In this episode of Breaking the Binary, we explore how leaders can respond to uncertainty not with rigidity, but with responsiveness. What does authentic leadership look like when the only constant is change?

Drawing from process philosophy, human-centered design, and real-world nonprofit experiences, I introduce Process Leadership—a dynamic model that helps values-driven leaders embrace change as a creative partner rather than an obstacle.

You’ll learn how to navigate shifting realities with principle-centered flexibility, relational responsiveness, and creative courage—and why this kind of conscious adaptation is at the heart of liberated leadership.

Key Concepts & Frameworks:

• Process Leadership: Leadership that is values-rooted but methodologically fluid.

• Circle of Influence Audit: A reflection tool for identifying what you can control, influence, or release.

• LISTEN Framework: A human-centered design model that anchors adaptation in empathy and co-creation.

• Three Traps of Change: Freezing, flailing, and flowing—plus how to shift toward responsive leadership.

• Situated Freedom (Sartre + de Beauvoir): Understanding agency within context and constraints.

Practical Tools:

• A real-time Integration Exercise using the LISTEN framework

• Reflection prompts for designing leadership like a responsive dance

• Action step: Conduct a Circle of Influence Audit in one stuck area this week

Featured Thought Experiment:

“The Dance of Authentic Adaptation”
Step into the metaphor of leadership as choreography in motion—what happens when the music changes, but your team is still dancing?

Try This Week:

• Conduct your own Circle of Influence Audit

• Deepen one relationship with a feedback conversation

• Design and test one small, human-centered experiment in your work

  Download the Dancing with Change Toolkit

In Episode 5, we tackle what many leaders fear most: failure. What if setbacks could become sources of innovation and deeper authenticity? Stay tuned.

In this episode of Breaking the Binary, we explore what happens when nonprofit and human service leaders stop choosing between staying true to their values or adapting to survive — and instead begin to innovate from a place of alignment.

This episode introduces the concept of collective authenticity and asks:
What becomes possible when we center connection, shared values, and purpose-driven experimentation — together?

Through the lens of Martin Buber’s I-Thou philosophy, and a conversation with nonprofit leader Jasmin Johnson, we examine how authentic relationships and collaborative ecosystems open the door to deeper innovation.

What You’ll Learn

• The difference between I-It and I-Thou leadership relationships

• Why transactional leadership limits innovation — and how to shift it

• How ecosystems of organizations can build collective resilience

• What it means to practice collective authenticity in your leadership

• How shared purpose can drive adaptive, values-aligned innovation

Guest Spotlight: Jasmin Johnson

Jasmin Johnson is the Director of the Baton Rouge Area Youth Network (BRAYN), a coalition that supports youth-serving organizations through shared learning, advocacy, and resource alignment. She shares practical insights on:

• Leading from a place of connection, not control

• Supporting diverse partners while fostering shared direction

• Building coalitions that hold complexity and move with purpose

We invite you to reflect on:

• Where in your leadership are you treating people as means rather than as whole collaborators?

• What would it look like to lead as if relationship was your primary innovation strategy?

• What becomes possible when you stop thinking you have to figure it all out alone?

PLUS: Download the Collective Authenticity Reflection Guide to help you apply the concepts in your team or coalition.

If this episode helped you see innovation and leadership through a new lens, share it with a fellow changemaker.

Don’t forget to subscribe and catch the next episode:
Authentic Adaptation — Leading When the Ground Keeps Shifting

In this episode, we explore practical applications of the "Spheres of Authentic Action" framework, showing how organizations navigate the tension between authenticity and adaptation. Through real-world examples, we demonstrate how clarity about core values creates space for strategic flexibility and innovative responses to constraints.

Key Concepts Explored:Core Values Sphere: Identifying the fundamental impacts that define your organization's purpose beyond specific language or methods

• Strategic Flexibility Sphere: Adapting language and approaches while maintaining core commitments

• Creative Possibilities Sphere: Finding innovative solutions when facing constraints

• Integration Across Spheres: Developing systems to consciously navigate between these dimensions

  Philosophical References

• Jean-Paul Sartre's "Freedom within Facticity": How we always retain the freedom to choose our response within constraints

• Søren Kierkegaard's "Teleological Suspension of the Ethical": Distinguishing between surface-level expressions of values and their deeper purpose

• Simone de Beauvoir's "Situated Freedom": Making authentic choices within specific contexts and constraints

• Albert Camus' "Creative Rebellion": Finding meaning through creative response to limiting situations

• Hannah Arendt's "Thinking Without a Banister": Developing judgment without predetermined guidelines

• Additional Reading:

  1. Sartre, J.P. (1943). Being and Nothingness. Especially the sections on freedom, facticity, and authenticity.

  2. Kierkegaard, S. (1843). Fear and Trembling. Explores the teleological suspension of the ethical through the Abraham story.

  3. de Beauvoir, S. (1947). The Ethics of Ambiguity. Develops the concept of situated freedom and ethical ambiguity.

  4. Camus, A. (1942). The Myth of Sisyphus. Explores finding meaning through creative rebellion against absurd conditions.

  5. Arendt, H. (1982). Lectures on Kant's Political Philosophy. Discusses judgment without predetermined guidelines.

  6. Kegan, R. & Lahey, L. (2009). Immunity to Change: How to Overcome It and Unlock the Potential in Yourself and Your Organization. Practical framework for navigating adaptive challenges.

  7. Brown, A.M. (2017). Emergent Strategy: Shaping Change, Changing Worlds. Innovative approaches to adaptation and transformation in social justice work.

  Practice Resources:

  1. The Conscious Adaptation Playbook by CompassPoint Nonprofit Services - Guide for navigating values-based adaptation in changing environments

  2. Strategic Frame Analysis Toolkit by FrameWorks Institute - Research-based guidance for effective communication framing across different audiences

  Downloadable Templates:

  1. Spheres of Authentic Action Mapping Template - A worksheet for mapping your organization's activities across the three spheres, identifying which aspects of your work belong in which sphere, and planning conscious navigation between them.

  2. Strategic Flexibility Communication Guide - A template for developing context-specific communication approaches that maintain core values while effectively engaging different audiences.