Leading With Friendliness

3 years ago as I was heading into my 2nd attempt at yoga teacher training I was unsure how I would fund it. I created a budget and planned to have payments some directly from my checking account to Yoga On High each month.

After an info session I spoke to one of the partners about this and she suggested I speak to Michele (another partner) about scholarships. She wasn't passive. But to me it just seemed too far fetched of an idea.

As time got closer I spoke with the lead of TT accounts about my payments, and timidly asked about scholarships. She too suggested I talk to Michele. She let me know that she would give me a call.

At that point I was all bits of nervous. So you mean (yoga rock star) Michele is going to call me? Ummmm...I'm not ready. I don't even know what to say or whatever. Well, like an hour later I get an email and we arrange an approximate time to talk.

Michele calls me the next day and cuts straight past the small talk and asks what I need/what can I afford. I told her I didn't know. She directly said "Girl, yes you do...what can you truly afford to pay?"

I told her an amount and about my budget and payment plan. She interrupted me and said, "Cool. Okay." She passed me back to staff to facilitate the rest. But it was that simple.

What's your point Olivia? Well I have 2...

1 ask and ye shall receive. Most often we have not because we ask not. I was literally not going to ask or dig too much because I had self eliminated. I'm not sure why people do this in general. But as a black woman I certainly know why.

Black women spend so much time dealing with rejection that we don't want to intentionally walk into it. In this situation I had made up all the reasons why Michele wouldn't call me or why she would say no or how little I would get (in comparison). That came from years of rejection experience and the ugly racist and sexist history in this country. But I digress in that.

Point 2: This is the truest reason for this sharing. Be a business owner/partner/founder is a beautiful accomplishment. It does not mean that you lack people skills or compassion.

Every since my first encounter with Michele has been welcoming, genuine, and down to earth. The beautiful thing is Marcia (who is one of the founders of YOHI) is the same! She greets me like a friend, not an employee or client. They both take interest in the people who walk in that space.

Some people take the sight of this as a weakness in some environments. In my opinion it's the strongest of attributes of a leader. In order to serve the people you have to know the people; beyond social media and applications.

I've always been a simple woman who tries not to place people on pedestals. When we all realize we're the same it makes it easier to do this work of living in peace with joy.

June 2019