Why naming race in leadership matters
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Hi friend, Historically, for many white politicians, race hasn’t had to be named. Whiteness functioned as the default in positions of power for generations. When something is the default, it gets treated as neutral. But that neutrality was built through exclusion. For many Black and Latin leaders, race shapes who gets visibility, who gets legitimacy, and who is recognized as authority. Naming that Colombia's vice president, Francia Márquez, is Afro-Colombian isn’t reducing her. It’s acknowledging the structures that have historically made her presence in leadership rare. It's also part of expanding what we register as normal, legitimate, and safe in positions of power. Who we see shapes what feels legitimate. What feels legitimate shapes what feels possible. What feels possible shapes how we move. We name it so we can notice the systems that shape opportunity, and so that we can imagine a landscape where more people can belong. Jose 💛
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Coaching with Jose
Hi friend, If you’re working on bettering yourself, it’s possible you’re absorbing a lot of content online—reading books, learning about all the skills you need. You’ve probably even made some progress: you can give really good advice. You can name what’s happening. You can explain your patterns. You can tell other people exactly what to do. But are you noticing a disconnect? When tough situations come up, you can know the thing but still not do the thing. Awareness is powerful, but it’s not...
Hi friend, Here’s a hard truth for your Monday: Some of you aren’t taking space, you’re avoiding. It’s not dramatic. You may not even notice it. It happens in phrases like, “I’ll respond later” “I just need more time” “I don’t feel ready yet” So you wait to deal with the situation. You scroll. You ruminate on it. You almost reach out…but then you don’t, because there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to deal with the discomfort of what comes next. But taking space from a situation is meant to...
Hi friend, Here’s a hard truth for your Monday: Some of you aren’t taking space, you’re avoiding. It’s not dramatic. You may not even notice it. It happens in phrases like, “I’ll respond later” “I just need more time” “I don’t feel ready yet” So you wait to deal with the situation. You scroll. You ruminate on it. You almost reach out…but then you don’t, because there’s a part of you that doesn’t want to deal with the discomfort of what comes next. But taking space from a situation is meant to...