Latest / We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits / 445. How to Navigate Seasons of Change at Your Organization (Replay) - Aila Malik

Transcript

445. How to Navigate Seasons of Change at Your Organization (Replay) - Aila Malik · We Are For Good Podcast - The Podcast for Nonprofits

• 0:02
  Speaker 1: Welcome back to the summer of evolution.
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: So glad that you are back in the house as we're exploring evolved leadership And you know we could not have an evolved leadership conversation without bringing the goat of the new modern thinking leader, isla Maylick, to the forefront.
• 0:19
  Speaker 1: We are relifting this conversation we had that we think is as relevant as ever today.
• 0:24
  Speaker 1: Isla dives into navigating seasons of change and really exploring how do we roll out a new vision.
• 0:30
  Speaker 1: tune in and let's evolve as leaders together.
• 0:35
  Speaker 2: Hey, I'm John and I'm Becky, and this is the We Are For Good podcast.
• 0:40
  Speaker 1: Non-profits are faced with more challenges to accomplish their missions and the growing pressure to do more, raise more and be more for the causes that improve our world.
• 0:49
  Speaker 2: We're here to learn with you from some of the best in the industry, bringing the most innovative ideas, inspirational stories, all to create an impact uprising.
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: So welcome to the good community.
• 0:59
  Speaker 1: We're nonprofit professionals, philanthropists, world changers and rabid fans who are striving to bring a little more goodness into the world.
• 1:08
  Speaker 2: So let's get started.
• 1:09
  Speaker 2: Becky, you're grinning.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I am grinning.
• 1:12
  Speaker 1: I mean, we've had over a year to interview people and you meet extraordinary humans, but I have met someone that we are having on the podcast.
• 1:21
  Speaker 1: We've all met her who is like knock your socks off Amazing.
• 1:25
  Speaker 1: It is our great honor and privilege to introduce Ayla Malik.
• 1:29
  Speaker 1: She is the principal, amazing founder of Venture Leadership Consulting and she's the triple threat unicorn.
• 1:38
  Speaker 1: She's an attorney, she's a nonprofit executive, she is a massively good human, and so you put all that together, she is this amazing change engine.
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: The way she talks about leadership and empowerment is something I have not ever seen before in our sector.
• 1:54
  Speaker 1: There are a lot of people that teach leadership.
• 1:55
  Speaker 1: There's a lot of people that teach luminary leadership.
• 1:58
  Speaker 1: Ayla is at another level.
• 2:00
  Speaker 1: She is steeped in empathy with the way that she talks.
• 2:03
  Speaker 1: She has always got her head focused squarely on what is the thing that we can do to keep justice and equity at the forefront of what we're doing.
• 2:12
  Speaker 1: It's basically all the things we love most in this world.
• 2:14
  Speaker 1: So, ayla, welcome to our show.
• 2:17
  Speaker 1: We're so glad you're here.
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Can you tell?
• 2:18
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh.
• 2:20
  Speaker 3: Can I take I'm going to try to get the snippet of that intro And just carry it around on a bad day.
• 2:26
  Speaker 3: This is thank you.
• 2:27
  Speaker 3: That was such a beautiful intro And I'm so happy to be.
• 2:30
  Speaker 3: I love the name.
• 2:31
  Speaker 3: We are for good is enough, because it's simple and it's it's what it's all about, and I'm so excited to be here with both of you.
• 2:37
  Speaker 1: Well, you've heard every bit of that because that is how you show up and live, And I I'm just so curious And I've been wanting to ask you this question for months.
• 2:45
  Speaker 1: What is your story?
• 2:46
  Speaker 1: Talk to me about your journey.
• 2:48
  Speaker 1: Talk about growing up and how you were raised and the things that were important to you That have led you to this moment right now.
• 2:56
  Speaker 3: Wow, how much time do you have?
• 2:57
  Speaker 3: Six hours.
• 2:58
  Speaker 2: The six part series.
• 3:00
  Speaker 3: You know, yeah, if we'll do part one, part two, you know the the abridged version is so.
• 3:06
  Speaker 3: I come from a family of immigrants.
• 3:07
  Speaker 3: My parents were from Pakistan, came from Pakistan in the seventies to the country And I was an only child up until I was about 14, 15 years old And then my dad remarried and I have a beautiful, amazing sister And my.
• 3:23
  Speaker 3: So my journey, though I'm first generation American, California and born my journey is an immigrant journey, And so I grew up, you know, with immigrant mentality, around relationship to money and around drive and from an from an Asian standpoint, around education and the value of education, But without the privilege of people who knew how to navigate the US, the US college system or school, or understand, you know, how to be the parent that I try to be with with my kids, right, And while my family was, you know, I'm a product of a lot of love, which I I'm so grateful for.
