What’s next for Leading Like You
Hey, everyone. It’s been a couple of months since you heard from me, and that’s because I’ve been working on what’s next for Leading Like You. Today, I’m excited to share it with you.
Before we get into that, I just want to celebrate what has happened so far. I wrote the first newsletter in June of 2022, more than two years ago. In it, I shared a painful story from my career that illustrates why I care so much about challenging the popular conceptions of leadership. Here’s an excerpt:
I honestly don’t remember much after that. I couldn’t think straight. Here’s what I know: None of the other 20 people in that meeting called out his behavior. They just listened. My manager told him I’d work on some revisions, but didn’t stand up for me in the face of all that verbal abuse.
I hung up the call, then cried for the next 30 minutes while I walked around my neighborhood.
When we think of leadership as a hierarchy, we end up approving of these people, implicitly or explicitly. We end up excusing abusive behavior.
If you joined this list later, you might appreciate going back and reading that one. You can also browse through the full archives.
In the two years that have passed, we’ve explored leadership from a lot of new angles, we’ve shared many interviews with amazing leaders, more than a thousand of you signed up for our newsletter, and dozens of you took the classes we’ve offered.
What’s next? I’ll be continuing to explore leadership, but I want to focus on different skills that help us in our work. I’m thinking of the newsletter as being made up of seasons, and each season will have a new focus.
Our first season focused on different ways to lead. For the next one, we’ll focus on teaching and facilitation. If you want to help other people learn a new skill or come together and achieve something, this season will be packed with ideas and techniques that will help you.
What else is coming?
Leading Like You community meetups, both online and in-person, where we can encourage and support each other. More on this in our next newsletter.
New classes, including collaborations with other teachers who specialize in different topics. We’re announcing two of these today.
A book. Packed with stories, interviews, and ideas that challenge popular notions about leadership.
I want to thank each of you so much for sticking with me on this experiment-turned-passion. When you respond to emails, come to classes, or even just mention how this has helped you, it’s so encouraging.
Two new upcoming classes
September 18th - Navigating AI with design thinking
Live class taught by Jessica Koehler
If you’re anything like me, all the hype and fervor around AI doesn’t always result in positive feelings and emotions. It’s new and complex, and it can be hard to know how to contribute if you’re someone who cares about the people using your products.
Thats why I’m so excited to partner with Jessica Koehler on this new workshop. Jessica has deep experience in this space, and approaches this topic with so much humanity and empathy.
If AI has left you doubtful and unsure of how to use your skills, this workshop is designed to leave you feeling empowered and hopeful.
November 13th - Leading your own classes and workshops
Live class taught by Michael Metts
I often hear from people who want get involved in speaking or teaching, but feel unequipped or unqualified. The truth is, if you want to teach other people, you can.
Whether you want to train your co-workers on a specific skill or start teaching about one of your passions on the side, this class will pull back the curtain on how to go from an idea to a learning experience participants enjoy. It will draw on techniques and case studies from my own work teaching hundreds of people all over the world.