S4 E1: Creating the Conditions for Growth | 4 Leadership Lessons from Viola Davis’s Finding Me

What can Viola Davis’s Finding Me teach us about leadership?

In this Season 4 premiere of Behaviorally Speaking: Leadership for Change Makers, Dr. Esther C. Bubb explores four leadership lessons inspired by Davis’s memoir and examines them through a behavioral lens.

This isn't a book review. It's a reflection on becoming.

Dr. Bubb explores why leaders must examine their own behavioral histories, why we should never confuse someone's current behavior with their future potential, why people need opportunities to discover and use their voices, and how leaders can transform struggle into wisdom that benefits others.

Drawing from her own experiences—from discovering applied behavior analysis to finding her voice growing up in Grenada and learning difficult lessons through professional experiences—Dr. Bubb connects these ideas to a central leadership philosophy:

People can grow to more than they know.

The question for leaders isn't merely, "How do I change this person?"

Rather, it is: "What conditions might help this person discover what they are capable of becoming?"

In this episode, you'll discover how a behavioral lens can move leadership beyond judgment and toward curiosity, understanding, opportunity, and growth.

Inside this episode:• Four leadership lessons from Finding Me• Why self-awareness is a leadership responsibility• How leaders can avoid confusing current behavior with future potential• Why psychological safety matters when developing people's voices• How difficult experiences can become leadership wisdom• The power of changing conditions rather than simply trying to change people• A practical Monday Morning Move you can use immediately

Listen, reflect, and consider: What possibility in the person you lead have you not yet unlocked?

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