• 4:04
  Speaker 3: But while they they did the very best they could, they struggled with their own issues And so my parents split when I was, you know, a baby and my mom had severe bipolar schizoaffective disorder, very severe And I was her caretaker for most of my I guess the psychological term is parentified child, And so I became her caretaker around age 10 in many ways.
• 4:31
  Speaker 3: And then my dad side suffered with a lot of different substance journeys And so I think I came I say all that not to disparage my ancestors and my parents, because I think they are amazingly resilient teachers for me, But it is a little bit of an insight to for me my strategy has been about caring about the love and and spreading the love and building community and stability wherever I could to be able to navigate the world.
• 5:06
  Speaker 3: And so, in that spirit, went to law school, went to undergraduate, not knowing what I was going to do.
• 5:12
  Speaker 3: Saw the movie Aaron Brockovich, said, Oh yeah, I want to be her, Went to law school to do that and got really angry first day of law school in a criminal justice introductory class talking about crack cocaine versus powder cocaine and sentencing differences versus who was using them and affluence differences and and really understanding systemic inequity from day one.
• 5:42
  Speaker 3: And my trajectory changed And I spent about 15 years working with juvenile justice, youth, incarcerated youth and building programs around that.
• 5:53
  Speaker 3: Another couple of years working with incarcerated lifers and adults and really understanding what their journey is with, with pain and with trauma and with separation, did a little bit of asylum, legal representation in my in my law school journey and then got passionate about nonprofits.
• 6:14
  Speaker 3: If we want to talk about scale and equity and justice, how do we help the, the great organizations in our, in our country and in the world?
• 6:23
  Speaker 3: How do we get them to be more effective and better at what they do?
• 6:26
  Speaker 3: And so here I am, Somewhere in there.
• 6:29
  Speaker 3: I have three kids and married my high school sweetheart.
• 6:33
  Speaker 1: Does everyone understand now why Isla is so extraordinary?
• 6:36
  Speaker 1: now You know.
• 6:37
  Speaker 2: And I just feel like I'm just so excited that we could just spend this time with you today, because the empathy that has come from your story, despite man this, the pieces that I hear that are just serving alongside some of the most challenging missions having one of the most difficult childhood situations that I've heard too being a parent to parents Um, i just think that you have been.
• 7:00
  Speaker 2: you know, we honor our journeys in a lot of our passionate work and we love talking to people that have channeled that passion, their unique story, into something really meaningful.
• 7:08
  Speaker 2: And I just see that in you.
• 7:09
  Speaker 2: I see you stepping into seasons of change at organizations and I I'll I'll be completely honest when Isla talks on clubhouse, i feel intimidated because she's so smart and so wise, but it's always done in such compassion that you can't be intimidated like you're the most easy person to talk to.
• 7:28
  Speaker 2: But I think you have an innate ability to step into a really difficult situation and illuminate a path, and so I'd love for you to talk about organizations navigating change.
• 7:39
  Speaker 2: What is your approach?
• 7:40
  Speaker 2: How do you walk into these organizations and what's the journey that you take people on?
• 7:44
  Speaker 3: Yeah Well, first of all, john, thanks for the witness.
• 7:46
  Speaker 3: I think my own journey and my ability to find voice and purpose and passion has come from from the witness of people saying, hey, that is a story or that is great or we see a hardship.
• 8:02
  Speaker 3: For me, growing up, there was no hardship to be seen, it was just how it was.
• 8:06
  Speaker 3: I find a lot of power in witness and that is the number one ethos of how we enter into organization.
• 8:16
  Speaker 3: Let me just track a tiny bit to say it's not lost on me that there's some issue in journey that I've been having with separations and immersion.
• 8:30
  Speaker 3: What I mean by that is, given the childhood background that I told you about, i have led with stability, whether that's marrying the high school sweetheart, whether that's staying at the same job for 14, 15 years, like always in a stability, stable path.
• 8:46
  Speaker 3: What came up for me through that stability was that there's a fear of abandoning or a fear of separation or a fear of changing a relationship or a context.
• 9:03
  Speaker 3: In my journey to better understand that at the micro level, it's not lost on me that I have made a career out of entering into organizations that are in really difficult situations, being a witness, chat and being a guide around.
• 9:20
  Speaker 3: Hey, let's use the gift of departure.
• 9:22
  Speaker 3: It's a known thing.
• 9:25
  Speaker 3: Let's use the gift of departure to motivate and drive change together in partnership.
• 9:31
  Speaker 3: I won't abandon you after we depart, it's just going to look different.
• 9:35
  Speaker 3: That opening has transformed my life and it's really the ethos that we lead with organizations.
• 9:42
  Speaker 3: That's the micro, the esoteric version, but I want to answer with tactical things for your listeners.
• 9:53
  Speaker 3: The biggest way that we enter organizations in seasons of change is around a place of humility.
