August 26, 2024 • 48 mins
What if the key to transformative leadership lies in embracing vulnerability and emotional honesty? Join us in a thought-provoking conversation with Lauren Casteel, CEO and President of the Women's Foundation of Colorado, as we uncover the foundation's mission to drive gender, racial and economic equity through various impactful community initiatives. Lauren shares her valuable insights on the significance of hiring talented teams and the essential role of trust and belief in supporting women and girls across Colorado.
Looking at the profound connection between vulnerability and leadership, exploring how to celebrate Black joy, and addressing the often-lonely path of leadership are all to come in this episode of Unstoppable @ Craig. Join us in this enriching episode as we create positive ripples in the world through acknowledgment and appreciation.
For more information, transcriptions and behind-the-scene photos, visit https://craighospital.org/unstoppable
Craig Hospital is a world-renowned rehabilitation hospital that exclusively specializes in neurorehabilitation and research for individuals with spinal cord injury (SCI) and brain injury (BI). Located in Englewood, Colorado, Craig Hospital is a 350,000-square-foot, 93-bed, private, not-for-profit center of excellence providing a comprehensive system of inpatient and outpatient neurorehabilitation. https://craighospital.org
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to Unstoppable at Craig, where we
pull back the curtain on whatmakes healthy workplace cultures
click and what happens whenpeople are empowered to expand
the boundaries of what ispossible.
We'll explore the perspectivesof employees and leaders who
have carte blanche to speaktheir truths, tell their stories
and unlock uncommon ways ofapproaching challenges.
I am Dr Jandell Allen AllenDavis, ceo and President of
(00:26):
Craig Hospital, a world-renownedrehabilitation hospital that
exclusively specializes in theneurorehabilitation and research
of patients with spinal cordand brain injury.
Join me as we learn from peoplewho love what they do and what
happens when fear doesn't stifleinnovation.
There are people in our livesand certainly I'll be selfish
(00:49):
and say people in my life whoI've looked up to for years and
years, who view me as friend andcolleague, and there are those
moments which we should besaying way more before the
eulogy, that we have theopportunity just to say thank
you and that it matters that Iget to stand in your light.
And today, on our podcast, Ihave the opportunity to sit with
(01:14):
and have a wonderfulconversation with a friend and a
mentor and someone who I admirebut who I also see eye to eye
as a peer Lauren Castile, who isthe CEO and president of the
Women's Foundation of Colorado,and we're going to have a grand
hour together.
Who knows where this thing willgo, but we've got a lot to talk
(01:35):
about, through the lens of bothleadership and service is the
way to put it.
And one of the things that wetalked about in prep for this
was this little bit mayberepelling from the notion of
leader or the mythical leader,which neither of us, I will
proudly say, are, but it can bea really uncomfortable title to
(01:58):
hold, whatever titles they puton us, because none of it ends
up on our tombstones.
It's really about the work wedo, and I was thinking about the
work that the Women'sFoundation of Colorado does, and
you're going to tell us alittle bit about that in a
minute, but I think it's one ofthose examples of that Margaret
Mead phrase that never doubtthat a small group of concerned,
(02:19):
caring citizens can change theworld Indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has and thatpart of this journey that we're
on in leadership or in serviceis actually a constellation of
several small things that wemostly have the ability to
influence, not control.
So I want to welcome you,lauren, with that by way of
introduction.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'd love for you just to talk a little bit to begin
with about what is the work ofthe Women's Foundation of
(03:02):
Colorado and why we are able toyou know in the times that might
be you know, the best of timesor the worst of times that we
can be authentic with each otherand transparent, that we can
seek mutual support or guidance,ask questions and get
reflections.
So I am profoundly grateful tohave you in my life.
(03:29):
I also have to say and I knowwe'll talk about this later was
that I become very uncomfortablewith, you know, people talking
about standing in my light orwhatever, because I think
leadership is far morecomplicated than that.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, it's far more complicated.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
So I kind of repel from that a little bit.
But let's talk about theWomen's Foundation of Colorado.
That's easy for me.
I could not think of a way thatI will come to the sort of you
know last stages of my career.
I just turned 70.
I've led three foundations overthe years, been a senior at the
(04:11):
Denver Foundation when you wereon the board which is when we
first met.
And the Women's Foundation ofColorado really is the
culmination of so many of thepeople that I've known, the
values that I believe in.
So we are the only communityfoundation which means we are
(04:32):
community funded in the state ofColorado that is focused on
gender, racial and economicequity.
We believe deeply in our visionthat all women and girls in the
state of Colorado shouldprosper and we do that by, you
know, catalyzing community toadvance and accelerate economic
(04:56):
opportunities for Colorado womenand their families.
I have an incredible team andan incredible board.
One thing that leaders shoulddo is hire people who are
smarter than they are.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Oh man.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I know and you know who fill our gaps in some way or
another and certainly my teamdoes that whether it's in
programs or communications ormarketing or finance, whatever
it may be.
But we are all communitybuilders and we're all
fundraisers.
And in terms of community weuse a variety of strategies.
(05:36):
So there's our grant making.
I'm thrilled to say thatthrough what we call WinCom,
women with income thrive andtherefore the state of Colorado
thrives.
We have granted more than $2.8million in three years to 11
direct service organizations andsix public policy partners.
(05:59):
Our Women and Girls of ColorFund in three years has had more
than 80 grantees and we'vegiven 1.8 million.
Then we hold donor-advisedfunds who also give millions of
dollars through those funds aswell.
But that means that we'reworking on much like Craig
(06:20):
Hospital at that deep,individual level through direct
service, nonprofits and partners.
But we also work on systemschange so that we can affect all
2.8 million women in the stateof Colorado Might be 2.85.
Anyway, we're at least half ofthe population.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Well, you know, what's really cool about that
last statement you made is thatyou recognize, through the work
and the mission of thefoundation, that this is a
grassroots and a grass tops bothstructure that you've set up,
but also approach.
That's going to be essential ifwe're really going to get
sustained change.
It's not just about directservices, which are critical,
(07:01):
just to give people, in thiscase women and girls, the
opportunity to see beyond someof the more basic needs, to
dream and to maybe step intosome of their aspirational hopes
for both their kids and women,but also we got to be doing the
systemic work at the same time,the other thing that I'd like to
highlight trust for us, is akey value, and we have many
(07:24):
values, you know, includinglearning and, similarly, belief
in all women.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And we have a direct cash assistance component of our
WinCom grant-making programwhere, through our nonprofit
partners, where, through ournonprofit partners, they work
with their constituents and helpto identify Oftentimes it might
(07:55):
be a car repair or even, as I'mthinking here, perhaps help
with an adaptation, a woman witha disability that supports her
ability to work, or it could behousing.
We're living in challengingeconomic times.
There's no question for many,many, many people around the
country and around the world.
But we also know that women ofcolor in particular oftentimes
(08:21):
are more vulnerable than othersdue to some of those systemic
and historic barriers andpolicies that have existed.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Just as a reminder for those who are listening, the
real beauty of being able to dothis is that I have the
opportunity to talk to peoplewho, however they choose to wear
the mantle, comfortably oruncomfortably, who are leaders
doing great work in community.
And what's really cool aboutwhat you just said is it's not
(08:51):
done by one.
You've referenced your fabulousteam, who, absolutely we ought
to all be surrounded by, peoplewho not just fill our gaps but
bring skills and things that wehave no ability to even over a
lifetime gain.
That's why we're so muchstronger when there's more of us
together working towards acommon goal.
But the other is you talkedabout other entities, other
organizations, so thatleveraging that's about leverage
(09:14):
, it seems to me leveraging whatthe good you can do in the
world, but also lifting up thoseother organizations to do their
great work, whether it's inhousing.
That's a real important thingto remember.
We don't have to do it all.
Well, I'm going to shift gearsa little bit and I'm going to
out you on something.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Oh no, isn't that against the rules?
No, no, did I give youpermission to do this?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
No, you didn't, but I'm going to take it any other
way.
When we were doing our prep, yousaid that this whole idea of
leader is an uncomfortable thingwe own, and in fact it's funny
because this morning I don'tknow why I was thinking about it
while getting dressed is aboutthese titles, and I find myself
saying, and I do say, I'm notall that, I'm just Jandell, I'm
(10:00):
only as good as the peoplearound me.
I'm only as good as the peoplearound me, and what my job is to
do is to make sure that we arecreating the kind of
environments as servant leadersbecause I think that's I like
serve better than lead anyway asa term that allows them to
bring their best and, inparticular, their discretionary
effort, which we don't havenearly enough of being brought
into the workplace these days,looking at any one of a number
(10:22):
of surveys.
And so one of the things wetalked about in that sort of
icky place of leader I mean, thereality is that none of us are
perfect as humans, let alone inthese roles of servant
leadership, and we talked a lotabout this Renee Brown's seminal
work, where she put this notionof vulnerability on the map in
(10:46):
a big way with her TED Talk froma few years ago and that
vulnerability is actually acourageous act.
