Welcome to Inclusion Bites, your sanctuary for bold conversations that spark change. I'm Joanne Lockwood, your guide on this journey of exploration into the heart of inclusion, belonging, and societal transformation. Ever wondered what it truly takes to create a world where everyone not only belongs but thrives? You're not alone. Join me as we uncover the unseen, challenge the status quo, and share stories that resonate deep within. Ready to dive in. Whether you're sipping your morning coffee or winding down after a long day, let's connect, reflect, and inspire action together. Don't forget, you can be part of the conversation too. Reach out to jo.Lockwood@seechangehappen.co.uk to share your insights or to join me on the show.

So adjust your earbuds and settle in. It's time to ignite the spark of inclusion with Inclusion Bites. And today is episode 119 with the title, Leading with Authenticity. And I have the absolute honor and privilege to welcome Dr Shelley Jones-Holt. Shelley is a courageous leadership coach, author, and speaker. When I asked Shelley to describe her superpower, she said, it is her ability to bring people together that think about the world and have experienced society differently and creating a safe space for them to be authentic with each other so that they can take brave actions together. Hello, Shelley. Welcome to the show.

Thank you for having me, Jo. It's awesome to be here. And number 119, that has to be a special number. Maybe we'll play those numbers or something.

Oh, yeah. Completely. There must be some sort of fen tui or some sort of alignment of the planets that, that's our number today. Jo, yeah, absolutely fantastic. So, Shelley, we were chatting in the green room before we came on, and we were talking about a lot of things. And the thing that came out of it was about being authentic, this authenticity. So how do we lead with authenticity?

There there are so many ways, and I have to say that part of the reason that I love the title leading with authenticity is because so many times we we experience leadership where people are, quote, unquote, trying to lead. And this idea of leading with authenticity, it implies that you are enough, and you are amazing just as you are, and there shouldn't be a different way that we need to show up to be, quote, unquote, authentic. And so many times people feel like they need to almost fake authenticity or they need to, you know, oh, I'm trying to lead in this way. And it's like, well, just be yourself and be honest and open and transparent with what it is you're trying to do. And trust that if you are open and honest and transparent, people will will feel that, will feed off of that, and that's how you will grow people to follow you. And it's also how you'll build other leaders. Confident, authentic leaders breed and build confident, authentic leaders. And in this world right now with the way things are, there are so many people that are leading from a place of fear, or they're leading from a place of of feeling the need to please the hierarchy or please certain people in order to get opportunities that I truly believe that those who are truly at their core authentic leaders, they're such a rare art form that those are going to be the leaders of tomorrow because they don't have to think about what it is they're doing.

They're just being. And then as a result, they lead from a place of being. So leading with authenticity, it it requires courage, which we're gonna talk about in a moment. And there are a lot of courageous things that we can do to lead, not just in the places we work, but leading where we live, leading where we learn, and leading where we earn in a way that we can be proud of that will truly change the world. So this idea of courageous authentic leadership is very near and dear to my heart, and I do believe it authenticity or better yet, the pulling off the cloaks of fear to to reveal authenticity can be learned, which means that we're gonna have to unlearn some things to get there.