• 9:59
  Speaker 3: We are not the experts.
• 10:03
  Speaker 3: The people that co-created this organization, the community that this organization serves, are the experts.
• 10:10
  Speaker 3: We are here to learn from everything that has gotten you to this moment It's an honor Everything that has been exactly the right move.
• 10:18
  Speaker 3: We're not going to Monday morning quarterback what has gotten us to this moment.
• 10:22
  Speaker 3: We honor it.
• 10:23
  Speaker 3: We enter with humility and we enter with curiosity.
• 10:29
  Speaker 3: What has to be true for things to be the way that they are?
• 10:33
  Speaker 3: What was the value that underpins this process?
• 10:36
  Speaker 3: Then we start saying we We get the permission to use the word we We build a partnership.
• 10:48
  Speaker 3: Great, let's imagine where we want to be.
• 10:52
  Speaker 3: How do we want to serve young people or our constituencies?
• 10:56
  Speaker 3: What does this next evolution or inflection point look like It's humility, it's honoring, it's curiosity and then really partnering and rolling up our sleeves together?
• 11:08
  Speaker 3: It's not like you got to do this.
• 11:11
  Speaker 3: You've sunk or you sink or swim.
• 11:14
  Speaker 3: We're going to do this together and co-create this next moment for the organization.
• 11:21
  Speaker 3: What an honor, what an amazing opportunity for us all.
• 11:24
  Speaker 1: Please, please, let this be the consulting 2.0 that everyone starts to embrace, moving forward.
• 11:31
  Speaker 1: Okay, i want everyone listening right now, because who has a consultant in their nonprofit which has got to be just about everybody almost?
• 11:39
  Speaker 1: Think about your consultant right now.
• 11:42
  Speaker 1: I want you to picture the human or the company.
• 11:45
  Speaker 1: Ask yourself did they enter immediately from a place of humility?
• 11:50
  Speaker 1: Did they come in saying we're here to learn from you, you are the experts.
• 11:55
  Speaker 1: we're coming in with curiosity.
• 11:57
  Speaker 1: Then the final piece, which is something that we think is such a hallmark of the new era of fundraising, is it's less about us asking you for something and more about how do we partner.
• 12:06
  Speaker 1: Are they asking, how are we going to partner together?
• 12:09
  Speaker 1: Because if you're not getting that from your consultant, i would say you need to be demanding that.
• 12:14
  Speaker 1: that is your expectation, because that is how everyone moves homogenously together.
• 12:22
  Speaker 1: That means we're all in lockstep, moving together, working toward the problem.
• 12:25
  Speaker 1: That has got to disarm.
• 12:27
  Speaker 1: Whatever the thing is when you walk in Ila, when you walk in with that level of purpose and empathy and that's what I think the difference is with how you lead and you coach and how I've seen so many coach on leadership, so bravo.
• 12:40
  Speaker 3: Thanks, and I think it comes with the cost to the consultants that are listening saying, okay, that's great, and the cost of that is scope creep, and I can't tell you how many organizations that we don't do a scope.
• 12:52
  Speaker 3: It's fixed fee.
• 12:53
  Speaker 3: We're going to come in and work with you whatever we've got, and that's a risk that we take as pride.
• 12:59
  Speaker 3: We don't even see ourselves as consultants, we see ourselves as a collective of practitioners And so, yes, over the course of the year, there's Pandora's Box.
• 13:09
  Speaker 3: You enter into an organization thinking that this is going to be the major strategic challenge And, in fact, everything's on fire.
• 13:17
  Speaker 3: And so we're trying to get better at that, right.
• 13:19
  Speaker 3: But if we're really steeped in equity and justice and we're really about none of us are about this for the transactional pay, or I have no love for strategic planning, i'm good at it.
• 13:31
  Speaker 3: I don't love it Like I am about equity and justice and through homelessness and education and equity, and through juvenile justice or regular justice or workforce whatever it is, how is it that we push through together for everyone's highest and greatest use, to be in that moment, forwarding a cause that we all believe in?
• 13:56
  Speaker 2: I think this whole thing could be exactly put on a new leader coming in into an organization too.
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: I know you kind of help bridge in gaps of leadership, right That there's.
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: There could be an organization that there's been turnover and they need some kind of leadership in that gap of time.
• 14:11
  Speaker 1: And you're currently sitting in one of those roles.
• 14:12
  Speaker 1: right now, aren't you in interim?
• 14:14
  Speaker 1: Yeah?
• 14:14
  Speaker 2: Spinning so many plates.
• 14:15
  Speaker 2: I just think the posture at which a new person walks in we've all seen it go really badly you know, And I think the tenor that you set, those three hallmarks just completely changes the tone the toxicity of the culture, the fear, the psychological safety of employees, everything.
• 14:35
  Speaker 2: So that's just a very, very powerful three.