I'd love to hear you just sortof riff on vulnerability from
the perspective of your chairand what you do.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I am kind of a tender human which doesn't always
align with the notion ofleadership.
I remember a video a long timeago that I saw where someone at
a concert goes out on the grassand starts dancing and one can
consider them to be the leader.
(11:22):
But that movement didn't reallybegin until a second person
began to dance.
You know, if just one personwere out there dancing on the
grass, they just would have beenone person dancing out there on
the grass.
Good on them, that's great,they're having a great time.
But when the second personjoined, then that's when the
(11:42):
movement actually began.
And that video also captures thevulnerability, I believe, of
stepping out there in some way.
And there's risk.
There's risk that you couldfind yourself out there alone
and there's also the fact thatone could continue to feel alone
(12:05):
.
I'm a crier.
It can make peopleuncomfortable sometimes because
I cry when I feel somethingdeeply, whatever it may be, when
there's some deep internaltruth.
It can be joy, it can besadness, it can be excitement,
it can be, you know, a kernel ofrage, it can be something
(12:30):
that's just a deep truth.
So I'm a crier as a woman.
That can be perceived as afragility of some sort, you know
, and I try to check it, butit's there, it's definitely
there, I think, vulnerability tosay I don't know.
(12:52):
I'm learning you know how,learning to be able to say not
only I messed up, I'm sorry, andI think this is a journey, I
think this is a journey, I thinkthis is a journey, but I messed
up, I'm sorry, and this is why,and this is how that can be
(13:14):
really hard work, to really lookinternally and to ask oneself
what did I miss, what didn't Ihear, what was that?
And that's not just those basicmistakes.
Lord knows.
I have made many a mistake overmy life.
You know, you try something andyou go yep.
(13:34):
Well that didn't work.
And in philanthropy.
That's a part of whatphilanthropy is about is that we
are the nation's innovationtool.
You know we are the nation'srisk taker in some way.
(13:57):
Our direct cash assistance isan innovation and we're looking
to move that into larger policyas well, but stepping out.
So there are many instanceswhere an idea may or may not
have come to fruition, butthere's nothing lost in having
(14:20):
given it a sincere try.
But I think vulnerability istough and it's hard for us to
have.
You know, the word safe spacescomes up a lot these days.
You know, is it safe space?
Is it brave space?
Is it controlled space?
I don't know.
I wrestle with that, with allof those kinds of things.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
I had a male mentor of mine who was a peer when I
was still at Kaiser Permanenteas an executive, who said if you
don't cry once a day,something's wrong.
Something ought to be so coolfrom a joyous or a joyful
perspective, where it brings youto your knees.
It doesn't have to be all Godknows.
It can't be all those all inone day, holy mount.
(15:04):
We'd be a mess by the end ofthe day.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
But if there isn't, something oh, come on, haven't
you had a mess?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
day.
Oh, I've had plenty of messdays, but not where I'm, I hope,
not going from joy to pain andall in between.
But there's something so humanabout that and it can make
people uncomfortable.
But you also mentionedadmitting mistakes but taking
risks and trying things and asyou're talking, I thought don't
(15:28):
you think all that's liberatingfor the teams and the people
around you?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
It is, I think, in many, many ways, and sometimes
it's I don't know where this isgoing.
I think that's the part thatcan be a little anxiety.
It's one thing to come up withideas that are innovative and
you've got a process and aprocedure and you know research
and tried and true techniquesthat support it's another time
(15:54):
to it's another thing to justsay, hmm, I have no idea, but
this feels right.
It feels right.
It's been informed by informaloutlets, intuition perhaps at
(16:16):
some point, but oftentimes bycommunity, by a conversation,
sitting in community and sharinga meal with others and having
them share deep truths andstories.
One of the things that I'velearned over the years is that
(16:38):
our human experiences may or maynot be that different.
My daughter, whom you know,who's a painter and she just did
a painting and it's ofdaffodils, yellow daffodils that
were, you know, coming up inher garden and they're in this
vase and one or two of them aredying.
(16:59):
They have begun to droop,they're turning dark, the others
are standing still and shecalls it.
The title of it is grief dot,spring dot.
And we all have grief and weall have spring.
Some of us have betteropportunities to heal from the
grief and resources and access,because it's about opportunities
(17:22):
and resources and access andcommunities.
Loneliness is something thathas been permeating our
communities, especiallyexacerbated by the pandemic, but
I think also just by technology.
You know the isolation that wefeel.
Maybe in the past two or threemonths, a couple of friends,
(17:47):
both of whom happen to be womenof color one black and one
Latina who are both communityleaders, sat either at my dining
room table where I had orderedfood online.
I don't cook, but I set a nicetable, cried right and cried
(18:07):
from the weight.
They're doing incredible work.
That's one of the reasons whywe have the Women and Girls of
Color Fund.
You use the word liberation.
Liberatory leadership is aboutself-care.
It's about supporting theleader.
It's about helping them findwhatever it may be.
(18:32):
You know.
It can be a small,non-traditional yoga group.
It can be therapy, you know.
I'm a firm believer in that aswell, but we all have different
tools.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
You know the story you just told.
We also need those places wherewe can let it all hang out, the
safe spaces, the sacred spaces,however you want to call it,
where we can cry Because,depending on the mission, the
work that you're undertaking, atany one point in time or in an
epoch of time it gets hard andyou don't have to have certainty
(19:09):
.
In fact, I'm reading this greatbook called Fluke.
The premise is we controlnothing, but we influence
everything.
And it's so hard sometimes, Ithink, to take that step back
and just know I'm going to use aquilting.
There's this beautiful tapestryor this beautiful fiber art
quilt that I may be making andthat one little piece is but a
(19:31):
piece that comes together tocreate this whole thing, and
without it it's less than itwould have been with it as I'm
doing the work and we're part ofsome big tapestry, I believe
that's being woven and it's, touse the phrase, it's perfect
imperfection with and without usbeing part of that, and so
(19:54):
we're just sort of part of a bigold story being told and I
sometimes feel like it's not myjob to see the entire story, but
just a lot of it is justshowing up, I think that's what
was said I think somebody saidthat Show up, pay attention,
tell the truth and don't attachto outcomes and letting go of
outcomes.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I'm really proud I identified outcomes.
You know public policy.
I didn't mention that.
You know.
Thanks to our work in equal payyou know the Equal Pay Act now
the gender wage gap in Coloradois closing faster in the US and
so people have.
(20:33):
You know $2,900 more women dowithin their pockets and no one
has suffered as a result of it.
Right, it's not a win-lose,it's simply attaining that
equality.
But you know the truth.
Sometimes finding the truth canbe hard, so show up, pay
(20:55):
attention.
It's the truth of what you knowin that moment, in the moment,
in the moment, in that moment.
There is no certainty thereisn't, there isn't and in a
vulnerability, you know, thatadds an additional layer of I
don't know, and what will theoutcome be?
(21:17):
Very, very best at thatparticular time, and draw upon,
you know, the passion, thecompassion, the humor, the style
, the generosity, the kindness,the smarts of others.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Oh, I was so glad to hear you say that.
Oh, I am, and the we in it,that we can only, and it's all
those things there's alchemy,and all of that that you just
talked about yeah, and a lot ofit is a fluke, Right.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
How many times have you said I didn't see that
coming?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Right, but I'm glad it did.
Or people will say, oh, thankyou, thank you, it's like I do
anything connected to you.
You all made the magic, yes,the magic, you made the magic,
and that's, I think, one of theit's interesting.
We talked about vulnerabilityand I asked the question isn't
that liberating for those weserve?
Because if you can do it, andin ways that we may not fully
(22:14):
realize, we're giving others thepermission to do it, others the
permission to do it, but alsoin that you're giving yourself
the permission to do it againand again.
I'm going to just divulgesomething around how
vulnerability plays out for me.
All the teams know it, my pitssweat.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Is that why you always wear gorgeous jackets?
I?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
go whoa, what's going on under here?
And I said I was talking to oneof our teams the other day
about it and I said I'm going tolet you all know.
You all think I'm all that orwhatever.
I didn't quite say it that way,but however I said it, it was
trying to respond to thosemoments that do make me look
down, because people give me waymore credit than I deserve
(22:58):
about how a thing comes out.
And I just told him.
I said, oh, oh, my God, my pitssweat when I talk like this or
when I really am going to put itall out there in a way that may
just be even giving people.
Most of it's just heaping praiseon people and gratitude and
being excited about a thing, andwe were on a Zoom and the
number of heads around the roomthat nodded was amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
So all of a sudden, there's nothing unique.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
I guess this is a human thing, and so that's one
of those even signs that I knowI'm in a really important place.
And so with that, I'd love justto talk about how do you learn
and grow?
