and has helped me grow as a leader as well watching the inclusivity that students naturally have. For others has been really a growth area for me I think and I've loved being part of that I think so you said something about.

[00:18:00] I think that's what I've been doing and I've been showing up at the board and naturally. Bringing their insights and and their opinions and I actually don't think it's natural.

[00:18:13] I think because I've had conversations with a lot of those students I think they're they come fairly intimidated and are wanting that growth opportunity.

[00:18:21] And I think that's what allows them to grow in such ways because they're brave and they are showing up and fighting through that even if it doesn't feel natural there they're stepping up and putting their opinions out there and.

[00:18:36] It's also I think in a beautiful collaborative way because we have a beautiful board of directors the adults and the youth.

[00:18:45] Also both have this insight and this love for the organization and this love of inclusivity because I think that it's heart that's what global visionaries is is about inclusive and collaboration all in a leadership lens right and so.

[00:19:04] Showing up in that way being brave and fighting through kind of the nervousness of speaking up in a room of adults. I think has totally inspired me because. We whether we're a leader or not. Being brave and finding brave spaces in our lives to.

[00:19:26] Challenge ourselves is how we grow as humans and that's that's what's beautiful about life and about. Honestly, about global visionaries I I you know spent last couple of weeks giving presentations in classrooms talking to students about.

[00:19:45] Global visionaries and the program and my really my real so box pitch is that I want people students and adults and everyone to travel to gain more perspectives to gain insights that are outside of what you're normally.

[00:20:00] And so find those brave spaces that you can grow and whether it's with the organization that I running or the you know something else I just think finding ways to grow as humans.

[00:20:13] Means getting out of your comfort zone and being brave and vulnerable and have a humility to learn what's what's out there and so I have been truly inspired by the students that have been. What tempting to do that and doing it beautifully.

[00:20:28] Yeah, one of the one of my favorite things to do within global visionaries has been to attend the storytelling nights that come after any of the trips down. To Guatemala and to hear the students tell their stories of impact.

[00:20:45] Not only fills up my cup for the year of enthusiasm for the organization, but it makes me feel better about the world that these these are our future leaders and these.

[00:20:57] Yeah, these were incredible humans before they came to global visionaries and fortunately global visionaries had the opportunity to provide some experiences and some capabilities to help them on their journey.

[00:21:09] And so I think we can just to maybe accelerate that path a little bit, but while like these are these are impressive people and I'm really yeah it's just such a privilege to be part of the organization.

[00:21:21] So what would you say the impact on others is by showing up in a collaborative leadership way. When you show up in a collaborative leadership way, you're modeling what community looks like and what.

[00:21:38] Real relationships can can be as the leader you're giving permission for other people to be vulnerable to to show up with their whole honest self and collaborate and and reminds people that you don't have to know all of the answers and you don't have to be a leader all by yourself.

[00:21:59] And when you reach out as a vulnerable humble leader and genuinely want to have input it allows people to feel comfortable seeking input and giving their input and being part of that collaboration.

[00:22:17] If you shop with all the answers, you're you're not inviting anyone else to to step up to the to the leadership role or to. Also inquire about other people's perspectives. So switch and gears a little bit here.

[00:22:35] What what if you found to be maybe the cost of collaborative leadership? I think being collaborative and vulnerable and taking the time to to solicit input and and get all the perspectives.

[00:22:54] It ultimately it's time right it takes a lot longer to make a decision when you have multiple opinions and multiple conversations, then it would be if I just made the decision right now I'm the you know.

[00:23:09] The data later and I'm just going to make this this this snap decision and sometimes it feels like oh man I just wish I could move this forward and push it through.

[00:23:20] But would it be the right decision and what I feel good about that knowing that it doesn't just affect me it affects you know all these other stakeholders and and getting that input I think is worth that investment of time.

[00:23:35] But sometimes you know that cost is difficult if you don't get you know something it just doesn't happen at and the time from that you maybe wanted it to. But in the long run I think it I think it's worth it.

[00:23:51] What do you do to mitigate some of the negative impacts that you know maybe not being collaborative in the moment. What are some of those those steps that you take to mitigate the impacts.

[00:24:05] That's that's a great question because I think with collaborative leadership comes a need for transparency and honesty and in moments and clear expectations from the gap though right and so setting up a relationship with say supervisor and a staff person.

[00:24:29] Setting that up in them in the beginning being honest and transparent and open about how decisions are made. How when and where can we solicit input and when are their times when that's not applicable or appropriate.

[00:24:47] And how am I going to communicate all of that to you when that happens so being honest in the beginning about the fact that sometimes. I'm going to solicit everyone's opinion and sometimes there are decisions that have to be made in this way.