• 14:39
  Speaker 1: I'm really curious about, like this, navigating seasons of change And I think that there I think probably everyone who's listening, anyone who's experienced going through COVID, you know, in the workplace and a nonprofit I would love for you to just talk about what are some key steps for a leader that's stepping into a new role you know, or staff or board or others who are involved in your mission.
• 15:00
  Speaker 1: What would you say to suggest how they can help kind of navigate this season with intentionality and having that heart for community at the center of it?
• 15:10
  Speaker 3: Yeah, i mean, the first thing I'd say to my colleagues that are in this space is you know, hats off.
• 15:15
  Speaker 3: This has been for me, the biggest leadership lesson of a lifetime, right Leading through the pandemic and virtually, and insurrection and violence.
• 15:27
  Speaker 3: And yeah, i mean, it has been, it has been a ride And I would just say hats off to all that have held that space.
• 15:34
  Speaker 3: I think the tips I'm sure everybody has.
• 15:38
  Speaker 3: You know, most of your listeners will probably say yep, yep, yep to these three things, but they're just so true and they're so simple.
• 15:45
  Speaker 3: Leaders have to over communicate in these periods.
• 15:48
  Speaker 3: There's a lot of staffing's IE, there's a lot of unknowns, there's a lot of stakeholders and things, and so you know that need to over communicate.
• 15:58
  Speaker 3: The visibility, the ability to be approachable that really matters in periods of not even change.
• 16:06
  Speaker 3: This is crisis, periods of crisis and long-term inflection.
• 16:09
  Speaker 3: Right, and in a way that is still intentional and systemic, because, when it comes to racial reckoning, that's not a crisis in a moment in time, that's a movement.
• 16:18
  Speaker 3: And so being able to know, okay, what are the movements and what are the what are the crisis in this moment, so that you can conserve your energy and be thinking about where do I need to be visible and how do I communicate what I know and what I don't know.
• 16:32
  Speaker 3: So I think the first is around communication.
• 16:36
  Speaker 3: The communication is in service of transparency, which, if you can put data and get some quick I call them pulse check little data sets of 10 questions and be able to share that broadly.
• 16:55
  Speaker 3: Here's how people are feeling, here's what the reaction is.
• 16:58
  Speaker 3: I think that goes into that communication.
• 17:00
  Speaker 3: We know that transparency builds trust and when people don't know what's going on, they need to feel that they're in a trusted space and they can't feel that way if they feel that everything is kumbaya or there's not enough communication or the leader isn't leaning in.
• 17:18
  Speaker 3: So I think communication and transparency.
• 17:21
  Speaker 3: And then I think it's creating containers of certainty.
• 17:25
  Speaker 3: So with the next normal post pandemic, things are changing daily.
• 17:31
  Speaker 3: What organizations have to track or not track is changing daily, and so how do we create containers of certainty to hold the uncertainty?
• 17:42
  Speaker 3: So, yeah, we don't know what's happening in the next normal, but we're gonna set up in calendar right now for you, every month, a next normal meeting.
• 17:51
  Speaker 3: If we over communicate before then, we'll release those meetings, but we're gonna hold them as spaces for us to really discuss what's present.
• 17:58
  Speaker 3: What is Kalosha saying?
• 17:59
  Speaker 3: what are the feds saying?
• 18:00
  Speaker 3: right?
• 18:01
  Speaker 3: And so it takes those kinds of techniques, takes the extra mental strain off for staff.
• 18:08
  Speaker 3: They just know that the organization is gonna guide them.
• 18:11
  Speaker 3: We don't know what it is, but we trust in the leadership And if we have a problem they'll let us know.
• 18:16
  Speaker 3: I think those things are just essential for leaders, and if you're not a leader that sort of leads that way, with holding conflict, holding unknown transparency, that means that things aren't gonna be perfect.
• 18:32
  Speaker 3: You're choosing connection over perfection.
• 18:35
  Speaker 3: You're choosing to be responsive over over, waiting for everything to be packaged.
• 18:40
  Speaker 3: If that's not the leader that you typically show up as, it's a great opportunity to lean in and learn more about what's getting in the way for you on that and how it feels.
• 18:52
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• 18:55
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• 18:59
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• 19:07
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• 19:09
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• 19:16
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• 19:20
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• 19:25
  Speaker 1: John, I wanna choose connection over perfection.
• 19:28
  Speaker 1: every time I think you should.
• 19:30
  Speaker 1: I feel like ILA is made for this moment of.
• 19:33
  Speaker 1: COVID, because if you are someone at the heart who leads with stability, i mean that's what everybody's looking for right now.
• 19:40
  Speaker 1: is they wanna have some stability, because everything is unknown, and so I love this hat, coming in with a heart for understanding, wanting to be a good listener.
• 19:51
  Speaker 1: I think the transparency is so key to not only the communication but the leadership.
