By the staff at Popular Publicity
In Pride Leadership, author Dr. Steve Yacovelli says your LGBTQ+ life experience is the key to “leadership awesomeness.”
“I want to be the gay Brené Brown!” says “The Gay Leadership Dude,” LGBTQ+ leadership speaker, author, and catalyst Dr. Steve Yacovelli. On a mission not only to empower LGBTQ+ Leaders and allies but start an LGBTQ+ leadership movement, Yacovelli recently published Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle.
At the heart of Pride Leadership, which has been praised by workplace leaders and opens with an enthusiastic foreword by Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims, is Yacovelli’s firm conviction that our life experience as LGBTQ+ people is a unique advantage, the shiny X-factor, that can make us all great leaders.
“LGBTQ+ folks naturally have a lot of the skills it takes to be effective leaders,” he says. “Whether that’s having empathy, being authentic, or knowing how to communicate effectively to a variety of audiences, through our shared journey we’ve had practice in many of these areas. And we can channel that awesomeness into being a more effective and inclusive leader in our respective workplaces—and in our daily lives.”
In Pride Leadership, Yacovelli identifies the six leadership traits—being authentic, leading with courage, having empathy, effective communication, building relationships, and influencing organizational culture—that can greatly increase any LGBTQ+ Leader’s effectiveness.
From facing bias, seeking LGBTQ+ mutual support in your business community, to when to fight for inclusivity or “pack up your toys and find an employer who embraces the beautiful difference that is you,” Yacovelli imparts advice and guidance with humor and affection. Chapter titles include “The Shiny Unicorn That is You: Being Your Authentic Self,” “Yielding the Magic Fairy Wand (or Sword) of Empathy,” “Being Krystal (Carrington) Clear: Fabulous Communication.”
“You’ll definitely hear my voice in this narrative,” he says. “I tried to write as I speak about these topics, with a little cheekiness sprinkled in to hopefully make the experience enjoyable.”
Pride Leadership is for everyone, not just folks in the C-suite. “When I say I want to start an LGBTQ+ leadership movement, I mean we need to think about leadership development in our community beyond the C-suite,” says Yacovelli. “I want us as a community to be thinking about how we develop that ‘middle,’ and also how we are prepared to develop the up-and-coming leaders who will carry us forward toward our continued fight for equality—in the workplace and well beyond.”
Pride Leadership: Strategies for the LGBTQ+ Leader to be the King or Queen of their Jungle is available on Amazon and at www.topdoglearning.biz/book.