[00:25:06] But or and I'll say and the communication that happens afterwards so how can I communicate what I can communicate to you in a way in a timely manner and in a transparent manner so that you understand why I did this and.

[00:25:27] What what context there was behind it and how your. How you're still involved with with with the organization or with the overall decisions that are being made so you mentioned when Mario and I took on the code executive director role it was out of necessity and.

[00:25:46] It was a moment of need for that kind of collaboration it turned out really great and I'm always eternally grateful that. Our relationship worked really really well because of the trust and respect that we had and I'll also say a lack of competitiveness between us.

[00:26:05] I think that's a really important piece for for co leaders to. Trust respect and not compete with each other and we really really had that but we also knew that at the time there was a strong strong desire from the staff for more transparency.

[00:26:24] And so we really thought about that as our cornerstone for how we were going to be leading and how we are going to be making decisions as a team knowing that there were some things that.

[00:26:35] Everybody can be involved in and other things that people can't and so how do we communicate that in a way that people still feel included. So recently. You made the decision to move on to a new role where you are a executive director of community for youth.

[00:26:58] Would love for you to tell us a little bit about community for youth but also. There's there's no other co-executive director so you you're in that solo executive director role and would you know would love to hear about.

[00:27:18] What are you, you know, what are you going to be doing that is similar that you can bring forward that collaborative leadership perspective and then just by the nature of being that solo executive director. What what can you not bring forward.

[00:27:36] Yeah, thanks for asking I'm really excited to brand new to the role so still learning and certainly. But community for youth is also a youth development organization working with high school students with one on one family and community mentoring programs and so it's really exciting to see.

[00:28:00] Similar youth leadership roles within the organization and I love to see students shine and give that and have the opportunity to.

[00:28:13] To provide input into what their curriculum looks like and and how other students are gaining the skills that they need and so I'm really thankful to be able to see similar. Youth leadership roles in the organization that I've moved to.

[00:28:30] I'm still in the learning phase for sure and coming in as a solo ED is a different is different and I think there's some. Expectations there of what that will look like but also a lot of. Opportunity for me to.

[00:28:51] Learn and so I'm really taking the time to learn and gain insight and set up those relationships in a way that.

[00:29:00] Will foster collaborative leadership right so I don't want to come in and and pretend that I again I don't know all the answers I certainly don't know the history like others do and I don't know the context of why.

[00:29:15] I pass decisions were made or not made or and I need to really gather all of that insight. Before you know we start doing anything differently and so right at the back what I'm doing is just really listening and learning from everyone and figuring out what.

[00:29:36] Where their gaps are and where the opportunities are and how we're going to work together and so. I'm excited about that opportunity to set up those expectations from the beginning.

[00:29:49] About collaborative leadership and just teamwork in general and yeah I'm bringing in some of my own history and my own background expertise in in areas but I'm also walking into a place that has other people's expertise in background and skills and how are we going to mesh that together to make.

[00:30:10] Ultimately the mission work and the programs grow and the. The mission that the organization was set up to do actually doing that and it will be different I will miss my partner and.

[00:30:25] That I had as a co executive director but I also think even as solo executive director has a network of friends and colleagues and just a network of expertise out there. That humility and vulnerability doesn't go away with the job title itself.

[00:30:46] No I mean I don't think so global visionaries is so grateful for all your contributions and and sad to see you go but so so excited and so proud of you and excited to hear about great things in your new role at community for you. Thank you.

[00:31:03] Speaking of learning what do you know to be true about collaborative leadership. So I knew this question was coming up is hopefully a little prepared for this one. I. Poor the word right something in the title. I have something in the title yes so I think.

[00:31:22] What I know to be true about collaborative leadership is that inclusivity. I think that's a little bit of a buzzword.

[00:31:30] I think but at its heart it means that you're including others and if you're not genuinely watching to include others then you're not collaborative leading right so I think inclusivity is part of that and authentic inclusivity. I also think.

[00:31:56] That collaborative leadership is about creating a space and setting a stage in a vulnerable and human humble way to invite folks into be part of that so it's about it's about building relationships authentic relationships and genuinely wanting and being curious about pulling.

[00:32:23] That insight in and and not just to say that you're pulling it in but actually listening to it and wanting to utilize it in the best way for the leadership of organization. If someone doesn't know or isn't sure how to be a more inclusive later.

[00:32:41] What what would you share with them? What are two or three tips you would share with them of how to become more inclusive. I think I'd go back to that example I gave about being vulnerable whenever it's hard because it is hard.

[00:32:56] I think just taking a deep breath and and being honest and vulnerable about how it feels at the moment and where your goals are and where you made a mistake and and play and really acknowledging mistakes if he mistakes are okay that's how we learn.

[00:33:14] And so I would say that that would be my biggest tip about being a collaborative leader is just take a breath and and be vulnerable and allow for other folks to be vulnerable too.