I mean, you've had, I think,there's these really cool ways
we repot ourselves over our life.
I mean, who would have everseen an OBGYN who wanted to be a
(23:44):
doctor since a little kidsitting here in this amazing
place serving this mission?
So there's this repotting thathappens over a career or a life,
which I think is an importantthing for younger people who
probably show up in your officeand want to know how'd you do it
.
Can you mentor me those sortsof things?
(24:04):
Talk a little bit aboutlearning and growth.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Well, I've never had a five-year plan or a master
plan of any sort.
And my dream as a child?
My father's family.
We used to spend summers inKentucky with my grandparents.
My dream was to be a jockey.
People can't see me now,grandparents.
My dream was to be a jockey.
People can't see me now, butfor obvious reasons, by the time
(24:27):
I was eight or 10, I was alittle too big to be a jockey.
A little tall.
I'm a little tall for that.
But I've had many dreams.
There's a film coming out aboutShirley Chisholm.
At one time, you know, I reallywanted to be in Congress or
something.
And then I had to repot myselfas a result of a series of
(24:49):
traumas.
To be quite honest, a violentassault, three you know
sequenced deaths.
All of that within an 18-monthperiod as I was graduating high
school.
One of those losses was myfather, in a very dramatic and
traumatic situation.
But I went to college and Iwasn't in either the right place
(25:13):
or the right time and Iultimately flunked out second
semester.
My junior year, swarthmore usedvery fancy language and said
that I had been disenrolled.
But if I ever were going towrite a book which I will or not
I would title it Disenrolled.
So I had to repot myself againand in this moment in time where
(25:37):
I felt as though I was sort oflike slinking away, you know,
from a situation that I'd beenunable to handle we didn't talk
about trauma in 1972 or mentalhealth- or depression.
None of those words existed Ihad, you know, trying to find
resources or support.
(25:58):
So I repotted myself inColorado.
So I repotted myself inColorado and, thanks to a fluke,
to use your word I ended up atthe University of Colorado,
denver, which revitalized me.
And I was working at Channel 2at the time and going to school
at night and someone said to meSharon Leventhal said to me who
(26:41):
started Colorado Woman magazine?
You know, they're looking forwomen and quote, unquote
minorities in that time tochange the window dressing on
the sets of television.
I ended up getting a job,thanks to Ben Martinez, in
television and I started at thevery bottom, ended up becoming a
producer and an on-air host forseveral television shows and
then went from there, allcommunity-based, and then I
began to see my thread, mysoul's code.
It was really about community.
(27:03):
I still love horses, I stillwish I had a little time as a
jockey.
But even in wanting Congress,even in wanting going to see
Denver, I was looking forcommunity.
So I did thesecommunity-focused shows and then
I moved into the Pennyadministration.
I repotted myself fromtelevision and found myself in
(27:25):
community as a part of that newstaff.
That breakthrough of the firstmayor of color young mayor with
the big vision.
So those themes and valuesremain true and it was through
there that I met Swanee Hunt andstarted in philanthropy, which,
(27:46):
once again, I knew absolutelynothing about.
So in each of those positions Iwas either a first or certainly
an only as a black woman, butalso had the opportunity to
bring in mentors like RenelleDeMuse and Bertha Lynn when I
was Channel 6.
(28:07):
And Bev Martinez had given methat opportunity and Syl Morgan
Smith.
So you know, there are allthese folks who believed in me
more than I believed in myselfand pushed me forward.
And I would be, you know,dragging my fingernails, you
know, on the floor like tryingnot to go the crazy things we
(28:32):
tried and worked, you know.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
It's just amazing.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
It's crazy Federico and I were talking about I
started the state of the cityand I made it up, and now no one
can, cannot do it, it's a thing.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
It's a thing you know what's fun and you know if
there's, if there's something tolearn in that.
As you were talking, I wasthinking, I had breakfast on
Saturday morning with DanRitchie, who is just one of our
mutual loves and one of the realleaders and pillars of this
community.
And then we took a walk, as isour thing, and looked at birds
and we talked about I mentioned.
(29:06):
You've repotted yourself somany times over a career and in
each one of those repottingswe're growing and we're learning
.
Whether we may be the reluctantleader or maybe the reluctant
new person at PBS, like reallyme, I can't tell you, including
this job, how many times I'vesaid you want me to do that kind
of thing.
You know there may be somereluctance, not because you
(29:27):
don't want to, but what can youbring?
But we're a culmination, Ibelieve, of all those
experiences.
And what's really cool aboutwhat you said is that through it
, the one thread, that strongtie that bound you or binds you
around the importance ofcommunity.
I think it's an important thingfor folks listening to figure
(29:47):
out what is that thing, why areyou here?
And then, through the lens ofwhy are you here, it kind of
doesn't matter.
Now you can't do neurosurgerywithout going to medical school,
or you know obstetrics andgynecology.
There are some facts there'snothing capricious about this,
but I think that sometimespeople think, well, there's this
(30:09):
straight path in life and lifeis, if I think, and I've told
young folks, if you sort ofthink, you're supposed to be
over here and I'm for thelisteners, I'm pointing to the
right and you're so focused onthat star.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Our hands are just moving around all over the place
.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
That's right that star that's over there and
you're so focused on that starthat you miss the opportunities
through just being present andjust showing up and doing your
best to amass the kind of skillsthat one day you look back and
say I don't know why.
I know how to do that, but Ipicked it up somewhere along the
way.
Somewhere along the line.
It's so important just to bepresent and not to be fearful of
(30:48):
those opportunities forrepotting because, exactly as
you said it I've said that somany times there are people who
could see stuff in me that I, tothis day, can't see in myself.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Well, you know, we did talk and I'm going to throw
this back at you a little bitearlier about joy, yeah, and
about, about black joy, whichsome people consider you know
they'll be like, what does thatmean?
and I find myself thinking aboutlift every voice and sing till
earth and heaven ring ring withthe harmony yes and you know,
(31:23):
it's about the grief in thespring and how we as a people
have survived because of ourcapacity to find joy or
gratitude and to celebrate andto create, whether it's, you
know, jumping over a broom ormusic or dance.
(31:48):
Having the both, and of theexcruciating pain and the
ancient tears of slavery has infact, been a huge contributor to
our sitting here, you and me,right now, in this moment.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
It's nothing that I take for granted.
I do believe that phrase tothose who much is given, much is
expected, and I grew up in afamily where, despite not a lot
of money, my grandmother raisedsix kids alone.
What I know of it and why thisis such a beautiful opportunity
to talk about, whatever it is aswomen, as African Americans, as
(32:33):
Americans, as people we bringin service to organizations and
community that we need that kindorganizations and community
that we need that kind.
We need lots of diversity interms of how we show up as
leaders, but I think we're at apoint in our history that, as a
world, as a people, as a speciesthat we need lots of different
(32:56):
ways of approaching problems,and I think there's something
about the ability of us, becauseof our unique history, to live
in many sides of our heads atthe same time that creates this
thing called Black Joy.
And a couple weeks ago I got acard from someone a friend, a
colleague in community and I sawthese words and I sent them to
(33:17):
you, because we talked aboutthis notion of celebrating and
promoting who we are and lovingour history and recognizing that
yeah, you're, we'll call it,you're 70, I'm 66.
We were that first gen who werepioneers in some ways, that
paved ways for younger women,younger African-American,
(33:39):
younger people to see differentpaths that weren't nearly as
hard, but will be hard indifferent ways.
But this piece is justbeautiful and I wanted to read
it.
Remember you were born fromresilience, holding on to a
shared history and carryingsongs sung across generations of
kitchen tables and church pews.
(33:59):
Remember that presence andpower passed down from all those
who have come before us,reminding us there is nothing we
can't be, dream or do together,and I loved that.
That's what those joyousmoments look like for me, and a
lot of them are silent.
I don't run around saying lifefor me ain't been no crystal
(34:22):
stair.
To quote Winston Hughes, youjust do what you do, but I think
it's in those quiet moments andyou know, every now and then
I'll give myself a pat on theback at 2.30 in the morning Well
done.
But the other thing I thinkthat we bring because of this
the unique nature of how we findourselves in this place at this
time is akin to what we get todo here around adaptation and
(34:46):
resilience.
I mean, you know, despite allodds and it's something I think
also about the human spirit ingeneral that we find ways to be
joyful.
I mean, it's hard to watch orsee how Ramadan is being
celebrated today, but it's beingcelebrated because it's part of
who we are as a people is thatwe don't wallow in sorrow, and
(35:12):
we certainly don't here.
You know, you play the card,you're adult and you figure out
how to adapt and how to rise upand how to move on and be
resilient.
Yeah, so I'm going gonna turn itback to you as we sort of wrap
this thing up, because some ofwhat's inherent in what I just
talked about is this notion ofloneliness and isolation.
