Rootwise Leadership

There are two common definitions of integrity you will find in dictionaries. One definition is about being honest and aligned with strong moral principles. The other definition is about being whole or undivided. While we could consider that each definition is a different meaning of the word, I have come to appreciate that each is part of a more full definition of the word. Consider defining integrity as living in wholeness with life and purpose through honest, undivided alignment to core, stated principles. With this definition in mind, journal with the following:
What does this definition of integrity mean for you as a leader?
In what ways (situations or relationships or projects) do you feel divided, separated, or misaligned from life, purpose, or the principles that matter to you?
If you imagine moving through the day with the stated intention of being whole or undivided, what might you make space for or do differently?
How might bringing intention to your integrity serve you as a leader?
Go to link in bio to find all weekly journal prompts.
-
[ID: Three varied brown and grey colored scrap paper in background with navy text that reads: "WEEKLY JOURNAL PROMPT. POSTED IN THE HUB. Take some time this week to reflect on integrity. Where are you whole? Where are you divided? LINK IN BIO .]

With much anticipation and enthusiasm, we kicked off the 2022 Collective Leadership Certificate Program cohort in January. With participants spanning three continents, our training and coaching sessions over the last few months proved to be a deep dive into the challenges we face when it comes to the relational process skills needed to lead collectively.

As we enter May and begin to wrap up this journey with a fantastic group of leaders, we've shared on the blog some standout ideas that you can apply to your everyday leadership.

Read the post the blog. Link in bio!

[ID: Soft purple background with photo of five pairs of hands in dirt cupping seedlings with blue rectangle that reads collective leadership in the upper left corner and a blue rectangle in the lower right corner that reads new blog in white font. In black font https://buff.ly/3vIdwyw runs vertically alongside the photo.]

"Belonging is in the present moment. It does not exist tomorrow or in another location. It is right here, right now—if you choose to open to it."
Sebene Selassie's book "You Belong: A Call for Connection" is one of the best we've read all year. Go read it if you haven't already.
To get more book recommendations, sign up for The Rootwise Hub and check out our "book shelf" -- we update it regularly!
[ID: Purple background with white text that reads: "Pause: 'Belonging is in the present moment. It does not exist tomorrow or in another location. It is right here, right now—if you choose to open to it.' -Sebene Selassie]

Each week, we post a journal prompt on a specific theme or topic in The Rootwise Hub. To see this week's full prompt and download the archive, go to the link in my bio.
This week... engage in some imaginative play:

#1 >> Spend 5 minutes (or more) today engaging the imagination or practicing make-believe. This could be writing a five sentence fantasy story or drawing a picture of a magic fairy or surrendering to play pretend freely with a child in your life.
#2 >> Imagine a world that aligns deeply to the core values you hold as a social change leader.
- Describe the world in 5 sentences.
- Describe the world in 3 sentences.
- Describe the world in 1 sentence
- Describe the world in 3 words..
[ID: Torn pink paper is the background image. Dark blue text reads: "WEEKLY JOURNAL PROMPT. POSTED IN THE HUB. Take some time this week to play make-believe... to pretend... to imagine. LINK IN BIO .]

I share what I need to hear.
"Forgive yourself
for not meeting your
unreasonable
expectations."
- from Julia Fehrenbacher's poem, "A Cure for it All"

remember your body. 💗
[ID: Blue text on pale green background reads: “remember your gentle body; remember your strong body; remember your soft body; remember your shaky body; remember your still body; remember your open body; remember your closed body; remember your body; remember”]

For a long time, I felt I needed a complete overhaul and renovation of my inner life to embrace a love of being. Sometimes still, my habit energy tells a story that loving my being-ness a bit out of reach. And then I remember the small things: the feeling of my feet on the ground, the rise and release of tension in my shoulders with a deep breath, the temperature change when walking through the threshold of my front door, the smile of a colleague at the start of a meeting, simply receiving the truth-telling of a participant in a workshop, the feeling of lying down after a full day, the first sip of coffee in the morning, the feel of water splashing on my face. I fall in love with being. I fall in love with my being-ness, my presence.
Here's the activity to try on:
Write a list of what you love about being. Your list might take the form of a love note to your being or be a review of all the moments in your day you felt the fullness of your being, your presence.
A few days after writing your list, free write with the question: what do you notice about the moments of being in your days?
For more reflective activities like this & for free leadership development workshops, sign up for The Rootwise Hub. Link in bio.