[00:33:28] So that you can partner in a way that feels more authentic I'll use the word again, I think. There's nothing more authentic than taking a breath there's nothing more authentic than being vulnerable meeting to your mistakes and wanting to learn from other people.

[00:33:52] That that begins to sound almost like the definition of being human. Yeah, but I think many times. We show up and I have in the past to show up as a leader thinking that I can't be myself or can't be human because I need to be.

[00:34:14] In charge or I need to be the one who's holding everything together right and if I, you know, like you know the whole idea of don't let them see a cry or don't let them see you bleed or something, you know.

[00:34:28] It's okay leaders bleed and leaders cry and and that makes us human and of course we are so pretending that's not real I think is. Not authentic and doesn't create good relationships.

[00:34:45] You might have answered this earlier, but I'm going to ask the question anyway what if you learn to be not true. About collaborative leadership. Yeah, I think that's kind of my theme right is that it's not about knowing everything. It's about. You know, you can see it.

[00:35:11] You can see it. We do know things that you also know,

[00:35:21] You know, we do know everything that you don't know everything and that you can make mistakes but I also think it's about more than that it's about, being okay with making mistakes but also giving grace to others who make mistakes because I think you know.

[00:35:26] We've been in a cancel culture kind of. how we recognize that we are human. But also, how we grow. And I think I hope that I continue to grow for the rest of my life because I think that's what makes life interesting and exciting

[00:35:46] and recently I was in a group of other executive directors for nonprofits. And we did this exercise where you have to name the, I don't even remember, what attributes for yourself, like the characteristics that you, that resonate the most with you, right?

[00:36:04] Or your values, all those words kind of mean the same thing in this context. But I had to narrow it down to two. So this is giant list and I had to narrow it down to two that that resonated for me or that were my values.

[00:36:17] And when I came on the edge, authentic? No, actually, no, it wasn't. That's a good guess. But it wasn't. It was compassion. And the other one was adventure. And so, yeah, and interesting pairing. But I think compassion is how we show up

[00:36:41] as humans as well if you can have empathy and compassion for other people and show up in a way that you're vulnerable. Like that shows compassion to me. And I think also compassion shows authenticity too because if I have compassion for other people,

[00:37:03] then it's genuine and authentic that matters. And then for me adventure, because I really love adventure and I wanna keep growing for the rest of my life and that's what life is about is a growth, a constant growth and adventure.

[00:37:20] Well, for the last four and a half years that I've known you, I've known that what I know to be true about you is you're definitely compassionate and you bring that to everything that you do. You also bring authenticity.

[00:37:36] So I'm gonna put it in there if I can. But yeah, we've been on the four and a half years that we've been, that we've known each other, it has been an adventure. And I'm sure it seems like almost every day at the organization was a new challenge,

[00:37:54] a new opportunity to learn to grow, to make mistakes, to be able to show up in an authentic way and collaborate with others in a formal way as well as informal with the participants and with the staff. So that's been, yeah, you came to GV

[00:38:14] exactly right time with everything that I was experiencing and it's definitely to the benefit of the organization and like I said before. So excited about the new adventure that you're on and everything you're gonna bring to that organization and your sense of compassion adventure

[00:38:33] will enness to be vulnerable and humble and to take on new adventures and learn from those and provide great stuff others so they can learn and grow. Is only gonna make that organization be so much better off as well. So if for those community for youth employees,

[00:38:57] coworkers that are listening, you're definitely gonna benefit from having to. That's my little plug. Thanks. Mario and I talked a little bit about why it worked for us as co executive directors and the things that we named together were first and foremost trust.

[00:39:20] And I think respect and also honesty, and transparency. I mean, that was like had to be a huge part of that co leadership model and we had that and I think that was really, really helpful. And I also think the whole idea of non-competing egos, right?

[00:39:42] was a really big part. And so wanting to make sure that we weren't neither one of us was trying to clamor for the top or beat the other one to the title or anything like that and so we were honestly both in it because for the same reason.

[00:40:02] So we both care deeply about the organization and about the goals that we had in common. And so we weren't competing with each other. And so I think that's a big part of collaboration too is not competing for the title or competing

[00:40:21] for top billing or anything like that. I think it's alignment and goals. I think is a really important part that I would say that why it worked for us. Okay, Sarah, are you ready for the lightning round? I was born ready. Fill in the blank. Collaborative leadership is...

[00:40:47] Collaborative leadership is... I'm going to stick with Authentic. Who in your life provides collaborative leadership for you? Wow. Well, I think I have to go to the obvious answer is my co-executive director, Mario, provided collaborative leadership with and for me. For sure. Is there a practice or routine

[00:41:13] that helps you grow nurture or renew your ability to practice collaborative leadership? I would say it's about self care, right? And making sure that I'm having my balance with my family and myself and taking care of my own needs

[00:41:34] to make sure that I can show up in a way to collaborate with others. Because if I'm not ready to do that, then it's not going to work. Is there a favorite book or movie you recently watched and would recommend that inspires collaborative leadership?