There are times where I've hadto step in, step up and say
(35:36):
tough things, not just sort ofnot talking about performance
management, although that couldbe it, but just to speak a truth
to power or into power.
And so I think that in thosemoments of loneliness and I'd
love for you to talk about it,and loneliness are just the
quiet times, the isolation thatwe all have we do have the
(35:59):
opportunity to do some realreflecting.
And Maya Angelou said mymission in life is not merely to
survive, but to thrive, and todo so with some passion, some
compassion, some humor and somestyle.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Absolutely.
That's.
My staff hears that all thetime and I think there's another
part that says and kindnessthat comes after that, you know.
I think we also need toacknowledge those unseen leaders
within Craig Hospital, withincommunity, the women and the men
who are doing the work everyday.
(36:37):
You know, they inspire me themost, whether it's feeding their
families, working two jobs,whether it's organizing
caregiving for others.
You know there's so manymyriads of ways that people are
showing up for each other.
But, as you mentioned, ramadan,and in these times, this season
(36:59):
of grief and spring, ofPassover, of Easter, of Ramadan,
when I feel sometimes I don'tknow about you, but exhausted by
the weight of the work thathappens too, exhausted by the
weight of it and questioning amI having the impact?
(37:20):
Internally, externally, all ofthe above, all the people, all
the folks all the things there'sa both and to the loneliness.
I am a flaming extrovert, right,if you're walking around this
hospital.
Right, you know chitty chatting.
I don't know that I listen asmuch as I should because I'm
like ooh, that made me think ofan ooh in engaging with other
(37:44):
people.
But I've learned to seek moreand more and more quiet time and
to be more intentional aboutcommunity and self-healing and
grounding myself and where myenergy goes.
(38:06):
That's been a really importantpart, because sometimes you can
actually be lonely in a crowd,even though everybody's talking
to you all the time.
Yes, you are speaking mylanguage.
That's right, you can be verylonely.
There's the responsibilityitself and those hard times.
(38:30):
You and I both acknowledgedanger is not our sweet spot.
We come from a place ofhumanity and healing and an
(38:51):
exchange of conversation and inthat Maya Angelou kind of way.
And so the loneliness for me.
I do a dance class.
It's just me and my instructor.
I've done this for two and ahalf years.
It's just us on the dance floorof La Rumba.
(39:13):
It is cherished time.
For me it is a very personalconnection.
It doesn't require anyattachment on my part to
technique.
I'm not trying to do a showcaseor compete.
I just want to feel the music.
We talk, we laugh.
(39:33):
In that time it's very simplefor me to get back in my
movement.
Like you and Art, I've alwaysgrown up being sort of the big
awkward kid.
I can play kickball likegangbusters.
I've always grown up, you know,being sort of the big awkward
kid.
Like I can play kickball likegangbusters.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
I could play soccer.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
But any sort of gentle gracefulness has never
been associated with me.
For that hour a week I don'tfeel lonely.
And then there's another smallgroup that I'm a part of of
BIPOC and gender expansive women, a small group that does a
(40:10):
number of healing techniques,including movement and food and
sound and a variety of otherthings.
It's a deeply personal.
Most of them don't even knowwhat I do, right?
I don't wear makeup.
I don't wear makeup.
I don't my clothes.
I could have picked up the samesweats for three nights in a
row and put them on and go there, and that's a huge relief for
(40:36):
me as well it's kind of cool.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
It's like one of the antidotes to the isolation and
loneliness is self nourishment,and self nourishment comes in
the quiet times as well as inthe very much the two of us
extroverted ways that we bothlive our lives and have to, in
some cases, live our lives.
The final thing I want to justpoint out and then we'll wrap is
I love that you said theunspoken leaders and I'd go so
(41:03):
far as to say the unspokenheroes.
I walk around this hospital.
One of the things I do it's acrazy discipline but it is
important to me is I actuallywrite an anniversary note to
every employee sometime duringthe month of their anniversary.
And it's not just we have alittle card we've made and it's
got some words typed, butthere's enough room that I fill
(41:25):
it and some on these littlepostcards.
It gives me the opportunity tosee them, whether I have had,
you know, super personal, upclose connections to them as
individuals.
But I know their work and Ithink about how their work back
to that tapestry that we'rebuilding, know their work and I
(41:45):
think about how their work backto that tapestry that we're
building, this grand tapestrythat's been wrought over
millennia, that I see how theirwork makes such a profound
difference in the lives of thosewe serve and their colleagues
and their team members, andthat's, as far as I'm concerned,
that's real leadership.
It's not what I do, I'moverhead, I'm just overhead.
It is they who are the peoplewho I really sit in awe of,
(42:09):
stand in awe of and, from aplace of real humility, just
love them, and they know I lovethem.
That's what I say and I thinkthat's another thing.
That are those team members whowe.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
That's the meaning of philanthropy is love of
humankind.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Love, I just love them.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
To see that employee to take that time.
I believe and I don't know ifit's true, but that we can begin
to create ripples that cancounter this period of regress
I'm feeling in the world and soI just have a real appreciation
(42:44):
I met with.
There was a tragedy in myfamily not long ago and I met
with someone who has providedsome spiritual guidance to me,
non-denominational and he saidto me that one of the things and
the repotting for me in my nextphase is going to be this sort
(43:07):
of introspective quiet.
So, and to hold my hands open toreceive the gift and stillness,
and he actually quotedsomething that I think is from
the Hebrew tradition thattranslates into stillness,
translates into these holdinghands, loosely so you can
receive the gifts.
(43:28):
So we've held on to a lot ofthings, right.
I don't know about you, butwe've held on to a lot of stuff
and to now consider letting ourhands be loose and receiving the
gifts and then sharing thegifts.
You know that adage about allthings swinging back toward
(43:50):
justice will prove true.
Speaker 1 (43:52):
What a wonderful way to end our time, lauren.
Wow.
I'm struck by a number ofthings that inform great
cultures through the lens ofservant leadership.
The first is the diversity ofit.
There is no one way to do it.
(44:12):
In fact, lately I've beensaying about a few things.
There may not be a ton of rightways to do a thing, but there
are a lot of wrong ways to do it.
But there are some themes inthe right ways that then
manifest and are played out indifferent ways.
What I heard in Lauren'sconversation and took away is
again that concept of love loveof the work, love of community,
(44:32):
love of those we serve and,interestingly, love of self,
which is one of those thingsthat I don't think we pay enough
attention to and reallyunderstand the impacts of not
doing that caretaking in termsof how it then shows up in the
workplace.
The conversation aboutvulnerability I heard once that
(44:53):
you know that's dancing as if noone's looking, which is a real
wonderful skill for us, or traitfor us or characteristic for us
to bring into work, because itenables and allows others to do
the same dang thing, and that'show we grow even stronger
organizations.
I loved the conversation aboutrepotting and hearing a little
(45:14):
bit about her journey, and itgoes to show and reinforces that
there isn't a correct and onlyone path to wherever you're
going, and it could be a paththat ascends, it could be a path
that descends, it could be apath that is actually fairly
straight or flat, I should saybut nonetheless that each and
(45:35):
every one of those experiences,you have the opportunity to grow
new skills that allow you toland where you are at a given
time.
And yet there is this need tofigure out and a desire and, I
think, important requirement tofigure out what really drives
you, and for her, it was thatlove of community that has been
(45:57):
the thread and the tie thatbound, having the opportunity to
talk about the uniqueexperience of being Black
African American, however youchoose to define it same time
and experience joy and pain and,through adversity, to adapt and
(46:27):
to manifest resilience likenothing you've ever seen.
And then, finally, the isolationand loneliness of leadership,
that there's a way that that canbe interpreted as sad or hard,
but that it's also essentialthat we do have those quiet
moments, and I do think that'ssomething that happens as we get
into I'm certainly feeling itin some ways the later years of
(46:51):
our opportunities to serve isthat it's real important to have
that quiet, reflective time andin those moments to
self-nourish in whatever waythat needs to come up, and it's
also should be something that isa wholesome discipline that, no
matter your age or stage, thatyou make sure you got something
that you can call your own,whether it's dancing or
(47:11):
gardening or art or music orreading but that that is for you
and you alone, because you comeback to the work refreshed and
renewed.
I loved this notion ofphilanthropy as an innovation
tool and that they can takegreat risks and, in that, are
coming up with all sorts ofinnovative ways to approach some
(47:33):
tough, tough problems thatwe're all dealing with.
So, in any case, it was anotherreally wonderful opportunity to
sit down and have a greatconversation with one of our
community's amazing people shedoesn't want me to call her a
leader, so I won't Amazingpeople who are doing good work.
I hope you took lots of notesbecause I sure felt like boy was
(47:55):
I immersed in through story,lots of themes and opportunities
to learn and grow, and so, tothe extent that this is helpful
to you, I thank you for joiningus today.
I look forward to the nextopportunity for us to visit over
this unstoppable at Craig.
