Being and Becoming

On the Dawn of Transformation

by Bianca Anderson

February 15, 2023

ProInspire co-CEO Bianca Anderson expands on what “Being and Becoming” looks and feels like as the co-CEO of our growing organization in the midst of its own beautiful transitions. Enjoy the fourth and final blog installment in our Thrive Through the Season and into 2023 campaign.

For me, it has been supportive to describe these transitions as being and becoming. Two things can be true at the same time. ProInspire exists in one state and is becoming another. Each of these transitions are also in different states of evolution.

As an organization that is nearly 14 years old, ProInspire has experienced lots of change and transformation. For example, our internal race equity journey in 2015. As our Founder and my co-CEO Monisha Kapila describes it, when ProInspire started its internal race equity journey, it clicked for the team at the time that the inequitable outcomes BIPOC employees were experiencing within the social sector weren’t about talent pipelines. Rather, they were an issue of equity, and in particular racial inequity. 

It became clear to the ProInspire team that the antiquated and often harmful white dominant standards in the workplace were contributing to the biased experiences people of color were having. They saw this especially within historically white-led nonprofit organizations that were operating in a system designed to produce and reproduce different outcomes based on such systems of oppression as racism, classism, and sexism. As a result of this learning, ProInspire decided to sunset the Fellowship program in 2018. 

Today, we find ourselves in another moment of transformation.

ProInspire’s Three Transitions

In 2021, ProInspire shifted to a co-leadership model, in part to begin planning Monisha’s succession. While originally envisioned as a temporary model, after Monisha and I realized how much we were benefiting from it, we decided to consider if co-leadership could be a lasting structure for ProInspire. To help us better understand how our model was landing with the team and Board, we embarked on a 6-month research project with KLP Impact. In the spirit of transparency and hope to contribute to the expanding body of work about co-leadership models, we shared the full executive summary and report findings on our blog last month. You can check it out here. 

But to share a high-level summary with you, going into the research project, we thought that there was one major change ProInspire was experiencing: moving from sole CEO to co-CEO. The research, however, unearthed three transitions:

For me, it has been supportive to describe these transitions as being and becoming. Two things can be true at the same time. ProInspire exists in one state and is becoming another. Each of these transitions are also in different states of evolution. We are currently founder-led and becoming an organization that will last beyond our founder’s succession. We have already moved from sole CEO to a co-CEO model, but are also becoming an organization that shares decision-making power and responsibilities in new ways. We center a race equity analysis in all of our work, and are also deepening and clarifying our politics — becoming a Pro-Black organization, an organization that centers Blackness and the nuanced needs of people of color in all that we do. 

This simultaneity often means we must be open to learning new ways and unlearning old norms. We must be open to taking the risk to try new things based on our evolving vision. And, as we implement actions that are in greater alignment with our evolving vision, we must build processes and structures that hold us accountable to what we are becoming — not the standard of what we have been. 

Being and Becoming at ProInspire 

We are committed to contributing to the growing coalition of Pro-Black organizations that center the needs of Black, Indigenous, and people of color in their work. But what this looks like and how it is reflected in our structures and approach is in a state of being and becoming. This year, ProInspire’s team is prioritizing this pursuit through our strategic process in collaboration with AORTA, in which our team will be honing our politics through a Black Feminist praxis. We look forward to sharing back learnings throughout the year.

As an organization, we are committed to thriving, and we are dedicated to understanding what individual, organizational, and sector level conditions are necessary to support Black, Indigenous, and leaders of color with thriving. We believe that if BIPOC leaders and BIPOC-led organizations have the access, safety, and resources that they need to thrive, and if we have the spaciousness needed to reimagine a world without systems of oppression— our work within communities will not only reflect that world, but it will become a reality. 

We are practicing the world we believe in, but practice does not mean perfect, and there is much to explore, evolve, and learn from. We invite you to join us in being and becoming. 

Join us in Being and Becoming

What is this current moment calling you to become? Here are a few steps and questions you can use to identify and unpack areas of being and becoming: 

Step 1: Notice and Name
Notice what is happening and give it a name. What is happening? In 2-3 words, what can you call it? Are there any patterns or common occurrences?

Step 2: Reflection on Learnings
Where are we now? What are we being called to? What are we learning from this transformation? What might be needed to navigate this transformation successfully? 

Step 3: Identify Opportunities to Become
Where are we now? What are we being called to? What are we learning from this transformation? What might be needed to navigate this transformation successfully? 

Bianca Anderson

Co-CEO, ProInspire

Learn about the Core Commitments by downloading our Leadership Model and signing up for our newsletter to stay updated on resources and tools.