Inside The Shift: Our Team, Our Values, Our Movement (Vol. 2, No. 2)

By Andrew Vidales

The Shift | Vol. 2, No. 2 — Transforming Black Futures Together: Driving Change from Within

Systems break down when decisions are made for a community rather than with it. That is what informs how LeadersUp operates externally and internally. Before we can invite partners, policymakers, or employers to build with the community, we must demonstrate what co-design looks like within our own organization.

We’ve made a point of focusing on that discipline, together.

We’ve facilitated shared reflection, open dialogue, and collective problem-solving through Leading@LeadersUp. These team sessions are not status updates; they are times for the team to craft together. Whether it’s aligning on priorities, unpacking lessons from projects, or exploring what shared power looks like in the moment, the intention is always the same: a singular person doesn’t have all (or even most) of the answers. We build it together.

Our recent team offsite has only reinforced this commitment. We did storytelling activities, imagination exercises, and structured dialogue to examine how our lived experiences inform our leadership. We thought about where we’ve inherited systems that exclude, and where it is on us to think differently and imagine widely. That work isn’t abstract. It shapes how we run meetings, assign ownership, and make decisions. It dictates who speaks first and who is heard, ultimately shaping the outcome.

One of the hurdles we set out to break down this last year was decision-making opacity. Now, as in many organizations, important decisions used to be made by very few voices. Since then, we’ve increasingly moved towards more transparent communication loops, collaborative facilitation, and planning, in partnership with our Functional Leaders across Stakeholder Engagement, Research & Evaluation, and PMO. It’s not flawless, but it is deliberate, because co-design requires visibility.

Black Futures Month serves as a reminder that innovation has always sprung from community, especially from brilliant Black communities whose skills and vision have too often been overlooked or appropriated. To commemorate Black futures is more than celebration; it’s about determining that the systems we create are mirrors of shared authorship. When we practice co-design internally, we are also practicing how to support youth-led policy design outside. The muscle we use to work together across functions is the same one we use to center Black and BIPOC young adults in shaping economic policy.

At LeadersUp, Shared Power in the collective is not a slogan. It is a practice.

That practice resembles shared leadership, honest feedback, and the bravery to redesign what no longer advances equity. So, to our partners and champions: if we are all serious about developing systems that last, this is work that needs to continue together. Join us in promoting community-led solutions. The future is not something we deliver; it is something we create together.

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Andrew Vidales is the Head of People & Culture at LeadersUp, driving organizational development and building inclusive, future-fit leaders.