Thanks a lot, until next time.
Welcome to Unstoppable at Craig, where we
pull back the curtain on whatmakes healthy workplace cultures
click and what happens whenpeople are empowered to expand
the boundaries of what ispossible.
We'll explore the perspectivesof employees and leaders who
have carte blanche to speaktheir truths, tell their stories
and unlock uncommon ways ofapproaching challenges.
I am Dr Jandell Allen AllenDavis, ceo and President of
(00:26):
Craig Hospital, a world-renownedrehabilitation hospital that
exclusively specializes in theneurorehabilitation and research
of patients with spinal cordand brain injury.
Join me as we learn from peoplewho love what they do and what
happens when fear doesn't stifleinnovation.
There are people in our livesand certainly I'll be selfish
(00:49):
and say people in my life whoI've looked up to for years and
years, who view me as friend andcolleague, and there are those
moments which we should besaying way more before the
eulogy, that we have theopportunity just to say thank
you and that it matters that Iget to stand in your light.
And today, on our podcast, Ihave the opportunity to sit with
(01:14):
and have a wonderfulconversation with a friend and a
mentor and someone who I admirebut who I also see eye to eye
as a peer Lauren Castile, who isthe CEO and president of the
Women's Foundation of Colorado,and we're going to have a grand
hour together.
Who knows where this thing willgo, but we've got a lot to talk
(01:35):
about, through the lens of bothleadership and service is the
way to put it.
And one of the things that wetalked about in prep for this
was this little bit mayberepelling from the notion of
leader or the mythical leader,which neither of us, I will
proudly say, are, but it can bea really uncomfortable title to
(01:58):
hold, whatever titles they puton us, because none of it ends
up on our tombstones.
It's really about the work wedo, and I was thinking about the
work that the Women'sFoundation of Colorado does, and
you're going to tell us alittle bit about that in a
minute, but I think it's one ofthose examples of that Margaret
Mead phrase that never doubtthat a small group of concerned,
(02:19):
caring citizens can change theworld Indeed, it's the only
thing that ever has and thatpart of this journey that we're
on in leadership or in serviceis actually a constellation of
several small things that wemostly have the ability to
influence, not control.
So I want to welcome you,lauren, with that by way of
introduction.
Speaker 2 (02:40):
I'd love for you just to talk a little bit to begin
with about what is the work ofthe Women's Foundation of
(03:02):
Colorado and why we are able toyou know in the times that might
be you know, the best of timesor the worst of times that we
can be authentic with each otherand transparent, that we can
seek mutual support or guidance,ask questions and get
reflections.
So I am profoundly grateful tohave you in my life.
(03:29):
I also have to say and I knowwe'll talk about this later was
that I become very uncomfortablewith, you know, people talking
about standing in my light orwhatever, because I think
leadership is far morecomplicated than that.
Speaker 1 (03:46):
Yeah, it's far more complicated.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
So I kind of repel from that a little bit.
But let's talk about theWomen's Foundation of Colorado.
That's easy for me.
I could not think of a way thatI will come to the sort of you
know last stages of my career.
I just turned 70.
I've led three foundations overthe years, been a senior at the
(04:11):
Denver Foundation when you wereon the board which is when we
first met.
And the Women's Foundation ofColorado really is the
culmination of so many of thepeople that I've known, the
values that I believe in.
So we are the only communityfoundation which means we are
(04:32):
community funded in the state ofColorado that is focused on
gender, racial and economicequity.
We believe deeply in our visionthat all women and girls in the
state of Colorado shouldprosper and we do that by, you
know, catalyzing community toadvance and accelerate economic
(04:56):
opportunities for Colorado womenand their families.
I have an incredible team andan incredible board.
One thing that leaders shoulddo is hire people who are
smarter than they are.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
Oh man.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
I know and you know who fill our gaps in some way or
another and certainly my teamdoes that whether it's in
programs or communications ormarketing or finance, whatever
it may be.
But we are all communitybuilders and we're all
fundraisers.
And in terms of community weuse a variety of strategies.
(05:36):
So there's our grant making.
I'm thrilled to say thatthrough what we call WinCom,
women with income thrive andtherefore the state of Colorado
thrives.
We have granted more than $2.8million in three years to 11
direct service organizations andsix public policy partners.
(05:59):
Our Women and Girls of ColorFund in three years has had more
than 80 grantees and we'vegiven 1.8 million.
Then we hold donor-advisedfunds who also give millions of
dollars through those funds aswell.
But that means that we'reworking on much like Craig
(06:20):
Hospital at that deep,individual level through direct
service, nonprofits and partners.
But we also work on systemschange so that we can affect all
2.8 million women in the stateof Colorado Might be 2.85.
Anyway, we're at least half ofthe population.
Speaker 1 (06:41):
Well, you know, what's really cool about that
last statement you made is thatyou recognize, through the work
and the mission of thefoundation, that this is a
grassroots and a grass tops bothstructure that you've set up,
but also approach.
That's going to be essential ifwe're really going to get
sustained change.
It's not just about directservices, which are critical,
(07:01):
just to give people, in thiscase women and girls, the
opportunity to see beyond someof the more basic needs, to
dream and to maybe step intosome of their aspirational hopes
for both their kids and women,but also we got to be doing the
systemic work at the same time,the other thing that I'd like to
highlight trust for us, is akey value, and we have many
(07:24):
values, you know, includinglearning and, similarly, belief
in all women.
Speaker 2 (07:32):
And we have a direct cash assistance component of our
WinCom grant-making programwhere, through our nonprofit
partners, where, through ournonprofit partners, they work
with their constituents and helpto identify Oftentimes it might
(07:55):
be a car repair or even, as I'mthinking here, perhaps help
with an adaptation, a woman witha disability that supports her
ability to work, or it could behousing.
We're living in challengingeconomic times.
There's no question for many,many, many people around the
country and around the world.
But we also know that women ofcolor in particular oftentimes
(08:21):
are more vulnerable than othersdue to some of those systemic
and historic barriers andpolicies that have existed.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Just as a reminder for those who are listening, the
real beauty of being able to dothis is that I have the
opportunity to talk to peoplewho, however they choose to wear
the mantle, comfortably oruncomfortably, who are leaders
doing great work in community.
And what's really cool aboutwhat you just said is it's not
(08:51):
done by one.
You've referenced your fabulousteam, who, absolutely we ought
to all be surrounded by, peoplewho not just fill our gaps but
bring skills and things that wehave no ability to even over a
lifetime gain.
That's why we're so muchstronger when there's more of us
together working towards acommon goal.
But the other is you talkedabout other entities, other
organizations, so thatleveraging that's about leverage
(09:14):
, it seems to me leveraging whatthe good you can do in the
world, but also lifting up thoseother organizations to do their
great work, whether it's inhousing.
That's a real important thingto remember.
We don't have to do it all.
Well, I'm going to shift gearsa little bit and I'm going to
out you on something.
Speaker 2 (09:32):
Oh no, isn't that against the rules?
No, no, did I give youpermission to do this?
Speaker 1 (09:38):
No, you didn't, but I'm going to take it any other
way.
When we were doing our prep, yousaid that this whole idea of
leader is an uncomfortable thingwe own, and in fact it's funny
because this morning I don'tknow why I was thinking about it
while getting dressed is aboutthese titles, and I find myself
saying, and I do say, I'm notall that, I'm just Jandell, I'm
(10:00):
only as good as the peoplearound me.
I'm only as good as the peoplearound me, and what my job is to
do is to make sure that we arecreating the kind of
environments as servant leadersbecause I think that's I like
serve better than lead anyway asa term that allows them to
bring their best and, inparticular, their discretionary
effort, which we don't havenearly enough of being brought
into the workplace these days,looking at any one of a number
(10:22):
of surveys.
And so one of the things wetalked about in that sort of
icky place of leader I mean, thereality is that none of us are
perfect as humans, let alone inthese roles of servant
leadership, and we talked a lotabout this Renee Brown's seminal
work, where she put this notionof vulnerability on the map in
(10:46):
a big way with her TED Talk froma few years ago and that
vulnerability is actually acourageous act.
I'd love to hear you just sortof riff on vulnerability from
the perspective of your chairand what you do.
Speaker 2 (11:01):
I am kind of a tender human which doesn't always
align with the notion ofleadership.
I remember a video a long timeago that I saw where someone at
a concert goes out on the grassand starts dancing and one can
consider them to be the leader.
(11:22):
But that movement didn't reallybegin until a second person
began to dance.
You know, if just one personwere out there dancing on the
grass, they just would have beenone person dancing out there on
the grass.
Good on them, that's great,they're having a great time.
But when the second personjoined, then that's when the
(11:42):
movement actually began.
And that video also captures thevulnerability, I believe, of
stepping out there in some way.
And there's risk.
There's risk that you couldfind yourself out there alone
and there's also the fact thatone could continue to feel alone
(12:05):
.
