We cannot DO what we do not BE
Hello Friends,
I first met Tovi while working at Partners in School Innovation in San Francisco in 2017 and since then we both launched entrepreneur life. In May of 2023, we reconnected.
I had just made a complex decision to launch my solopreneur life at L3 Catalyst Group. That same month, I signed up to participate in Tovi’s Emotionally Intelligent Equity and Inclusion Facilitator Certification (ei2) cohort; I knew I needed something new, healing, and restorative, but I had no idea how to go about it. I was stuck, so I jumped headfirst into something new.
I am forever changed and still changing by participating in Tovi’s ei2 cohort, having invested in my development. It's grounded me in my values of love and liberation, nurturing energy and wisdom to invest daily in brave and badass teams and leaders. Investing in my BEing fundamentally nourishes and changes my DOing. A million thanks to you, Tovi.
Ya'll are going to LOVE learning more about Tovi’s brave and badass contributions below. Learn more about the ei2: Emotionally Intelligent Equity & Inclusion™ Leadership & Facilitation Certification. Registration for the next cohort is open!
Fellow leaders and learners, I wish you courage, rest, and beloved community along the journey.
To support our society in becoming more inclusive, we must first focus on ourselves, not others. This may sound alarming to you, as it sounds counter-narrative and counter-intuitive, but it works (and is less stressful). Hear me out: the greatest control you have is over you, not your family, not your friends, not your colleagues - YOU.
By focusing on being your best and most inclusive self, you lead by BE-ing first and then your DO-ing.
Your leadership models the way and inspires others simply by how you BE and DO. It’s a much easier stance than trying to fix/change others - because, in the end, that is impossible.
This allows you to lead from a place of wholeness and empowerment—what I call your “BEingness,” as I explain in the video. Your BEingness is your embodiment; it’s the driving force of your leadership, creativity, and presence. It’s the “feeling tone” of how your leadership is experienced (the felt sense of the heart) by others.
When you lead from your BEingness, you lead with your #1 superpower because you are conscious, connected, and courageous.
And you get results and improved outcomes for those you serve and lead, which is truly the purpose of leadership.
As a leader of inclusion and belonging, it took time for me to come to this understanding - and part of it came from the decades of my meditation practice because meditation supports us in being less judgmental and controlling (but that’s for another time!). I’ll never forget when I took on one of the biggest leadership challenges of my principalship: dismantling a racist mascot. A young White teacher came into my office when I was Principal Scruggs, and she said to me, “Tovi, I love this school, and I love our mascot. But I love our students more. And if the mascot is hurtful to them, then it’s not a good mascot.” This was a teacher who graduated from the school where she now teaches - the mascot had deep sentimental value for her. No amount of arguing was going to change her mind about how the mascot was racist - I had tried that approach ;) What changed her mind was seeing the bigger picture of us working collectively to create a safe, inclusive space for all students and families to be valued—a place where inclusion and belonging were first how we BE so it could be how we DO.
In closing, I invite you to take advantage of several free resources to support your own journey of racial healing, inclusion, and belonging because your leadership impact begins with how you BE. So let the work start—or deepen—with you. If you are truly ready for a more transformative and courageous journey in your own healing, transformation, and leadership, then the ei2 Emotionally Intelligent Equity & Inclusion Program is for you. Just ask Dee, as they share so powerfully about its impact on their leadership.
Resources from Tovi: