Growing Authentic Leadership and Transformational Space
with Roxanne Derhodge

Episode 30 Description

Do you believe your voice matters? Do you believe that the way you communicate with others can directly impact how they show up in the world?

Roxanne Derhodge joins Christine to share her empowering knowledge around authentic leadership. Discover what it means to own your voice and empower others to do the same. Roxanne digs into what it means to be a leader for the collective, and how CEOs and business owners can leverage their authenticity in leadership. In today’s episode of the We Rise podcast, step into a transformative space and cultivate change!

Roxanne Derhodge, M.Sc.ED. is a registered psychotherapist specializing in individual, couples and family therapy. She has over 20 years of experience, and is a graduate of the University of Toronto and the University of Guelph specializing in cognitive behavioral and family systems therapy. As a BIPOC leader, Roxanne has written an Amazon bestselling book, A Therapist Insider’s Guide on Relationships: Healing the Past, and is a professional member of the Canadian Association of Professional Speakers (CAPS) as well as a contributing member to the Forbes Executive Council.

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Episode 30 Show Notes

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Key takeaways

Empowering the voices of others

In the collective space, people often don’t feel like they have a voice or that their voice has value or meaning.

At the heart of Roxanne Derhodge’s work is the desire to help others develop skills associated with having a voice.

Roxanne started working with victims of crime relatively early, spanning her career working with addiction, mental health, post traumatic stress disorder, and then corporate consulting. In her latter work she began helping companies ask the important questions like, “what services or strategies are needed to keep employees healthy and happy at work?” The focus is on the individual and their experience; not fixated on the bottom line.

So how do you find your voice, and how do you use it?

Our families are the first cultures that we experience. In them, Roxanne shares the importance of asking ourselves what we learned about connection, safety, and security. The way we show up in the world as we grow up and interact with other communities will be informed by these first belief systems we experienced in our formative years. As this relates to the collective, business, and corporations, it is key for them to create a safe space for all voices to be heard and valued. This is an essential step in leadership. 

Roxanne believes that there has to be a shared vision within the context of safety in order for real change to take place. From the top down there needs to be relationships, trust, and space for voices to be heard. These are the glue to lasting change.

What it takes to be a leader

Oftentimes the passion and drive toward a vision begins with a goal and a purpose.

Roxanne breaks down different levels of leadership as a way to ensure that the vision remains intact as a business grows and expands, whether it is a non-profit or a for-profit organization.

Included in these are:

• Self-Awareness: Why are you doing what you’re doing? Who are you? How do you come in contact with your values? 
• Relationship: How do you relate to your community? What is your connection to the greater group? Are you being transparent?
• Biases: Understanding what biases and blind spots you have and keeping them at the forefront.

From looking at these areas, leaders can begin to envision the legacy they want to leave with their business, community, and the greater collective. The alignment of these things is what Roxanne calls authentic leadership and connection.

Making these changes to reach alignment is difficult though, so what needs to reach this point of authentic and connected leadership? 

In Roxanne’s experience, it’s important to understand the sector and type of business, the history of the company, their environment, etc. From here you can ask, “How is the company really doing?” 

There is so much value in looking at the entire picture. 

What’s working well and what’s not working well? 

Yes, the business may be making money, but what if many of the employees are reporting burnout or mental health struggles? This is not the sign of long-term success without being willing to recalibrate.

Learn and lean into adversity

Roxanne works with a lot of different leaders, occasionally stepping in during a crisis mode or when there’s discord. One individual she worked with knew something was off and that despite being profitable, he was unliked by his employees.

Acknowledging the need for change, he willingly stepped into transformative space. He took the time to grow as a person and do inner work. He got to know his employees, volunteered on local boards and became involved in the community.

Being transparent about your mistakes and shortcomings fosters trust and respect within a company. It lays the foundation for recalibration and realignment with the core vision and values of the business. Transformation occurs when leaders lean into adversity and follow through with making necessary changes.

Leaders are people too. They are affected by what’s going on around them. Because of this, it’s also important for them to take care of themselves. Leaders need to incorporate self-care into their lives so they are then able to be fully present with those they work with.

notable quotes from Roxanne

“If we don’t have a space where we can feel safe, we’re less likely to use our voice in a way that would be additive to the collective.”

“If you don’t have a shared vision, within the context of safety, we can have the most fantastic strategic vision, and mission and all those tactical skills and all that stuff, but at the end of the day, if we don’t have trust, you’re not going to have that joining, which allows real real change.”

“When people are psychologically safe and secure, they pull out all the stops, and innovation and creativity comes. And they want to do well. We all want to do well… with whatever we do. We want to think, wow, I was part of that company.”

“Follow through with the transparency. Communicate as much as you can, even if it’s bad news, because after a while, people respect that because not all news is good news. But at least they know that you’re respecting their space enough.”

“When you have a conversation, always make the person that you’re speaking to feel like they’re the only person in the room.”

“Connection with people that are important to me, even more so through COVID… It’s about those experiences and spaces or a good meal that you prepare for people that you love, and you sit there and you enjoy it and you laugh at the joke. Those are the things that make me feel so grateful.”

“I view my role as being a vein of allowing others to get so deep that they can listen to truly what their value is. And to impart that in whatever role they are.”

“My legacy story is that whoever I’ve touched in my career from beginning to end that, minimally, they would have said that they learn to listen to that deep space within them to use their voice for highest and best good.” 

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Discover more about Roxanne Derhodge and her powerful leadership work through her website, and her podcast: Authentic Living with Roxanne. 

Purchase her book, A Therapist Insider’s Guide on Relationships: Healing the Past, and be on the lookout for her new book on relationships, coming soon!

The Yes! We Rise podcast features solutions-seekers, change-makers, and those creating a resilient future. We share stories and strategies to inspire action to build resilience and community transformation. To create change, people need to feel like they belong and that they are part of a growing movement. They need to know their voice matters and that they have the inspiration, agency and ability to transform their lives and their communities. They are the key to a resilient future.

From the Navajo Nation to the mountains of Appalachia, incredible work is being done by community members and leaders. Change is often sparked by inspiration: seeing what others have done, especially in similar situations and places. People see that when someone looks like them or lives in a place like theirs, and has created real, true and lasting change, change that will allow their granddaughters and grandsons to thrive — they begin to imagine what might be possible for them. No longer waiting for someone else to come and save them, they realize they are the ones they have been waiting for. But what creates that spark? What creates that inspiration? Learning through stories and examples, feeling a sense of agency and belonging, and getting fired up to kick ass creates that spark.

We Rise helps community leaders and members learn to forge a new path toward creating resilience and true transformation. One person at a time, one community at a time, one region at a time, the quilt of transformation can grow piece by piece until resilience becomes the norm instead of the exception. Together, we rise.