It is meditation Monday! A new meditation is posted in the Hub. Go to link in my bio to log in. Monday Meditations are also now shared on the Online Learning Page on the website.
Today I guide you through a meditation that invites you to root in nature, connecting with your own nature and the nature all around you that inspires.
[ID: Background photo is a bird's eye view of of clouds settled atop a forest of trees. Purple text with white transparent backing reads: "Monday Meditation Posted in the Hub. Immerse in the nature within... Pause"]

Each week in The Rootwise Hub we post a journal prompt. Did you miss this week’s? Go to link in the bio to sign up for the Hub.
Consider all that is going well, all that is whole, all that is enough just as it is right now. How habituated have you become to identifying what needs fixing, changing, adjustment? What would shift if you spent the week noticing, honoring, lifting up what is well, whole, and enough? Take some time this week (try daily) in your journal with the following prompts:

1. Make a list:
- What's working?
- What's whole and well?
- What's enough?

2. Look at your list no matter how long or short, how mundane or profound, and write 3-5 affirmations or celebrations of some of the items on your list. (For instance, if an item on your list is: "My weekly meeting with the team." You might write something like: "I affirm and celebrate the efforts I've taken to establish healthy and joyful connections with my team in our weekly meeting. May I continue to trust in my ability to show up to myself and my team.")

3. After writing them, read your affirmations or celebrations out loud!
[ID: On very dark grey, almost black crinkled paper background. white text reads: “Weekly Journal Prompt Posted in Hub. Consider all that is going well, all that is whole, all that is enough just as it is right now. Link in bio. ]

Live today well: kindly imperfect, secure, accepted, and alive.

Thank you for the wisdom.

[ID: Deep blue background with white lettering that reads "Pause - By tapping into our inner wellsprings of kindness, acknowledging the shared nature of our imperfect human condition, we can start to feel more secure, accepted, and alive. - Dr. Kristin Neff]

Leadership is all about practice. Here are five to try on today...
If you want to take your practice to the next level, join The Rootwise Hub. Link in bio.
[ID: Lavender background with white lettering that includes a title and checkmark bulleted list. It reads: "5 leadership practices worth exploring: listening deeply; engaging joy and humor; living compassion and kindness; being present and generous; practicing observation and non-judgment ]

Listen to the voice that doesn't use words. Allow it to lead you.
[ID: Dusty rose pink background with white lettering reads "Pause. There is a voice that doesn't use words, listen. - Rumi"]

It is meditation Monday! A new meditation is posted in the Hub. Go to link in my bio to log in. Monday Meditations are also now shared on the Online Learning Page on the website.
Today I share a self-inquiry question for meditation that fundamentally changed my life. It is a question that supported me in relating to my meditation practice not as another problem solving tool intended to strengthen my ego but as a much more healing and transformative way of being with myself in the world. It is a question that continues to support me in transforming my sense of self worth, value, and purpose.
[ID: Background photo of mirrored glass buildings at angles. Blue text with white transparent backing reads: "Monday Meditation Posted in the Hub. 'Who am I?' 'Who am I if there's not a problem to solve?' Pause for Self-Inquiry"]

What does meditation have to do with leadership development? Explore with our online learning offerings. Link in bio.
[ID: Series of images with white text on dark purple background that read: “MEDITATION & LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT. Create space in your days. The trust, accountability, and integrity needed to lead are developed from the inside out. Your leadership will be directly informed by how you cultivate awareness, reckon with power, build relationships, and engage learning. Doing this inner work of leadership requires moving beyond the all-too-common over-reliance on title or intellect into new ways of being. Meditation is one way to support you in developing different ways of being with and knowing yourself, others, and the world. Find out what meditation has to offer you by exploring the Hub’s weekly meditation teaching and practice today.” The last image in the series is a SoundCloud audio player that shows weekly meditations.]