• 19:56
  Speaker 1: These are excellent suggestions.
• 19:58
  Speaker 3: You know I will say the counter to it, Becky about the heart for connection and communication.
• 20:04
  Speaker 3: Transparency is also being transparent about where the lines are with the mission.
• 20:08
  Speaker 3: So when you're holding space in movement around racial reckoning, or space in movement about fear of the pandemic, and you're not clear about your own relationship to conflict and decision-making and transparency which in my mind is all conflict, you can get into this trap of trying to appease your staff and really do a disservice to the mission.
• 20:32
  Speaker 3: And so I think the one thing I'd add to that heart and that true North as a leader is we're here for a mission and our staff is important, and all these moments are crazy And I'm, as a leader, not knowing what my next steps are Please give me grace Like we're entering with this vulnerability and humility, but we're also being really clear about what this organization's responsibility and purpose is for our community, and whatever we're feeling, our community is really feeling it, and so how is it that we can hold both of those things and have clear boundaries in line?
• 21:44
  Speaker 3: So I can't tell you how many conversations, as transparent as it is that I've had where staff, you know, don't wanna return back to meet with young people or they're really concerned about.
• 21:56
  Speaker 3: You know, you know what our equity statements are or how it's played out in policies, and so how do you create the space where we're going to talk about and we're gonna put process, we're gonna be transparent about those, but then when a decision is made, absolutely that decision should give people clarity to be a choice.
• 22:16
  Speaker 3: But this is where the organization's going, and so that part of it's really important too.
• 22:22
  Speaker 3: Otherwise, i think it gets unhealthy pretty quick.
• 22:25
  Speaker 2: I agree I don't know what you said.
• 22:26
  Speaker 2: Well, i think that's a perfect segue, because last season this kept coming up.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: We kept talking about dreaming big and having this vision And I just shared on the podcast it's something that I'd go back and tell my old self is to be really attached to that vision statement that you've got in the mission, but the tactics you've gotta let loose the grip.
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: Like there is so many ways that we can accomplish these different things, i feel like you're an expert at translating vision into plans and getting people excited about those plans.
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: What are some tips of doing that?
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: about really putting you know the practices in place for the team rallies around this big, dreamy idea that you wanna accomplish.
• 23:05
  Speaker 3: Yeah, i love that.
• 23:06
  Speaker 3: Well, let me start by saying just some definitions.
• 23:12
  Speaker 3: For me, strategy, or the playbook of the tactics, is about being accountable to your intention, being accountable to that dream, to that vision.
• 23:23
  Speaker 3: So, you know, a strategic plan could be on the back of a napkin.
• 23:28
  Speaker 3: It's about how are you holding yourself accountable to your intention, your vision, your purpose, right?
• 23:36
  Speaker 3: So, for me, what has worked in our practice is, the truth be told, for most of the organizations we've worked with about a hundred different organizations, most of them, i could have mapped out a strategy sitting by myself for to hold them accountable to whatever their next iteration of the vision was.
• 23:57
  Speaker 3: But that's not how you rally people and that's not going to be sustainable within.
• 24:01
  Speaker 3: It's not going to be picked up within their context.
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: How you do it is building a very inclusive process.
• 24:09
  Speaker 3: You're slowing down for the bigger traction of a sustainable plan towards that vision, and here's what I mean.
• 24:17
  Speaker 3: There's two things that I look for.
• 24:19
  Speaker 3: Number one at the time of the final unveil here's our bridge plan, or here's our next dream, or here's our 2020 vision, whatever it is, does every person that you're rolling it out see a piece of themselves in that vision, my most successful vision pieces or strategy, strategic point, theory of change, whatever you call it has been when every board member and every executive team, or whatever however the process was, says oh yeah, i wrote that part, oh, that was my discovery, and so everyone has to own a piece of that.
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: And if you don't feel that, that's if you haven't arrived there.
• 25:01
  Speaker 3: There needs to be more process and work and co-ownership.
• 25:05
  Speaker 3: That's the first thing, and the second thing I look for is, or a maxim that I repeat to myself I want I-Rolls, i want the data and evaluation to be like oh my God, we're talking about we're gonna get it, like, then I know I've arrived, so I want it to be so used in as, like the household sort of concept that people are just like oh, here she goes again, about that vision and that plan.
• 25:33
  Speaker 3: At that moment I know that it is ingrained And now we can start really making the pivots and the changes, because the grief about letting go of our old way of doing things will be minimized by the fact that they know the exciting win and celebration that's ahead, right.
• 25:49
  Speaker 3: So those are the two things I look for, and I don't move into major shifts or restructures until I get the I-Rolls and until every person feels like it wasn't the consultant, we could have done this, because I see my stuff, i see Erica's, i see that, you know, i see those edits in this document.
