Jun 243 min read

Leadership reDEFYned: Why We Need Better Leadership Development

chess board with identical pieces in color minus one that is different — Photo Courtesy of Randy Fath on Unsplash

In most organizations across the US, if not the globe, you'll find a group of leaders who look alike, sound alike, make decisions in similar ways...and train the people to be leaders just like them.

It's human nature to want to be around people just like us. There are many reasons for this including because it feels comfortable and familiar, it gives us personal validation that we are "normal" or "right", and for most, it feels easier too.

Psychologists also suggest many reasons as to why we tend to want to work with people like ourselves including:

Social Identity Theory: in this theory, Henri Tajfel suggests our self-esteem and therefore sense of belonging is partly linked to the groups we belong to. In work, this translates to a desire to work with colleagues who share similar values, work styles, or even backgrounds.
In-Group Bias: similar to the Social Identity Theory, in-group bias suggests a tendency to prefer or favor members of our perceived in-group (people similar to us) over out-group members. At work, this can turn into a preference to work with others who share similar characteristics to us. This bias can be unconscious and lead to overlooking equally qualified colleagues who are different.
Homophily Theory: states that we have a human tendency to associate with others who share similar characteristics. In a work setting, this means preferring colleagues with similar educational backgrounds, professional experiences, or even personality traits.

So while this is a natural tendency, this leads to creating a work culture that celebrates the status quo. While businesses can initially be successful doing this, their ability to continue to grow exponentially will suffer. Their diversity and inclusion ratings will likely be very low. The ability to challenge each other, learn from other perspectives and experiences, be creative, innovate, and so much more can and will suffer.

We need a better way.

We believe there is a better way. And we are calling it Leadership reDEFYned.

Welcome to The WeInspireWe Revolution

Same great company, expanded platform for transformation.

When I founded WeInspireWe in 2017, I knew that I wanted to support women and underrepresented populations to find their leadership voice, step into bigger and bigger roles, and to create positive change in the business world. I believed then, and now to this day, that we need to shake things up to truly make this world a better place.

As WeInspireWe grew from just me to now a team of 9 individuals, our vision and our commitment to great change has continued to grow too. Now, in 2024, and I continue to see how far organizations have to go in creating a more equitable playing field and in creating opportunity for the best candidate, not the most average candidate that “fits in”.

We believe that this change must happen – and in order to do this, we must become the catalyst for change. We believe that we must reDEFYne current leadership standards and pathways to leadership.

We are passionate and committed to supporting organizations, teams, and individuals to DEFY the ordinary by unlocking their authentic leadership potential and maximizing their impact. Through our programs and partnerships, we empower others to DEFY the ordinary and unleash potential to create a more equitable future and drive positive change for all.

As we continue on this journey toward change, we must continue to evolve our offerings and make an impact any and everywhere possible. We have (and will continue to) shift our focus and offerings to make the biggest impact where possible.

We work with organizations of all shapes and sizes, groups and teams, and individuals who are tired of the status quo and are ready for transformation. We reDEFYne leadership through our: