In my experience, the most unconventional leadership development exercises are often the most  powerful. Wave HQ's My Voice My Lens program, a series of 6 workshops designed to connect the  art of leadership with self-portrait photography, was no exception. Wanted to share some of my reflections and insights from this transformative experience. 

A huge thank you to Ashira Gobrin and Judith Leitner for facilitating such a powerful experience and to the rest of Cohort 9 (Joshua Siegal Frances Kim Sophia Saunders Rezaul Hoque Baker Baha Kathryn Torangeau Krista Cappadocia Asma Erum Steven Weinberg Scott Gabdullin) for your endless inspiration, vulnerability, and support!

I am privileged to work for an amazing company called Wave that believes that some of the most  powerful leadership development is rooted in personal development. Back in 2016, our Chief  People Officer, Ashira Gobrin, collaborated with renowned photographer Judith Leitner to create  My Voice My Lens - a powerful series of 6 workshops designed to connect the art of leadership with  self-portrait photography. Over the past few months, I was lucky enough to participate in the 9th  cohort of this program and wanted to share some of my reflections and insights from this  transformative experience.

My Voice My Lens has been a powerful journey of learning to see myself, both through my own  eyes, as well as through the mirrors that others have held up for me to see myself. During our first  session, someone asked about the difference between a selfie and a self-portrait. What’s become  clear to me over the last few months is that the difference comes down to intention: a selfie is often  taken as a means to show off to others at a surface level whereas a self- portrait is taken as a means  to more deeply see yourself. 

What strikes me about the connection between photography and leadership is the definition that  Judith shared of photography being defined as “drawing with light.” Leadership is the same in  many ways - a chance to draw out and celebrate the light with your team, but also to model and  hold a safe space for the shadows to emerge 

In fact, I believe that our shadows - the very thing that we are often so scared to share with others - shapes us even more than the light, and during My Voice My Lens, it was when people were brave  enough to be vulnerable with the group or just allow themselves to deeply feel that I felt most  connected to them.It’s humanity, not perfection that fosters connection. 

Perhaps it’s fitting then that so many of my photos and artist statements included different  references to light. The powerful question that Lisa Nichols once asked me - “Why would you dim  your light just because the room is dark?" - serves as a reminder for me to stop waiting for  permission to show up fully as a leader. And Edith Wharton’s quote - “There are two ways of  spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it” - reinforces for me that the role of a  leader isn’t just about being the conductor at the front of the room, but also the coach that can help  others see the conductor within themselves.

The role of a leader isn’t just about being the conductor at the front of the room, but also the coach  that can help others see the conductor within themselves. 

My Voice My Lens has also challenged me to get back into creation mode as a leader, rather than  just focusing on consumption. A lot of the personal development work I’ve done over the years has  focused on consuming other people’s ideas - reading books, watching TED talks, attending  workshops, etc. - and through coaching, meditation, and journaling, I’ve also done my fair share of  self-reflection. What I don’t do often enough is create and share my personal experiences, ideas,  and insights with others. 

I know that if I was shooting with a film camera, I would have found this experience a lot more  stressful because I would have felt the pressure to get everything set up perfectly from the start, but  because I was using my phone's camera, I felt the freedom to just start shooting and  experimenting. As a leader, I often see myself entering this film camera mode of thinking, wanting  every idea to be perfectly formed before I share it with anyone. This, however, often prevents me  from taking action or getting momentum since I put so much effort into getting it right from the  start. Moving forward as a leader, I’d like to embody more of what I learned during My Voice My  Lens - start early, have the courage to experiment, and let the clarity and ideas form through action. 

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