I'm a crier.
It can make peopleuncomfortable sometimes because
I cry when I feel somethingdeeply, whatever it may be, when
there's some deep internaltruth.
It can be joy, it can besadness, it can be excitement,
it can be, you know, a kernel ofrage, it can be something
(12:30):
that's just a deep truth.
So I'm a crier as a woman.
That can be perceived as afragility of some sort, you know
, and I try to check it, butit's there, it's definitely
there, I think, vulnerability tosay I don't know.
(12:52):
I'm learning you know how,learning to be able to say not
only I messed up, I'm sorry, andI think this is a journey, I
think this is a journey, I thinkthis is a journey, but I messed
up, I'm sorry, and this is why,and this is how that can be
(13:14):
really hard work, to really lookinternally and to ask oneself
what did I miss, what didn't Ihear, what was that?
And that's not just those basicmistakes.
Lord knows.
I have made many a mistake overmy life.
You know, you try something andyou go yep.
(13:34):
Well that didn't work.
And in philanthropy.
That's a part of whatphilanthropy is about is that we
are the nation's innovationtool.
You know we are the nation'srisk taker in some way.
(13:57):
Our direct cash assistance isan innovation and we're looking
to move that into larger policyas well, but stepping out.
So there are many instanceswhere an idea may or may not
have come to fruition, butthere's nothing lost in having
(14:20):
given it a sincere try.
But I think vulnerability istough and it's hard for us to
have.
You know, the word safe spacescomes up a lot these days.
You know, is it safe space?
Is it brave space?
Is it controlled space?
I don't know.
I wrestle with that, with allof those kinds of things.
Speaker 1 (14:44):
I had a male mentor of mine who was a peer when I
was still at Kaiser Permanenteas an executive, who said if you
don't cry once a day,something's wrong.
Something ought to be so coolfrom a joyous or a joyful
perspective, where it brings youto your knees.
It doesn't have to be all Godknows.
It can't be all those all inone day, holy mount.
(15:04):
We'd be a mess by the end ofthe day.
Speaker 2 (15:06):
But if there isn't, something oh, come on, haven't
you had a mess?
Speaker 1 (15:08):
day.
Oh, I've had plenty of messdays, but not where I'm, I hope,
not going from joy to pain andall in between.
But there's something so humanabout that and it can make
people uncomfortable.
But you also mentionedadmitting mistakes but taking
risks and trying things and asyou're talking, I thought don't
(15:28):
you think all that's liberatingfor the teams and the people
around you?
Speaker 2 (15:31):
It is, I think, in many, many ways, and sometimes
it's I don't know where this isgoing.
I think that's the part thatcan be a little anxiety.
It's one thing to come up withideas that are innovative and
you've got a process and aprocedure and you know research
and tried and true techniquesthat support it's another time
(15:54):
to it's another thing to justsay, hmm, I have no idea, but
this feels right.
It feels right.
It's been informed by informaloutlets, intuition perhaps at
(16:16):
some point, but oftentimes bycommunity, by a conversation,
sitting in community and sharinga meal with others and having
them share deep truths andstories.
One of the things that I'velearned over the years is that
(16:38):
our human experiences may or maynot be that different.
My daughter, whom you know,who's a painter and she just did
a painting and it's ofdaffodils, yellow daffodils that
were, you know, coming up inher garden and they're in this
vase and one or two of them aredying.
(16:59):
They have begun to droop,they're turning dark, the others
are standing still and shecalls it.
The title of it is grief dot,spring dot.
And we all have grief and weall have spring.
Some of us have betteropportunities to heal from the
grief and resources and access,because it's about opportunities
(17:22):
and resources and access andcommunities.
Loneliness is something thathas been permeating our
communities, especiallyexacerbated by the pandemic, but
I think also just by technology.
You know the isolation that wefeel.
Maybe in the past two or threemonths, a couple of friends,
(17:47):
both of whom happen to be womenof color one black and one
Latina who are both communityleaders, sat either at my dining
room table where I had orderedfood online.
I don't cook, but I set a nicetable, cried right and cried
(18:07):
from the weight.
They're doing incredible work.
That's one of the reasons whywe have the Women and Girls of
Color Fund.
You use the word liberation.
Liberatory leadership is aboutself-care.
It's about supporting theleader.
It's about helping them findwhatever it may be.
(18:32):
You know.
It can be a small,non-traditional yoga group.
It can be therapy, you know.
I'm a firm believer in that aswell, but we all have different
tools.
Speaker 1 (18:47):
You know the story you just told.
We also need those places wherewe can let it all hang out, the
safe spaces, the sacred spaces,however you want to call it,
where we can cry Because,depending on the mission, the
work that you're undertaking, atany one point in time or in an
epoch of time it gets hard andyou don't have to have certainty
(19:09):
.
In fact, I'm reading this greatbook called Fluke.
The premise is we controlnothing, but we influence
everything.
And it's so hard sometimes, Ithink, to take that step back
and just know I'm going to use aquilting.
There's this beautiful tapestryor this beautiful fiber art
quilt that I may be making andthat one little piece is but a
(19:31):
piece that comes together tocreate this whole thing, and
without it it's less than itwould have been with it as I'm
doing the work and we're part ofsome big tapestry, I believe
that's being woven and it's, touse the phrase, it's perfect
imperfection with and without usbeing part of that, and so
(19:54):
we're just sort of part of a bigold story being told and I
sometimes feel like it's not myjob to see the entire story, but
just a lot of it is justshowing up, I think that's what
was said I think somebody saidthat Show up, pay attention,
tell the truth and don't attachto outcomes and letting go of
outcomes.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I'm really proud I identified outcomes.
You know public policy.
I didn't mention that.
You know.
Thanks to our work in equal payyou know the Equal Pay Act now
the gender wage gap in Coloradois closing faster in the US and
so people have.
(20:33):
You know $2,900 more women dowithin their pockets and no one
has suffered as a result of it.
Right, it's not a win-lose,it's simply attaining that
equality.
But you know the truth.
Sometimes finding the truth canbe hard, so show up, pay
(20:55):
attention.
It's the truth of what you knowin that moment, in the moment,
in the moment, in that moment.
There is no certainty thereisn't, there isn't and in a
vulnerability, you know, thatadds an additional layer of I
don't know, and what will theoutcome be?
(21:17):
Very, very best at thatparticular time, and draw upon,
you know, the passion, thecompassion, the humor, the style
, the generosity, the kindness,the smarts of others.
Speaker 1 (21:34):
Oh, I was so glad to hear you say that.
Oh, I am, and the we in it,that we can only, and it's all
those things there's alchemy,and all of that that you just
talked about yeah, and a lot ofit is a fluke, Right.
Speaker 2 (21:49):
How many times have you said I didn't see that
coming?
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (21:51):
Right, but I'm glad it did.
Or people will say, oh, thankyou, thank you, it's like I do
anything connected to you.
You all made the magic, yes,the magic, you made the magic,
and that's, I think, one of theit's interesting.
We talked about vulnerabilityand I asked the question isn't
that liberating for those weserve?
Because if you can do it, andin ways that we may not fully
(22:14):
realize, we're giving others thepermission to do it, others the
permission to do it, but alsoin that you're giving yourself
the permission to do it againand again.
I'm going to just divulgesomething around how
vulnerability plays out for me.
All the teams know it, my pitssweat.
Speaker 2 (22:34):
Is that why you always wear gorgeous jackets?
I?
Speaker 1 (22:37):
go whoa, what's going on under here?
And I said I was talking to oneof our teams the other day
about it and I said I'm going tolet you all know.
You all think I'm all that orwhatever.
I didn't quite say it that way,but however I said it, it was
trying to respond to thosemoments that do make me look
down, because people give me waymore credit than I deserve
(22:58):
about how a thing comes out.
And I just told him.
I said, oh, oh, my God, my pitssweat when I talk like this or
when I really am going to put itall out there in a way that may
just be even giving people.
Most of it's just heaping praiseon people and gratitude and
being excited about a thing, andwe were on a Zoom and the
number of heads around the roomthat nodded was amazing.
Speaker 2 (23:20):
So all of a sudden, there's nothing unique.
Speaker 1 (23:22):
I guess this is a human thing, and so that's one
of those even signs that I knowI'm in a really important place.
And so with that, I'd love justto talk about how do you learn
and grow?
I mean, you've had, I think,there's these really cool ways
we repot ourselves over our life.
I mean, who would have everseen an OBGYN who wanted to be a
(23:44):
doctor since a little kidsitting here in this amazing
place serving this mission?
So there's this repotting thathappens over a career or a life,
which I think is an importantthing for younger people who
probably show up in your officeand want to know how'd you do it
.
Can you mentor me those sortsof things?
(24:04):
Talk a little bit aboutlearning and growth.
Speaker 2 (24:07):
Well, I've never had a five-year plan or a master
plan of any sort.
