Today, I just did my first acupuncture treatment. Over the first fifteen months of the fellowship, I focused on activities, learning, and traveling. As I pursued each of those activities, I realized I needed to spend more time on myself. How can I make my mind, body, and soul healthier to propel my leadership? I have struggled with chronic pain for years, and I hope acupuncture can help alleviate it. As I met with the therapist, we identified other areas specific to health that I can refocus on and work on my long-term health.

As I started my Bush Fellowship, I was committed to meeting my outlined plan, traveling, meeting with innovators, and taking classes. Through this work, I realized one of the most significant gaps in my leadership was developing the ability to be vulnerable. I was challenging myself not to have the answers and trusting others to lead in my place.

I then took that into practice. As architects, we want to be creative and believe that we innovate. As I have worked through my leadership, I have a deeper understanding of my ability to inspire and limit my team. I have become intentional in giving voice to multiple members of my team. I have embraced the tension that leads to innovation. As I write this, I just finished an ideation session with my team. We did not have answers, but new questions arose, and we provided a process to continue innovating on a complex project.

Lastly, I am beginning to understand the power of my voice. There are many times when I have wondered why people look up to me. I traveled to LA recently to engage a developer regarding innovative practices to get more people of color involved in large construction projects. As we discussed his approach, I thought I had come there to learn from him, but he was learning as much from me. His whole team was present, and we were sharing ideas and making connections across the country.