[00:41:50] Yes, I don't know if I would call it favorite because I'm still reading it. But a friend of mine, another executive director actually, suggested the book, it's called Humble Inquiry. And I don't remember the authors, but there are a couple of brothers that are writing about Humble Inquiry

[00:42:09] and really about how do you approach relationships by being genuinely curious? It's kind of like another word for active listening, I would say. What is one thing that gets in your way of collaborative leadership? Being a leader of an organization, a small nonprofit

[00:42:28] specifically, there are lots of fires to put out and lots of things that become urgent. And the time it takes to be a collaborative leader sometimes doesn't allow you to respond urgently. And so I would say the constant reactive nature

[00:42:47] of running a nonprofit is what gets in the way. What word or phrase describes what collaborative leadership feels like when it had a positive impact. It feels right. It feels like we, and I say we because collaborative leadership means that you're doing it not alone.

[00:43:07] It feels like we did it right. If a listener wanted to ask you a question or follow up with you, where do you want to point them to? I have a LinkedIn page. I assume you can put that on there.

[00:43:23] And I think that's a really great way to get to know me to reach out, to learn more about my organization about global visionaries as well, because that's on my LinkedIn as well. So I think that would be probably the best way.

[00:43:38] So Sarah, thank you very much for spending time with us and sharing what you know to be true about collaborative leadership. Thank you for your years of service to global visionaries and really excited to see and hear about the great things you do with community for youth.

[00:43:54] So again, thank you again for coming on the podcast. It was a great conversation. I really appreciate and I'm grateful for you and who you are. Thank you, Roger. I enjoyed it as well. I always enjoy our conversations.

[00:44:09] I feel like we go deep and I grow and learn every time we talk and I think I grew and learned even in this conversation, even though I was doing the podcast, but I appreciate you so much. And I feel honored that you asked me to do this.

[00:44:30] Oh, of course. Thank you, Sarah. Take care. Thanks, Cecil. I so appreciate the opportunity to have this conversation with Sarah for a few reasons. As we probed into the collaborative leadership, there were strong themes of humility, vulnerability, authenticity and compassion that re-verberated throughout the conversation.

[00:44:55] And I loved how Sarah repeatedly said that if you think you know everything, you don't. I don't think she was talking directly to me, but us in general. What a great reminder to check our assumptions, to validate our knowledge and to engage others

[00:45:11] to understand their perspectives and insights is they likely know something we do not. As Sarah moves on to her new role as executive director, a community for youth, I'm excited for her and that organization. Community for youth is a wonderful youth development nonprofit organization, which provides mentoring,

[00:45:31] learning opportunities and community. I know several people who have volunteered with community for youth over the years and have heard great things about the impact the organization has in the community say serve. And they are getting a great leader in Sarah. Again, I'm grateful for knowing Sarah.

[00:45:48] I like to think of this as a way of showing my appreciation and gratitude to Sarah and to honor her contributions to global vision areas. It's been a privilege to serve the organization with her to learn from her being inspired by her. This conversation leads me to reflect

[00:46:06] on a few things that I encourage you to think about as well. Where can I be more authentic, vulnerable and compassionate employing my talent? And when can I invite others to engage and participate? When I'm using my superhero powers to collaboratively combine our powers

[00:46:25] and they have even a greater impact on others. If you're not sure what your superhero power is, one of the easiest ways to discover is to ask a trust in front of colleague. They likely know what it is. As a heads up, they're also likely to ask you

[00:46:41] what you think their superhero power is so be ready with a response and advance if you ask them. What do you know to be true is that three blue pens production, I'm your host, Roger Casner. We are recording on the ancestral lands of the Duwamish

[00:46:55] and Sequoamish people to discover the ancestral lands of the indigenous people whose land you may be on, go to native hyphenlands.ca. Okay, be well, my friends. So are you ready for the lightning round? Ooh, okay, ready. I'm not, I gotta bring these questions over here, sorry.

[00:47:27] Kind of blending in here a little bit much. Do you need to go change? Let's spend it. So Sarah, not painful yet. Oh, you want to, oh, it's supposed to be painful? Oh, no, no, I was saying that's a good thing.

[00:47:45] I don't know, I think it's just our own self esteem. Do you think Gilbert Godfrey hates the sound of his own voice? Didn't he just pass away? He did, so he probably doesn't care anymore. What do you know to be true about tacos? Tacos.

[00:48:03] They are delicious. Tacos are delicious.