And my dream as a child?
My father's family.
We used to spend summers inKentucky with my grandparents.
My dream was to be a jockey.
People can't see me now,grandparents.
My dream was to be a jockey.
People can't see me now, butfor obvious reasons, by the time
(24:27):
I was eight or 10, I was alittle too big to be a jockey.
A little tall.
I'm a little tall for that.
But I've had many dreams.
There's a film coming out aboutShirley Chisholm.
At one time, you know, I reallywanted to be in Congress or
something.
And then I had to repot myselfas a result of a series of
(24:49):
traumas.
To be quite honest, a violentassault, three you know
sequenced deaths.
All of that within an 18-monthperiod as I was graduating high
school.
One of those losses was myfather, in a very dramatic and
traumatic situation.
But I went to college and Iwasn't in either the right place
(25:13):
or the right time and Iultimately flunked out second
semester.
My junior year, swarthmore usedvery fancy language and said
that I had been disenrolled.
But if I ever were going towrite a book which I will or not
I would title it Disenrolled.
So I had to repot myself againand in this moment in time where
(25:37):
I felt as though I was sort oflike slinking away, you know,
from a situation that I'd beenunable to handle we didn't talk
about trauma in 1972 or mentalhealth- or depression.
None of those words existed Ihad, you know, trying to find
resources or support.
(25:58):
So I repotted myself inColorado.
So I repotted myself inColorado and, thanks to a fluke,
to use your word I ended up atthe University of Colorado,
denver, which revitalized me.
And I was working at Channel 2at the time and going to school
at night and someone said to meSharon Leventhal said to me who
(26:41):
started Colorado Woman magazine?
You know, they're looking forwomen and quote, unquote
minorities in that time tochange the window dressing on
the sets of television.
I ended up getting a job,thanks to Ben Martinez, in
television and I started at thevery bottom, ended up becoming a
producer and an on-air host forseveral television shows and
then went from there, allcommunity-based, and then I
began to see my thread, mysoul's code.
It was really about community.
(27:03):
I still love horses, I stillwish I had a little time as a
jockey.
But even in wanting Congress,even in wanting going to see
Denver, I was looking forcommunity.
So I did thesecommunity-focused shows and then
I moved into the Pennyadministration.
I repotted myself fromtelevision and found myself in
(27:25):
community as a part of that newstaff.
That breakthrough of the firstmayor of color young mayor with
the big vision.
So those themes and valuesremain true and it was through
there that I met Swanee Hunt andstarted in philanthropy, which,
(27:46):
once again, I knew absolutelynothing about.
So in each of those positions Iwas either a first or certainly
an only as a black woman, butalso had the opportunity to
bring in mentors like RenelleDeMuse and Bertha Lynn when I
was Channel 6.
(28:07):
And Bev Martinez had given methat opportunity and Syl Morgan
Smith.
So you know, there are allthese folks who believed in me
more than I believed in myselfand pushed me forward.
And I would be, you know,dragging my fingernails, you
know, on the floor like tryingnot to go the crazy things we
(28:32):
tried and worked, you know.
Speaker 1 (28:34):
It's just amazing.
Speaker 2 (28:35):
It's crazy Federico and I were talking about I
started the state of the cityand I made it up, and now no one
can, cannot do it, it's a thing.
Speaker 1 (28:45):
It's a thing you know what's fun and you know if
there's, if there's something tolearn in that.
As you were talking, I wasthinking, I had breakfast on
Saturday morning with DanRitchie, who is just one of our
mutual loves and one of the realleaders and pillars of this
community.
And then we took a walk, as isour thing, and looked at birds
and we talked about I mentioned.
(29:06):
You've repotted yourself somany times over a career and in
each one of those repottingswe're growing and we're learning
.
Whether we may be the reluctantleader or maybe the reluctant
new person at PBS, like reallyme, I can't tell you, including
this job, how many times I'vesaid you want me to do that kind
of thing.
You know there may be somereluctance, not because you
(29:27):
don't want to, but what can youbring?
But we're a culmination, Ibelieve, of all those
experiences.
And what's really cool aboutwhat you said is that through it
, the one thread, that strongtie that bound you or binds you
around the importance ofcommunity.
I think it's an important thingfor folks listening to figure
(29:47):
out what is that thing, why areyou here?
And then, through the lens ofwhy are you here, it kind of
doesn't matter.
Now you can't do neurosurgerywithout going to medical school,
or you know obstetrics andgynecology.
There are some facts there'snothing capricious about this,
but I think that sometimespeople think, well, there's this
(30:09):
straight path in life and lifeis, if I think, and I've told
young folks, if you sort ofthink, you're supposed to be
over here and I'm for thelisteners, I'm pointing to the
right and you're so focused onthat star.
Speaker 2 (30:23):
Our hands are just moving around all over the place
.
Speaker 1 (30:25):
That's right that star that's over there and
you're so focused on that starthat you miss the opportunities
through just being present andjust showing up and doing your
best to amass the kind of skillsthat one day you look back and
say I don't know why.
I know how to do that, but Ipicked it up somewhere along the
way.
Somewhere along the line.
It's so important just to bepresent and not to be fearful of
(30:48):
those opportunities forrepotting because, exactly as
you said it I've said that somany times there are people who
could see stuff in me that I, tothis day, can't see in myself.
Speaker 2 (30:57):
Well, you know, we did talk and I'm going to throw
this back at you a little bitearlier about joy, yeah, and
about, about black joy, whichsome people consider you know
they'll be like, what does thatmean?
and I find myself thinking aboutlift every voice and sing till
earth and heaven ring ring withthe harmony yes and you know,
(31:23):
it's about the grief in thespring and how we as a people
have survived because of ourcapacity to find joy or
gratitude and to celebrate andto create, whether it's, you
know, jumping over a broom ormusic or dance.
(31:48):
Having the both, and of theexcruciating pain and the
ancient tears of slavery has infact, been a huge contributor to
our sitting here, you and me,right now, in this moment.
Speaker 1 (32:08):
It's nothing that I take for granted.
I do believe that phrase tothose who much is given, much is
expected, and I grew up in afamily where, despite not a lot
of money, my grandmother raisedsix kids alone.
What I know of it and why thisis such a beautiful opportunity
to talk about, whatever it is aswomen, as African Americans, as
(32:33):
Americans, as people we bringin service to organizations and
community that we need that kindorganizations and community
that we need that kind.
We need lots of diversity interms of how we show up as
leaders, but I think we're at apoint in our history that, as a
world, as a people, as a speciesthat we need lots of different
(32:56):
ways of approaching problems,and I think there's something
about the ability of us, becauseof our unique history, to live
in many sides of our heads atthe same time that creates this
thing called Black Joy.
And a couple weeks ago I got acard from someone a friend, a
colleague in community and I sawthese words and I sent them to
(33:17):
you, because we talked aboutthis notion of celebrating and
promoting who we are and lovingour history and recognizing that
yeah, you're, we'll call it,you're 70, I'm 66.
We were that first gen who werepioneers in some ways, that
paved ways for younger women,younger African-American,
(33:39):
younger people to see differentpaths that weren't nearly as
hard, but will be hard indifferent ways.
But this piece is justbeautiful and I wanted to read
it.
Remember you were born fromresilience, holding on to a
shared history and carryingsongs sung across generations of
kitchen tables and church pews.
(33:59):
Remember that presence andpower passed down from all those
who have come before us,reminding us there is nothing we
can't be, dream or do together,and I loved that.
That's what those joyousmoments look like for me, and a
lot of them are silent.
I don't run around saying lifefor me ain't been no crystal
(34:22):
stair.
To quote Winston Hughes, youjust do what you do, but I think
it's in those quiet moments andyou know, every now and then
I'll give myself a pat on theback at 2.30 in the morning Well
done.
But the other thing I thinkthat we bring because of this
the unique nature of how we findourselves in this place at this
time is akin to what we get todo here around adaptation and
(34:46):
resilience.
I mean, you know, despite allodds and it's something I think
also about the human spirit ingeneral that we find ways to be
joyful.
I mean, it's hard to watch orsee how Ramadan is being
celebrated today, but it's beingcelebrated because it's part of
who we are as a people is thatwe don't wallow in sorrow, and
(35:12):
we certainly don't here.
You know, you play the card,you're adult and you figure out
how to adapt and how to rise upand how to move on and be
resilient.
Yeah, so I'm going gonna turn itback to you as we sort of wrap
this thing up, because some ofwhat's inherent in what I just
talked about is this notion ofloneliness and isolation.
There are times where I've hadto step in, step up and say
(35:36):
tough things, not just sort ofnot talking about performance
management, although that couldbe it, but just to speak a truth
to power or into power.
And so I think that in thosemoments of loneliness and I'd
love for you to talk about it,and loneliness are just the
quiet times, the isolation thatwe all have we do have the
(35:59):
opportunity to do some realreflecting.
