Leading From The Body: Dr. Wendi Williams on Rest, Liberation and Reimagining Power
Leadership is often framed as endurance, output and constant motion, especially for Black and Brown women who have been pushed to carry more than their share for generations. But as Dr. Wendi Williams, President-elect of the American Psychological Association, reminds us in this candid conversation, a different way is not only possible, it is necessary.
In this interview, Dr. Williams speaks openly about what liberated leadership feels like in the body, why recovery is a form of resistance, and how wellness becomes a catalyst for courage. She reflects on the generational pressures placed on Black women, the cultural seduction of the hustle, and the transformative power of saying “no” as a pathway to both wellness and influence.
You write and speak about liberation in leadership. What does liberated leadership look like and what does it feel like in the body?
Liberated leadership is the act of creating space and opportunity for individual and collective growth and abundance through being your authentic self and inviting others to do the same. In the body it feels like release, especially for those who are told that who they are or how they behave authentically is not “normal” or is a deficit in comparison to other ways of being. Liberated leadership invites each of us to put down false ideals of who we are supposed to be to access the brilliance of who we actually are and the gifts that flow from there.