• 26:06
  Speaker 1: That's the arrival.
• 26:07
  Speaker 1: As a mother of a 11-year-old girl, i have never met anyone who wants I-Rolls because I've had enough of them lately.
• 26:16
  Speaker 1: But, oh my gosh, that was such an amazing visual because if everybody is so bought into the vision, if everybody is on board and they see themselves as essential to executing the vision, then they're rolling their eyes because they know it that well And that is like a retention.
• 26:39
  Speaker 2: Yeah, like the.
• 26:40
  Speaker 1: I mean people enjoy their job more.
• 26:42
  Speaker 1: They know their true North well.
• 26:44
  Speaker 1: the Y is so clear and it can be expressed by anybody who picks up the phone, who answers the door at our nonprofits, who's getting on a call.
• 26:53
  Speaker 1: We could literally all give the elevator speech by empowering teams in this way.
• 26:59
  Speaker 3: I absolutely love this, and Becky, that kind of clarity and the I-Roll clarity, we'll call it right Or and granted, sometimes it's at the surface and we have to keep going, but that a point of arrival.
• 27:12
  Speaker 3: When you have that kind of clarity, it forces action, it forces decision making.
• 27:18
  Speaker 3: You know, when you know that a person believes X, then you have to decide whether or not you're going to align with that person or not.
• 27:30
  Speaker 3: I just saw an NPR from a political fundraiser Peace Patagonia is pulling out of all of these ski resorts as an example.
• 27:38
  Speaker 3: Okay, when there's clarity of how the ski resort sees specific GOP fundraising, then it allows freedom and choice for other people to align in or out.
• 27:51
  Speaker 3: And that is a sign of a healthy culture.
• 27:54
  Speaker 3: Because when you don't have that clarity, you have people who really feel that the organization owes you way more and that you know there's like why am I here?
• 28:04
  Speaker 3: I could be making more money elsewhere and I'm just doing my job, i'll just do my head down.
• 28:08
  Speaker 3: That kind of morale breeds when there's not, there isn't that type of clarity.
• 28:14
  Speaker 3: So the eye roll moment is the place that begins for people to feel like they're at choice.
• 28:19
  Speaker 3: Okay, i see where the organization's going.
• 28:21
  Speaker 3: I'm not really feeling it Like I was.
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: I was more of the grassroots girl and now they're trying to do all this scale and that's just not me.
• 28:28
  Speaker 3: But I have a highest and best use in another startup organization.
• 28:31
  Speaker 3: Great, because the world needs people who are aligned.
• 28:34
  Speaker 3: But if you, if it's gray and we're not at the eye roll moment, then people are kind of like.
• 28:40
  Speaker 3: I think this is about this issue area that I care about.
• 28:43
  Speaker 3: I think I'm aligned and we're not allowing people to reevaluate their alignment to where the organization is headed.
• 28:52
  Speaker 1: And you just hit on something that I think is so important.
• 28:55
  Speaker 1: We talk about it all the time.
• 28:56
  Speaker 1: You can't even launch that vision if you don't know who you are.
• 29:00
  Speaker 1: So if you've not sat down and had this value-based conversation about what is true to us, does this, does this thread through?
• 29:09
  Speaker 1: who we are as human beings is the way we show up, is this supporting the mission, then you can't even have your vision.
• 29:15
  Speaker 1: So, allowing this conversation And I just want Isla to run for president, that's what I'm doing, right now.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: I love it.
• 29:23
  Speaker 1: Becky, I need your cell phone.
• 29:24
  Speaker 1: I'm gonna.
• 29:26
  Speaker 3: I really I'm gonna call you on the phone.
• 29:27
  Speaker 1: Oh my gosh, we will create a brand and a logo.
• 29:31
  Speaker 1: We will build community.
• 29:32
  Speaker 1: It would be amazing, okay.
• 29:33
  Speaker 2: Done.
• 29:34
  Speaker 1: Isla, you have such a gift for storytelling.
• 29:36
  Speaker 1: I love this, everything about the way that you thread your story in there, and I want to thank you, by the way, for talking about bipolar and schizophrenia, because I have a family member with comorbidity as well.
• 29:48
  Speaker 1: I have a family member who suffers from alcoholism.
• 29:51
  Speaker 1: I love that we're talking about these things because it does de-stigmatize these issues, so I thank you for that.
• 29:56
  Speaker 1: But I'm also curious just about you've had so many experiences in nonprofit and business.
• 30:02
  Speaker 1: You've had a unique vantage point from where you're sitting in the crow's nest almost And I'm curious if there's a story or a moment of philanthropy that has always stayed with you that you would be willing to share with us.
• 30:13
  Speaker 3: I know it right away, the it hasn't been.
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: You know, there's some ego and excitement when you land that big strategic investment and that multi-year Million-dollar thing and I, i love that, that feeling, it's, it's a rush, it's, it's adrenaline, it's excitement, it's right.