And Maya Angelou said mymission in life is not merely to
survive, but to thrive, and todo so with some passion, some
compassion, some humor and somestyle.
Speaker 2 (36:15):
Absolutely.
That's.
My staff hears that all thetime and I think there's another
part that says and kindnessthat comes after that, you know.
I think we also need toacknowledge those unseen leaders
within Craig Hospital, withincommunity, the women and the men
who are doing the work everyday.
(36:37):
You know, they inspire me themost, whether it's feeding their
families, working two jobs,whether it's organizing
caregiving for others.
You know there's so manymyriads of ways that people are
showing up for each other.
But, as you mentioned, ramadan,and in these times, this season
(36:59):
of grief and spring, ofPassover, of Easter, of Ramadan,
when I feel sometimes I don'tknow about you, but exhausted by
the weight of the work thathappens too, exhausted by the
weight of it and questioning amI having the impact?
(37:20):
Internally, externally, all ofthe above, all the people, all
the folks all the things there'sa both and to the loneliness.
I am a flaming extrovert, right,if you're walking around this
hospital.
Right, you know chitty chatting.
I don't know that I listen asmuch as I should because I'm
like ooh, that made me think ofan ooh in engaging with other
(37:44):
people.
But I've learned to seek moreand more and more quiet time and
to be more intentional aboutcommunity and self-healing and
grounding myself and where myenergy goes.
(38:06):
That's been a really importantpart, because sometimes you can
actually be lonely in a crowd,even though everybody's talking
to you all the time.
Yes, you are speaking mylanguage.
That's right, you can be verylonely.
There's the responsibilityitself and those hard times.
(38:30):
You and I both acknowledgedanger is not our sweet spot.
We come from a place ofhumanity and healing and an
(38:51):
exchange of conversation and inthat Maya Angelou kind of way.
And so the loneliness for me.
I do a dance class.
It's just me and my instructor.
I've done this for two and ahalf years.
It's just us on the dance floorof La Rumba.
(39:13):
It is cherished time.
For me it is a very personalconnection.
It doesn't require anyattachment on my part to
technique.
I'm not trying to do a showcaseor compete.
I just want to feel the music.
We talk, we laugh.
(39:33):
In that time it's very simplefor me to get back in my
movement.
Like you and Art, I've alwaysgrown up being sort of the big
awkward kid.
I can play kickball likegangbusters.
I've always grown up, you know,being sort of the big awkward
kid.
Like I can play kickball likegangbusters.
Speaker 1 (39:47):
I could play soccer.
Speaker 2 (39:49):
But any sort of gentle gracefulness has never
been associated with me.
For that hour a week I don'tfeel lonely.
And then there's another smallgroup that I'm a part of of
BIPOC and gender expansive women, a small group that does a
(40:10):
number of healing techniques,including movement and food and
sound and a variety of otherthings.
It's a deeply personal.
Most of them don't even knowwhat I do, right?
I don't wear makeup.
I don't wear makeup.
I don't my clothes.
I could have picked up the samesweats for three nights in a
row and put them on and go there, and that's a huge relief for
(40:36):
me as well it's kind of cool.
Speaker 1 (40:38):
It's like one of the antidotes to the isolation and
loneliness is self nourishment,and self nourishment comes in
the quiet times as well as inthe very much the two of us
extroverted ways that we bothlive our lives and have to, in
some cases, live our lives.
The final thing I want to justpoint out and then we'll wrap is
I love that you said theunspoken leaders and I'd go so
(41:03):
far as to say the unspokenheroes.
I walk around this hospital.
One of the things I do it's acrazy discipline but it is
important to me is I actuallywrite an anniversary note to
every employee sometime duringthe month of their anniversary.
And it's not just we have alittle card we've made and it's
got some words typed, butthere's enough room that I fill
(41:25):
it and some on these littlepostcards.
It gives me the opportunity tosee them, whether I have had,
you know, super personal, upclose connections to them as
individuals.
But I know their work and Ithink about how their work back
to that tapestry that we'rebuilding, know their work and I
(41:45):
think about how their work backto that tapestry that we're
building, this grand tapestrythat's been wrought over
millennia, that I see how theirwork makes such a profound
difference in the lives of thosewe serve and their colleagues
and their team members, andthat's, as far as I'm concerned,
that's real leadership.
It's not what I do, I'moverhead, I'm just overhead.
It is they who are the peoplewho I really sit in awe of,
(42:09):
stand in awe of and, from aplace of real humility, just
love them, and they know I lovethem.
That's what I say and I thinkthat's another thing.
That are those team members whowe.
Speaker 2 (42:19):
That's the meaning of philanthropy is love of
humankind.
Speaker 1 (42:22):
Love, I just love them.
Speaker 2 (42:24):
To see that employee to take that time.
I believe and I don't know ifit's true, but that we can begin
to create ripples that cancounter this period of regress
I'm feeling in the world and soI just have a real appreciation
(42:44):
I met with.
There was a tragedy in myfamily not long ago and I met
with someone who has providedsome spiritual guidance to me,
non-denominational and he saidto me that one of the things and
the repotting for me in my nextphase is going to be this sort
(43:07):
of introspective quiet.
So, and to hold my hands open toreceive the gift and stillness,
and he actually quotedsomething that I think is from
the Hebrew tradition thattranslates into stillness,
translates into these holdinghands, loosely so you can
receive the gifts.
(43:28):
So we've held on to a lot ofthings, right.
I don't know about you, butwe've held on to a lot of stuff
and to now consider letting ourhands be loose and receiving the
gifts and then sharing thegifts.
You know that adage about allthings swinging back toward
(43:50):
justice will prove true.
Speaker 1 (43:52):
What a wonderful way to end our time, lauren.
Wow.
I'm struck by a number ofthings that inform great
cultures through the lens ofservant leadership.
The first is the diversity ofit.
There is no one way to do it.
(44:12):
In fact, lately I've beensaying about a few things.
There may not be a ton of rightways to do a thing, but there
are a lot of wrong ways to do it.
But there are some themes inthe right ways that then
manifest and are played out indifferent ways.
What I heard in Lauren'sconversation and took away is
again that concept of love loveof the work, love of community,
(44:32):
love of those we serve and,interestingly, love of self,
which is one of those thingsthat I don't think we pay enough
attention to and reallyunderstand the impacts of not
doing that caretaking in termsof how it then shows up in the
workplace.
The conversation aboutvulnerability I heard once that
(44:53):
you know that's dancing as if noone's looking, which is a real
wonderful skill for us, or traitfor us or characteristic for us
to bring into work, because itenables and allows others to do
the same dang thing, and that'show we grow even stronger
organizations.
I loved the conversation aboutrepotting and hearing a little
(45:14):
bit about her journey, and itgoes to show and reinforces that
there isn't a correct and onlyone path to wherever you're
going, and it could be a paththat ascends, it could be a path
that descends, it could be apath that is actually fairly
straight or flat, I should saybut nonetheless that each and
(45:35):
every one of those experiences,you have the opportunity to grow
new skills that allow you toland where you are at a given
time.
And yet there is this need tofigure out and a desire and, I
think, important requirement tofigure out what really drives
you, and for her, it was thatlove of community that has been
(45:57):
the thread and the tie thatbound, having the opportunity to
talk about the uniqueexperience of being Black
African American, however youchoose to define it same time
and experience joy and pain and,through adversity, to adapt and
(46:27):
to manifest resilience likenothing you've ever seen.
And then, finally, the isolationand loneliness of leadership,
that there's a way that that canbe interpreted as sad or hard,
but that it's also essentialthat we do have those quiet
moments, and I do think that'ssomething that happens as we get
into I'm certainly feeling itin some ways the later years of
(46:51):
our opportunities to serve isthat it's real important to have
that quiet, reflective time andin those moments to
self-nourish in whatever waythat needs to come up, and it's
also should be something that isa wholesome discipline that, no
matter your age or stage, thatyou make sure you got something
that you can call your own,whether it's dancing or
(47:11):
gardening or art or music orreading but that that is for you
and you alone, because you comeback to the work refreshed and
renewed.
I loved this notion ofphilanthropy as an innovation
tool and that they can takegreat risks and, in that, are
coming up with all sorts ofinnovative ways to approach some
(47:33):
tough, tough problems thatwe're all dealing with.
So, in any case, it was anotherreally wonderful opportunity to
sit down and have a greatconversation with one of our
community's amazing people shedoesn't want me to call her a
leader, so I won't Amazingpeople who are doing good work.
I hope you took lots of notesbecause I sure felt like boy was
(47:55):
I immersed in through story,lots of themes and opportunities
to learn and grow, and so, tothe extent that this is helpful
to you, I thank you for joiningus today.
I look forward to the nextopportunity for us to visit over
this unstoppable at Craig.
Thanks a lot, until next time.
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