How has the pandemic impacted emerging leaders?
How has the pandemic impacted the development of emerging leaders?
To answer this question for this week’s micro-interview, I reached out to Kemi Akapo. She’s an elected City Councillor and community organizer, who also works in settlement services, supporting newcomers to Canada. Here’s an excerpt from our conversation:
JB: What have you learned as a leader through the pandemic?
KA: How are you defining leadership?
JB: You define it.
KA: I knew you were going to say that (laughs).
So, if we're thinking about traditional, hierarchical leadership, then there’s been a lot of ‘making it up as we go.’
Nobody was prepared for this. So, it’s just been a lot of trying different things, seeing what works, what doesn't.
One thing that I've learned as a leader is to share when I am struggling too. When I am vulnerable, many people come up afterwards and say ‘thank you for saying that. I thought it was just me.’
JB: And what else?
KA: You're just not going to please everyone. And there are times when you need to make a decision and stand firm.
I’ve learned to trust myself more as a leader and not always be seeking reassurance from others.
Not to say that one shouldn't listen and take feedback, but I’ve learned to trust myself more as a leader and not always be seeking reassurance from others.
A lot of people say they find me intimidating because I seem so sure of myself.
But internally, I'm often thinking, “am I doing the right thing?”
Being a City Councillor has made me feel more confident—I'm finally gaining the level of confidence people seem to think that I've had this whole time.
…I am a young Black woman. We’ve been conditioned to question everything about ourselves, as in, ‘am I worthy, am I worth it, do I belong at this table?’
I recognize that part of my ‘unsure feeling’ is because I am a young Black woman. We’ve been conditioned to question everything about ourselves, as in, ‘am I worthy, am I worth it, do I belong at this table?’
I do feel like I'm getting to the place where I've always seen my mom: this confident woman who knows what she knows. She stands firmly in herself, in such a beautiful and graceful way that’s not overbearing.
It's exciting, but also kind of scary because with it there’ll be more responsibility coming my way.
I was joking the other day with a friend: is feeling this self-confident…is this what cis-white men feel like all the time? Because if so, I can see why they don't want to give it up. This is not to say that cis-white men shouldn't be confident, it's that I want there to be space for everyone to embrace this kind of confidence.
Previous Micro-Interviews: