How does shared power translate to shared leadership in organizations and movements? What’s required to create or maintain a “shared leadership model”? Does every organization rooted in justice & equity require this? 

In this episode, Mia Henry introduces Anisha Desai of the worker-owned co-op AORTA to answer all these questions (and more!). 

Together, they discuss Anisha's background in movement work, what questions to ask if you work within a shared leadership role, and people-oriented structures that allow for shared leadership… and followship.

Listen in to hear Anisha’s thoughtful voice on a topic a lot of us are curious about, but know very little.

Every person desires (and deserves) respect and collaboration. How can we work together in intergenerational spaces for social justice to create shared power that makes a real and collective difference? 

In this episode, you’ll hear Part 2 of Mia's two-part conversation with Mary Scott Boria. They talk about their lived experiences as young activists seeking mentorship and seasoned activists learning to mentor. 

Mary and Mia discuss how to create and invite dialogue between generations, how they might build a conversation (rather than deliver a lecture), how to build intergenerational relationships and collaborations, plus how to acknowledge the personhood of the people they're working with (and why that’s important).

Mary also tells Mia about her intergenerational book club (that gathers more for conversation than reading books!) and why she encourages everyone she mentors to find a way to nurture their soul. 

Mary Scott Boria grew up as a Black child in a biracial family, bouncing from her home in small town Michigan to Chicago, Illinois. She participated in her first protests with her white mother in the sixties and later joined the women’s movement as a teen mother herself.

Mary is an inspiration to young activists for her relationship-based mentorship and willingness to pay attention and listen to minority voices. She’s both strong and soft, bold and quiet, courageous and thoughtful. I hope you enjoy her wisdom and her story! 

In this episode, you’ll hear Part 1 of our two-part conversation.  

Mary shares her diverse family history, her first experiences with the women’s movement and working inside an abortion clinic, how she’s learned to speak up in shared spaces - as someone who’s generally very shy, and the ways she creates Shared Power in her activist work.

Content Warning: Mention of sexual assault, rape.

In this episode, Genita Robinson details some common challenges boards face, plus a handful of solutions you might consider if you’re part of a board (or if you work within an organization that maintains one). 

We also dig into the very common fear of losing power and control that’s sometimes hidden behind “urgent” decision-making, the importance of allowing for dissent and disagreement, and what to do if your Executive Committee is making all the decisions behind closed doors. 

In this episode, our very own Morgan Mahdavi joins Mia for a conversation about their working relationship and how they invite accountability in relationships through transparency, genuine care, and radical trust and grace. 

Morgan shares how trust in their work opened the possibility for taking initiative on important projects, the most important ingredients for creating shared power, and how we can build a team culture that learns from past mistakes. Morgan ends with sage advice for leaders who want to focus on building teams that hold each other accountable.

In this episode, Alicia Bell explains how slowing down to make decisions as a collective can enhance the experience of Shared Power and actually ensure the work happens more quickly. 

This conversation dives deep into how fear of relinquishing control can keep us from sharing power in making decisions, why realignment is a necessary part of the process, and how to navigate and change societal expectations and assumptions through collective decision-making.

This conversation is about expanding what’s possible - even within conflict. Mia is joined by Rebecca Subar (they/them) and Aarati Kasturirangan (she/her) from Dragonfly Partners to discuss how nonprofit organizations and movement leaders can navigate conflict from the inside-out.

For this conversation, I’m joined by social organizer, educator, and curator, Mariame Kaba. Mariame explains how she finally entered the world of social media in 2010, why she thinks virtual connection will become even more prominent in the future, and how we can expand our experience of social media in healthy ways.

Lewis joins Mia to discuss how they both engage from within their Zone Of Genius in regular collaboration together, why solidarity is both a skill and a practice, and why shared power is a long-term commitment.

In this episode I talk with Brian Brady about how to manage personal relationships within large organizations, why the practice of vulnerability is a key component of developing shared power, and what practices Brian recommends to privileged people in leadership roles.

In this episode, philanthropic trailblazer and seasoned strategist Deborah Harrington joins Mia to discuss how we can redefine leadership in ways that diversify group thought, create a culture of trust, and build mutual loyalty.

For this episode, Mia is joined by Yashna Padamsee, a consultant for nonprofit organizations and movements with over 17 years in the field, to talk about the importance of sharing our origin stories within social change organizations and movements.

Mia and Lisa Marie discuss the problems with general DEI initiatives, the day-to-day practicing of shared power through collaborative learning and modeling, why Shared Power is for EVERYONE in your organization, and how to sustain this internal shift long-term.

In this first episode, Mia is joined by one of the podcast producers, Alysia Tate, to explain the intention behind the series, how we chose episode topics and guests, and why justice and equity work matters in every area of life (no matter your career choice).