Start where you. Be present.
Let us support you in your leadership growth. Join us on The Rootwise Hub. Link in bio.
[ID: Deep blue background with white lettering and purple rectangle that reads: Reminder: "When we start where we are, we commit to being present in each moment. And this is the pathway. This is healing, transformation, and impact. This is social change." ]

It is meditation Monday! A new meditation is posted in the Hub. Go to the link in my bio to log in.
This week's reflection and meditation is on presence and flow.
It invokes the wisdom of Dr. Shawn Ginwright's book, The Four Pivots, and the poem, Fluent, by John O'Donohue.
It invites you to practice with the mystery of presence, the flow of the in breath and the out breath, the rhythms of the body available for us to sense in any given moment.

[ID: Background water ripples in aqua and rose colors with dark purple text that reads: Monday Meditation Posted in the Hub. Presence & Flow.]

Meditate with me each week. I record and share a reflection and brief meditation every Monday. Join me. Link to Monday Meditations in my bio.
[ID: text on faded white background reads: remember your deep breath, remember your shallow breath, remember your slow breath, remember your quick breath, remember your breath, breathe in, breathe out, breathe]

You, and all living beings, are worthy of compassion simply because you're alive. Nothing to prove. Nothing to earn.
Cultivating compassion for ourselves supports us in rooting our empathy for others in a deep well of compassion within. Compassion begets compassion.
Join the Hub for free weekly meditations that will support you in cultivating empathy and compassion. Link in bio.
[ID: Lavender background that reads "Quote of the Day - Empathy is rooted in compassion for all, including the self. Perry Dougherty]

The impact of moral injury lives in our emotional bodies. As such, working with recognizing, allowing and investigating our emotions can be a helpful in road to understanding where we are carrying values-based betrayal or wounding. In working with clients, I am particularly attuned to making space for the often difficult emotions that show up in our lives as sources of deep wisdom. How will you make room for emotions, how will you non-reactively honor the wisdom of emotional reactivity, and how will you care for the places of tender hurt in ways that open up pathways of healing?
I often find myself confused by or overwhelmed or stuck in emotion whether my own emotions or those of others. Over the past few years in particular, it has been helpful to have an understanding of moral injury to support me in truly making space for emotions to move, to rise and fall, to be seen and felt as they are. When I've been called in to account for my impact on someone, I make space to feel and notice the way guilt and shame show up. When I've felt betrayed by an institution or individual, I feel into the ways rage and despair emerge. An understanding that aligning to the shared values or moral agreement we are often reckoning with emotionally in these experiences has helped me practice compassion and care so that I can find (sometimes slowly) a more centered presence in relationship with myself and/or others. It is only from such presence that I'm able to move into non-defensiveness and non-denial when I've gone against my own values and move into courage, boundaries, and connection when others have betrayed the values that matter most to me.
Remember healing often requires a reckoning, an acceptance of the complexity of the wounds, a being with the mess of contradiction and pain, a truth telling of sorts. Living in our core and most essential values can often be a guide in the process of healing moral wounds. In this sense, words like acceptance, compassion, presence, and connection emerge from the imagination into reality with a real and fierce grit. As Thich Nhat Hanh so often said: "No mud, no lotus."

How might you bring this notion of tidying into how you relate to your inner life of thoughts? What thoughts serve you in discerning the life you want? What thoughts might you allow to come and go, to rise and fall away with mindfulness and gratitude?