• 30:31
  Speaker 3: So, but those aren't actually my favorite philanthropic stories.
• 30:35
  Speaker 3: Um, the one that it hits me most is Um, we have one of the organizations that I work for.
• 30:44
  Speaker 3: We had a junior board program for alumni from that organization to serve on the board for a period of three renewable years if the alumni would like to renew.
• 30:57
  Speaker 3: So it's one-year terms and And we recently launched a bridge plan, this strategic type of plan and this direction, and we asked the board for a three-year pledge and a commitment and The understanding has been that with our alumni members that they, you know, we don't necessarily need to get.
• 31:17
  Speaker 3: They're there for a lot of insight and sweat equity and we don't necessarily need philanthropic guests.
• 31:25
  Speaker 3: And one of the junior alumni board members actually made a $500 gift per year for three years and that That was the most moving gift.
• 31:40
  Speaker 3: And I and I can tell you what every organization, when alumni has either been philanthropic with their investment or with their mentorship, or with their talents.
• 31:50
  Speaker 3: There's alumni who are VLC for all of our headshots, the one I've submitted for this podcast.
• 31:55
  Speaker 3: They're done by alumni clients right, and when they are at the place where they're giving back their talent and treasure, i am beyond moved.
• 32:05
  Speaker 3: For me, that's full circle.
• 32:08
  Speaker 2: Oh, my goodness, i just love it so much and I love that you've said the word alignment.
• 32:10
  Speaker 2: I want to go back and Just really kind of double-click, because I feel like this is a theme I keep seeing and people there's this great movement of the last year And a half of people kind of assess what their priorities are, their passions.
• 32:23
  Speaker 2: You said something of like the world needs you to be in alignment, and so the organizational level.
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: I can see that if you just want to riff on that, i feel like I want to give it to you because I felt it when you said it.
• 32:36
  Speaker 3: Yeah, oh, thank you for opening.
• 32:37
  Speaker 3: Um, i really believe that, john.
• 32:40
  Speaker 3: I really believe that.
• 32:42
  Speaker 3: I believe that there is enough Work to go around to, to co-create a community that we want to live in, like I want.
• 32:52
  Speaker 3: I want, we all want to live in it in a community.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: We want our kids, we want people that we love to care about, to live in a community and we have to co-create it and there's so much work and so many ways to do that.
• 33:04
  Speaker 3: That, having that introspection on your highest and best use, what is that Look?
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: What does that look like for you beyond your organization?
• 33:13
  Speaker 3: What is your personal mission statement?
• 33:15
  Speaker 3: What is your personal vision?
• 33:17
  Speaker 3: You know, and and it can change You know my personal vision is around, around Authenticity and connection and is around building community, and the places I work are Are a Method for me to achieve my vision.
• 33:36
  Speaker 3: It's not that my vision is my organization's vision.
• 33:39
  Speaker 3: It can be a lot of alignment, it can be really synergistic, but I know who I want to be in the world or where my highest and best used talents of co-creation are.
• 33:49
  Speaker 3: So I want to find those places that I can align with and partner with and and connect with to advance, to advance that, that vision, and that's a personal vision.
• 34:01
  Speaker 3: And there's something I Think really freeing when we realize that, like we are more than anything We do and we are more than any place we work and in fact we have a ton of need for our services and for ourselves And our human beings and we are at choice with where we do that.
• 34:21
  Speaker 3: So now the hard work is like what calls to you because, there's a, there's enough of it, you know, yeah, i feel passionately about that.
• 34:33
  Speaker 1: It's so good.
• 34:34
  Speaker 1: I mean, i love the way you show up in this world.
• 34:37
  Speaker 1: I love How generous you are with your heart and with your words.
• 34:41
  Speaker 1: I love how, every time you speak, you cast the joy and the warmth on other people and not on yourself.
• 34:48
  Speaker 1: It's just really a gift.
• 34:49
  Speaker 1: I just feel like we're very blessed to be sitting in your orbit and I'm just sad to ask this question Which is what is your one good thing?
• 34:56
  Speaker 1: one good thing.
• 34:58
  Speaker 3: Okay, i have so many good things.
• 34:59
  Speaker 3: This is a very hard question.
• 35:00
  Speaker 3: Um, yeah, not that I have so many, but there's.
• 35:03
  Speaker 3: There's so many things like there's so many good things that you know, everyone should know.
• 35:07
  Speaker 3: Um, i think I you know, when I thought about this, becky, um, what came to me, and maybe you can help, you know, let's refine it if it's too lofty of a good thing, um, but it's about this alignment part, john, and it is, i think, that when opportunity comes before intentionality, or opportunity, it can come before, but when opportunity happens without intentionality, i should say that, um, then there's a lot of ground for distraction.
