In this episode of Illustrating Leadership, I had the joy of talking with Shoshana Allice, a neuro-inclusive leadership coach and the founder of Decolonizing Leadership.

Shoshana has spent nearly 30 years in leadership development, and her work has become increasingly focused on the intersection of neurodivergence and leadership. Through her own late-diagnosed neurodivergence, her family experience, and her work with clients, she has developed a deep commitment to helping people rethink what leadership can look like.

And that is really the heart of this conversation.

Leadership does not have to look one way.

It does not have to sound one way.

It does not have to fit the old model of power, control, perfection, and certainty.

When I asked Shoshana about a leader who shaped her, she shared about Karen, a manager she worked with for nearly eight years.

Karen created a team culture rooted in relationship. Almost every morning, the team gathered for coffee. Often, they were not talking about work. They were getting to know each other as human beings.

What mattered to them.
What frustrated them.
What lit them up.
What was happening in their lives.

That relational foundation changed how the team worked together. They knew how to lean into one another's strengths. They knew how to collaborate. They knew how to support one another as people, not just as roles.

For Shoshana, that leadership still stands the test of time.

Karen saw what each person needed in order to thrive. She did not manage everyone exactly the same way. She led from the same principle, but adapted her approach to the human being in front of her.

That is such an important distinction.

We also talked about values, curiosity, neuroinclusion, and what it means to decolonize leadership. Shoshana described decolonizing leadership as the ongoing work of questioning the assumptions we have inherited about power, authority, control, and what a "real" leader is supposed to look like.

Instead of power over, what if leadership became power with?

Instead of control, what if leadership centered connection?

Instead of maintaining the status quo, what if leadership helped more people feel seen, heard, included, and able to contribute?

Shoshana left us with a simple but powerful tool: curiosity.

Curiosity helps us pause before assuming.
Curiosity helps us stay open when we are triggered.
Curiosity helps us ask better questions.
Curiosity helps us build more human-centered leadership.

And maybe that is where rethinking leadership begins.

Not with having all the answers.

But with being willing to ask better questions.

Connect with Shoshana

Check out Shoshana's website and definitely send her a connection request on LinkedIn!

Connect with Jessica

Learn more about how your host supports leaders by visiting her website...and definitely send a connection request on LinkedIn and let her know you listened to this podcast!

In this episode of Illustrating Leadership, I had the joy of talking with Eboné Bell, a speaker, storyteller, facilitator, and voiceover artist whose work centers on leadership, confidence, allyship, belonging, and connection.

And connection really is the thread.

Eboné chose to highlight Madam C.J. Walker, an entrepreneur and community builder whose leadership continues to inspire her. What stood out most was not only Madam Walker's business success, but the way she used that success to create opportunity for others.

She did not build only for herself.

She built with her community in mind.

Eboné shared how Madam C.J. Walker put her products in the hands of Black women across the country, giving them a path to financial opportunity. She listened to the women who worked with her. She gave back through scholarships and community support. She understood that leadership is not just about what we create, but who we lift as we create it.

That idea reminded me of something my mom used to say when I was little:

Leave the room better than you found it.

At the time, she probably meant the actual room. Pick up the pillow. Put things away. Notice what needs care.

But those words have become something much bigger for me.

Leave the relationship better.
Leave the conversation better.
Leave the leader better.
Leave the space better.

That is the kind of leadership Eboné brings into her work, too. Whether she is speaking about allyship, confidence, Black history, LGBTQ+ inclusion, or leadership, her goal is to help people feel more connected and more able to act.

Because authenticity is not just about being seen.

It is also about creating the conditions for other people to show up more fully, too.

As Eboné said near the end of our conversation: lead with authenticity.

It matters.

Connect with Eboné

Make sure you check out Eboné's website and go say hi on LinkedIn and Instagram!

Connect with Jessica

Learn more about how your host supports leaders by visiting her website...and definitely send a connection request on LinkedIn and let her know you listened to this podcast!