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Equity-Centered Leadership—Self-Awareness and Remembrance

Written by Louise Santiago. Posted in Equity-Centered Leadership, Leadership Skills.

“Self-awareness is the ability to take an honest look at your life without any attachment to it being right or wrong, good or bad.” – Debbie Ford

Have you ever wondered, “How can I be the type of leader who asks all the tough questions, challenges the status quo, and call out biases, even when it’s uncomfortable?”

The answer: become an equity-centered leader. That was the topic we covered in my last post, where we reviewed the first of five steps in the “equicentric” leadership model. There are five processes that fuel this “equicentric” leadership model: name it, activate self-awareness, remember the past, commit to change, and schedule self-care.

I believe that, through the effective use of this model, you can become a more dynamic and adaptable leader. The “equicentric” leadership model was created by Laura Aguada-Hallberg and me with the goal to empower and support leaders as they take their self-reflective journey toward becoming a more equity-centered leader.

Let’s discuss the second and third steps in this model.

Leadership Coaching

Equity-Centered Leadership—What Is It? And How Is It Cultivated?

Written by Louise Santiago. Posted in Equity-Centered Leadership, Leadership Skills.

We’ve all admired leaders who are willing to ask the tough questions, challenge the status quo when it isn’t working, and call out long-standing biases, even when it’s uncomfortable. What enables these leaders to do so? And how can you become that kind of leader?

These leaders are equity-centered, or what UCLA professor of education Pedro Noguera calls “guardians of equity.” In other words, they have equity at the core of all their work.

In the context of this discussion, what is equity? (We’re going to be using equity in education as our example setting, but these principles apply to many different contexts.) UNESCO’s “Handbook on Measuring Equity in Education,” says that equity “considers the social justice ramifications of education in relation to the fairness, justness and impartiality of its distribution at all levels or educational sub-sectors.” And according to the handbook, equity is measurable, which is extremely valuable as it allows us to make comparisons of equity.

Although these measurements are important, leaders should go beyond just tracking metrics on equity issues, equity is also a felt and lived experience. That’s why social-emotional learning is vital to improving the culture of organizations.

How do you become an equity-centered leader?

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 3: Practice

Written by Louise Santiago. Posted in Community of Practice.

Essential elements of a community of Practice: Practice What makes a Community of Practice work? I’ve been exploring, in a three-part series, the key elements that make up a successful Community of Practice. We’ve already examined #1 domain, and #2 community, so now it’s time to dive into the final element, practice.

In this series, we’ve seen how the domain establishes the general area of interest for the community members made up of mutual peer relationships. The practice element entails the sharing of real-life experiences, stories, tools, and ways of addressing problems. So in order to have a strong Community of Practice (CoP), you need strong practitioners!

In a CoP, knowledge is not created in one place by external experts and “taught” so it can be used in practice by others. In a CoP, every member of the team is a Steward of Knowledge. As guardians of their practice, each team member is an expert by virtue of already being a strong practitioner. Ideally, each member brings with them diverse experiences and over time this valuable learning gets pooled. The individual members are empowered to take any new learning back to their domain.

This interaction also strengthens a sense of shared purpose and values between community members. How the group shares, codifies, elevates and even celebrates each person’s practice demonstrates the community’s commitment to supporting each person in developing their practice.

Here are three ways to ensure a strong practice in your Community of Practice:

Community of practice

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 2: Community

Written by Louise Santiago. Posted in Community of Practice.

Essential elements of a community of Practice: Community Do you ever feel invisible at work or amongst colleagues? As far as most business teams are concerned, the element of “community” is often neglected. In most teams, communication only flows one way: from the top, down. Goals and decisions are made by management, with little consideration paid to those lower down on the totem pole.

However, a Community of Practice (CoP) is different. As I mentioned in the first post of this three-part series, you can think about a CoP as being made up of three main parts: domain, community, and practice. Without all of these elements, including community, it might be a team but it’s not a CoP.

What we find is that with most business teams the focus is on the “practice” (the third element which we will be discussing in the next article), to the exclusion of the other two elements. So, let’s dive into the second element of a Community of Practice and answer the question: Why is “community” so important to the success of a CoP and how can it be fostered?

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 1: Domain

Written by Louise Santiago. Posted in Community of Practice.

Essential elements of a community of Practice: Domain. When I lead training sessions on Communities of Practice, we often begin by analyzing the groups we already belong to identify those that fit the criteria of a Community of Practice (CoP). Are you already part of a CoP, perhaps without even being aware of it? What are the defining elements? What makes it different from other business teams?

It turns out that you can think about a CoP as being comprised of three main elements: domain, community, and practice. Without even one of these elements, it might be a community or a team but it’s simply not a CoP.

This is the first of a series of three articles on these three must-have elements of a CoP. We will dive into each one starting with—Domain.

Equity-Centered Leadership—Self-Awareness and Remembrance

Equity-Centered Leadership—What Is It? And How Is It Cultivated?

How do you become an equity-centered leader?

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 3: Practice

Here are three ways to ensure a strong practice in your Community of Practice:

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 2: Community

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 1: Domain

Domain—What is it?

Louise J Santiago, PhD
Executive Coach and Organizational Consultant

Where Leadership is Intentional Work

Equity-Centered Leadership—Self-Awareness and Remembrance

Equity-Centered Leadership—What Is It? And How Is It Cultivated?

How do you become an equity-centered leader?

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 3: Practice

Here are three ways to ensure a strong practice in your Community of Practice:

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 2: Community

The Three Essential Elements of a Community of Practice—Part 1: Domain

Domain—What is it?

Louise J Santiago, PhDExecutive Coach and Organizational Consultant

Where Leadership is Intentional Work

Louise J Santiago, PhD
Executive Coach and Organizational Consultant