• 35:38
  Speaker 3: Um, and I'm gonna I'm gonna define this in a second.
• 35:42
  Speaker 3: But so opportunity without intentionality equals distraction, and intentionality plus opportunity equals real traction in a movement and in progress and in equity and injustice.
• 35:54
  Speaker 3: And so, um, what I mean by that is There's so much, like we just said, there's so much you can do, there's so much need, there's so many ways to advance a particular cause or a mission, and if you're not intentional about What and why and your unique value add to this particular place, that you're going to hold yourself Truly accountable to your intention.
• 36:20
  Speaker 3: If you're not clear about that intention, if you haven't articulated that for your organization or for yourself, then the opportunities that come, come could really.
• 36:29
  Speaker 3: You could wake up 10 years from now and be like wait, wait, what did I want to do?
• 36:34
  Speaker 3: again, this happens a lot in the legal field.
• 36:37
  Speaker 3: A lot of my colleagues came with a social justice intention and ended up in a law firm unhappy 10 years later.
• 36:42
  Speaker 3: That's not true for all of them.
• 36:43
  Speaker 3: Some are very happy that that opportunity shifted that way.
• 36:46
  Speaker 3: But having either intentionality come after your opportunity to say this wasn't expected, but I'm really inviting with this and here's my highest and best use or having your intentionality and your visioning statement manifest opportunities, is great.
• 37:03
  Speaker 3: I mean that's progress, that's traction and if everybody takes their lifetimes to find that and activate that, i think we can do it.
• 37:13
  Speaker 3: I mean, i think we can elevate our consciousness as a community and as a humanity.
• 37:17
  Speaker 3: But I think that if we're not going to do the work around intentionality and our own decision-making and our own alignment, it's easy to get lost.
• 37:26
  Speaker 1: That, my friends, is how you change the world.
• 37:29
  Speaker 2: Yeah, start with yourself.
• 37:31
  Speaker 1: I mean that's so, so good.
• 37:32
  Speaker 2: I feel like there's the personal application, there's the organizational application.
• 37:36
  Speaker 1: There's a community application.
• 37:38
  Speaker 2: Yes, You speak with such truth.
• 37:40
  Speaker 2: Okay, i do not want to wrap this up, but I want to connect the community to you and all of your goodness.
• 37:45
  Speaker 2: I know you hang out on Clubhouse.
• 37:47
  Speaker 2: You're on Instagram.
• 37:49
  Speaker 2: Tell us all the places where people can find you and connect to your work.
• 37:52
  Speaker 3: You know I'm kind of in everything, so Instagram and LinkedIn are probably my two areas that I'm most active, and those are Isla Malik It's my name And then my Instagram is Isla Malik author.
• 38:05
  Speaker 3: I write children's books on the side as my personal hobby.
• 38:10
  Speaker 1: Episode number two.
• 38:11
  Speaker 1: We'll come back to that.
• 38:12
  Speaker 3: I know I have to mail you guys some, But the best place is actually.
• 38:15
  Speaker 3: I have recently embraced multi-preneurism And I have a landing page for all those activations and all the ways to get me.
• 38:25
  Speaker 3: So it's Isla Malikcom And that's probably the easiest, but my LinkedIn and medium articles and Instagram all of it's there.
• 38:32
  Speaker 3: If you are listening to this podcast, you are someone I want to know.
• 38:37
  Speaker 3: Like people who are going to click on the We Are For Good podcast, I want to know you.
• 38:44
  Speaker 3: So please, please, don't be bashful about connecting and reaching out.
• 38:47
  Speaker 3: I would love to build community with your listeners.
• 38:50
  Speaker 3: Really.
• 38:51
  Speaker 1: You are a treasure to this community.
• 38:54
  Speaker 1: Thank you for coming on and just love being in your world.
• 38:57
  Speaker 1: Thank you so much.
• 38:58
  Speaker 3: What a gift this was.
• 38:59
  Speaker 3: I loved spending an hour with you all.
• 39:01
  Speaker 3: Thank you so much for your time, both of you And Julie.
• 39:03
  Speaker 3: from behind the scenes.
• 39:05
  Speaker 1: We love you When people love on Julie, and endures them to us forever.
• 39:08
  Speaker 2: Thank you, my friend, thank you.
• 39:09
  Speaker 2: Thanks so much for being here.
• 39:13
  Speaker 2: We hope you're loving the Summer of Evolution series And to learn more you can head over to weareforgoodcom slash evolution for all the playlists, resources and other ways to help you get inspired and activated this summer.
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: We'd also love for you to join the conversation, share what you're learning on social media or join us at our free community at weareforgoodcommunitycom.
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: Bonus points for snapping a picture and showing us where you're listening from.
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: Can't wait for the next conversation.
• 39:38
  Speaker 2: See you soon, friends.