How Black Women Trauma Survivors Can Grow As Leaders
Leaders are not monolithic, even though Western media often has a stereotypical white male pictured as what a leader is. Leaders all look different and show up in all types of places. Also, leaders all have different experiences and come from very diverse backgrounds. If you’re reading this, you are considering yourself as a leader, and the truth is that we are all leaders because others follow us in some way or form. Even if we lead just by writing books or by nurturing children, those are valid leadership roles, and there are many many other types of valid leadership roles.
Intentionally Growing As A Leader Is Leadership Development
Because leaders can be very diverse, how they develop their leadership skills should also be very diverse, including a diversity of leadership mentors, teachers, trainers, and coaches. This need for diverse leadership training and coaching is especially true for women who have often been intentionally and unintentionally shut out of formal or official leadership training or mentorship opportunities by the male leadership who are entrenched in the traditional institutions. Unfortunately, the American Christian church is notorious for actively fighting against women’s leadership in the church, so many Christian women who are actively volunteering and serving do not see themselves as leaders and do not seek out the training or mentorship they need to keep growing. This is a true tragedy on many different levels.
How The Plant Your Seeds of Transformation Podcast Helps Black Women Leaders Grow
For a black woman leader who is a trauma survivor, effective leadership development practices are going to be very different because her needs are very different. I shared in episode 2 of season 3 about the importance of setting boundaries around who you listen to. A white man who has no clue about what it feels like to be a caregiver or raising children without a partner while he is leading will give you advice that is not relevant to you or could even be harmful to you. Take a listen to the episode and let me know if it’s helpful to think about this topic of setting boundaries around who you listen to for learning and mentorship. Check out the show notes for the podcast to see the list of recommended reading and other helpful information at PlantYourSeeds.show.
In that episode, one of the books I recommended is by Nedra Glover Tawab “Set Boundaries, Find Peace”. She basically touched on how dealing with your relationships and addressing boundary issues can help you grow. See the show notes for the other books recommended in that episode.
Also, in a previous medium article, I shared about my journey with becoming more resilient after trauma so I could keep pursuing my goals. That article is entitled, “How Can You Bounce Back Faster After Traumas and Crises?” I shared because I know I am not the only person who is in recovery after experiencing some very hard things. My hope is that leaders from all walks of life will be encouraged and supported as they keep going toward their goals, even though it may initially look like they should just give up. When you plug in with your community, that is one of the greatest supports you can have to keep going despite past traumas and crises. I hope to become a part of your supportive community, too.
Finally, one of the main recommendations that I make for helping yourself continue to grow is to develop a good journaling practice or habit. I talk about that in some of the podcast episodes, too. I even developed journals that you can purchase over at CoachDonnaMarie.com. What questions do you have about journaling, or anything else that I shared?
How to contact me? Use the contact form on the coachdonnamarie.com website or call/text/WhatsApp me at 678–861–8121. My voicemail is secure and private if you want to leave a message there.
Sincerely,
