I have been thinking about presence and power a lot lately. As Reclaiming Pittsburgh is a fledgling community, my goal is to empower those that are in the community to not only show up, but to step up – into leadership, into ritual roles, into seeing and being seen. I have been listening to Amy Cuddy’s audiobook Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self to Your Biggest Challenges, and the following quote stopped me in my tracks this morning:

“When you become present, you allow others to be present. Presence doesn’t make you dominant in an Alpha sense, it actually allows you to hear other people, and for them to feel heard, and for them to become present. You can help people feel more powerful even when you can’t give them formal power.”

YES. YES. THIS.

More thoughts later…

Image: Cover of Presence: Bringing Your Boldest Self To Your Biggest Challenges by Amy Cuddy