Image Credit:Lisa Congdon/Lisa Congdon Instagram

July 2022

Dear friends,

Every newsletter message we’ve written since we launched Illuminate Collective last fall has been grounded in embracing growth, beauty, and grace as we walk through a world that is challenging, painful, and imperfect. You may be feeling that the world has never felt as challenging, painful, and imperfect as it does in this moment. As a country, we’re experiencing wave upon wave of mass shootings, racial violence, and erosion of women’s rights as we continue to move through a pandemic. It’s not possible for us to write a newsletter that doesn’t name the fear and pain and heaviness that many of us are feeling this summer.

And. There is always an “and.”

We name the fear and pain and heaviness and . . .

we take one step forward.
we rest if we need to.
we keep learning so we can show up in productive ways.
we hold our loved ones close.
we march.
we watch for fireflies when it gets dark.
we take a walk.
we take action.
we take care of our colleagues and our neighbors.
we take care of ourselves.

At the mid point of the year, as we name and acknowledge so much that is hard, what is the “and” for you? What is helping you to lean into the second half of this year and keep growing?

We’ll be talking about this – and just checking in with each other! – in our Collective Conversation next Tuesday, July 19th. Please join us for this moment of connection and reflection. And let’s keep taking care of ourselves and each other.

Join us!

Collective Conversation: Embracing the Both/And

Tuesday, July 19th from 11 AM – 12 PM EST – We invite you to pause, grab a cup of coffee (or a glass of iced tea!), and join us for this informal conversation about embracing a “both/and” mindset as we step into a new season.

Register Here

Fall Coaching Opportunities

We’d love to add you to one of our remaining executive coaching spots for the second half of 2022! If you’re interested in learning more about how we can support you and your work through coaching, use the link below to schedule a 30 minute consult with us.

Schedule Consult

White Leaders Working on Antiracism Fall Cohort

White Leaders Working on Antiracism (WLWA) is a dedicated space for reflection, learning, and practice for white leaders who aspire to lead with equity. Through this four part series, white leaders engage in the internal work of rigorously reflecting on their impact as well as the external work of engaging responsibly and thoughtfully on issues of race and equity. Learning, reflecting, and practicing in community with other leaders can be transformative.

We invite you to join our WLWA email list to stay up-to-date on WLWA cohorts for Fall 2022 using the link below.

Join Mailing List

Partner Spotlight

Kelly Harris Perin, Little Bites Coaching

Our friend and colleague Kelly Harris Perin of Little Bites Coaching is dedicated to helping people and organizations work better and feel better. Little Bites has just launched Navigating Parental Leave, a course and coaching package for parents and a partnership for organizations committed to supporting a positive parental leave for everyone. As a mom of 3, transition coach for working parents, and advisor to human resources leaders on policies and practices, Kelly has seen it all – bright spots where parents and managers felt supported and productive, horror stories of bungled leave policy, team conflict, and long-term career harm – and everything in between. She believes that parental leave can be better for EVERYONE, including all kinds of parents, their managers, and their team members.

Find out more about Navigating Parental Leave here, and get the free resource “5 Ways You Can Support a Positive Parental Leave… for EVERYONE” here.