[ID: Purple outer square with white inner square with black text that reads "Tidying is not a destination, but rather a tool that drops you into the present moment and helps you to discern the life you truly want." - Marie Kondo]

This is the look of a weekend of hard emotional and spiritual work. Two days filled with a combo of meditation retreat, self searching, and a long look at some emotional heartbreak I’m carrying around in my life right now… all of which has brought me (yet again) to clarity about how much my particular body-mind-spirit is prone to flailing about and grasping for control during times of stress and grief and transition. When I’m not grounded and connected to a sense of Love, I forget what matters to me and I forget that I ever even knew what matters to me. Today, I’ve been through lots of big hard feelings, and I’ve survived... for the moment, I’m in my comfy clothes and attempting to let my heart lead. I can feel my body longing for care and movement and nourishment. And once again, I’m recommitting to creating that care and movement and nourishment for myself even though it feels like I couldn’t possibly “do” more of anything. I’m going to try instead to be care, movement, and nourishment for myself in each moment, and I’m going to hope the doing flows from the being. Why? Because integrity. Because creativity. Because compassion. Because my body is wise.
How do you make space for the hard stuff?
Love you! 💜
[ID: Photo of Perry with hallway mirror behind her reflecting her back. She is wearing a dark rusty camel colored knit hat, black and grey speckled sweatshirt, and oversized glasses.]

How does your leadership support collective liberation? How do you invite yourself to live in alignment with your greatness, your values, your wisdom? How do you make space for others to lead with their gifts, values, presence, and wisdom?
Pro Tip: Dismantling our instincts towards defensiveness, denial, and disappearance really helps move towards understanding, acceptance, and courage in order to make space for our varied, complex, complementary, and contradictory gifts to shine freely together on a team.
[ID: Navy background with white lettering reads "All of us can be more free if we pursue a model of leadership development that's rooted in authenticity, integrity, courage, mindfulness, and collective wisdom.]

How are you leading an integrated life? What are the ways that you make time for what matters most to you in all arenas of your life? How are you creating structures that allow others to do the same?
I have and can easily fall into the trap of getting dangerously myopic in my focus on work. Sometimes my obsession with having an impact in the world manifests as a narrow, singleminded focus on viewing my purpose as limited to my work. I've learned that creating space to integrate all of the parts of my life that matter to me is essential to living out my values. I've come to understand that in order to integrate my values of compassion and creativity into my leadership, I must also find the ways to do so at home and in the relationships and communities that nourish me (the ones that don't come with a paycheck). For me, integration has become essential to long-term impact.
Interested in Coaching? Consulting? Or FREE Online Learning? Visit link in bio!
[ID: White background with navy blue square outline and navy blue font that reads "Effective leaders live an integrated life, one in alignment with what matters to them."]

Smile.
Feel.
Allow.
Nurture.
Smile.
[ID: Three slides all with lavender background, a white square, and white lettering that read: Slide one: "Spend some time today with something or someone that makes you smile." Slide two: "Connect to that feeling when a sincere smile fills you with joy." Slide three: "Your work out for the day: 20 smile reps in the mirror."]

As someone who has a lot of comfort seeking behaviors and vices, believe me when I say, this quote of mine is a total affront to me. For much of my life and still quite often I have a hard time dismantling the messages from the culture around me that I hear yelling at me with the message: "If you're not comfortable, it's your fault. Drink this... Take that... Buy this... Try harder..." This message that something is wrong with me and needs fixing is sometimes hard to hear differently than the message that there is something for me to learn or change. And yet, for me, they are fundamentally different messages that come from different source material. How I have come to know and understand the difference really comes down to presence...
The "fix yourself" message is on fire in me when I'm disconnected from, unaware of, and trapped in feelings of guilt, shame, fear, or despair. In this sense, my inner critic is trying to bypass the feelings work, looking for a quick fix, seeking fast acting comforts often by checking out, blaming, or engaging in defensive numbing behaviors (all of which don't make a lot of room for learning).
The "there's something for you to learn here" message speaks gently and compassionately when I'm actually aware of and feeling big emotions, noticing the ways they move and hook into old stories and patterns of thought. In these moments, my inner critic is just another thought and my presence in the moment senses the complexity of what's showing up, allowing discomfort to be part of my experience and greeting it with curiosity and care.
This is why I've come to understand the power of a pause. Pause into presence with what's here in my body, in this moment. See and feel myself from the inside out. Allow the stretch zone of discomfort to gently and compassionately invite me into curiosity, care, and learning.
[ID: Navy background with white lettering and purple rectangle that reads: Reminder: "Growth will not happen in your comfort zone. Open up to the emotional undercurrents of transformation."]