Next Generation Leadership

Certainty is the quality of being reliably true, fixed, or guaranteed.

Let’s start here: an opinion is easy. A point of view is earned.

The Power of Intentional Practice for Leaders I first heard the phrase many years ago when I began taking Pilates: “Shoulders away from your ears, DeEtta.” All these years later, I still get that gentle prompt from my instructors. It seems so small. But every time I hear it, I’m reminded of how many things we do automatically—unnoticed and untended—that become deeply embedded patterns.

Years ago, I spent five days at the University of California, Berkeley, immersed in scenario analysis. I had been a strategist for a long time, and while I saw the value in strategic planning, I also knew its limits. Traditional strategic planning often assumes we can predict the future, then align our resources and goals accordingly. But the world doesn't work that way. Still, humans need...

Over the years, I’ve led teams, facilitated thousands of conversations, and held space for transformation at every level of an organization. I’ve trained leaders, coached executives, and mentored young people standing on the edge of possibility. And in all of those experiences, one truth has become abundantly clear:

Why giving and receiving support is essential for resilient leadership and collective healing

Why community is a leadership essential, especially in uncertain times.

Now is not the time to lead alone.

It’s a question I’ve been carrying lately. Whispering to myself in quiet moments, wrestling with it when the world feels particularly harsh.

There are days when I can feel them. Not in a ghostly way, but in my bones. The people who came before me.