Leading with Love, Authenticity, Courage, and Empathy
- Chinyere Oparah
- 1 day ago
- 7 min read
A Conversation with Dr. Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh
In a moment, when equity leaders across higher education are navigating unprecedented
scrutiny, political pressure, and institutional challenges, spaces for honest reflection, mutual
support and connection have never been more important. The upcoming National Association of Diversity Officers in Higher Education (NADOHE) conference offers one such space.
At this year’s conference, the Center for Liberated Leadership will co-host an interactive
workshop titled “Democracy in Action: Leveraging Coaching to Embolden Equity Leadership and Institutional Change.” The session will explore how how leadership coaching for chief diversity officers and equity leaders can support equity leaders in sustaining courage, strengthening relationships, and advancing institutional transformation.
In advance of the conference, Center for Liberated Leadership founder Chinyere Oparah sat down with Dr. Yvette M. Alex-Assensoh, Vice President for Equity and Inclusion at the University of Oregon, author of The SOULS of Black Faculty and Staff in the American Academy (Palgrave, 2023) and a member of the NADOHE Board, to discuss her LACE leadership framework–Love, Authenticity, Courage, and Empathy–and what it offers leaders working for equity in challenging times.
For readers who may not know you yet, could you share a little about your leadership
journey and your role with NADOHE?
I first became involved with NADOHE simply as a member. At the time, I was serving as Vice
President for Equity and Inclusion and as a tenured full professor of political science at the University of Oregon (UO). I was looking for ways the organization could be supportive of my work. Earlier in my career, I had written a couple of essays for The Chronicle of Higher Education. One article, for example, focused on a question that many institutions face: once you’ve hired your diversity officer, what are the next seven steps? That piece generated a lot of interest, and I was later approached by NADOHE President Emerita Paulette Granberry Russell, who invited me to run for the NADOHE Board.
I did run and win, and I had the opportunity to serve on the Board. During that time, I became very interested in how NADOHE might be able to expand its professional development work, particularly in areas that were not always framed strictly as diversity work but were essential to the broader leadership development of equity leaders. Also, coaching and leadership development became an important part of that conversation.
Chief Diversity Officers are navigating enormous pressure right now. Why is the
NADOHE gathering particularly important in this moment?
"Isolation is often one of the most powerful tools used by those who want to divide people and
undermine transformation. Isolation separates individuals from one another, and it separates
ideas that might otherwise nurture growth and collective influence."
Spaces like the NADOHE conference serve as a counter to that dynamic. They create opportunities for people to come together in environments that are curious, expansive, creative, and empowering. They allow people to come together to engage honestly without feeling that they are being surveilled or judged in ways that might undermine the work they are trying to do on campuses. And at this particular moment in the United States, there are very few spaces where these kinds of conversations can unfold openly. That makes gatherings of NADOHE especially important.
You developed the LACE framework–Love, Authenticity, Courage, and Empathy. What
inspired that model?
When I arrived at the University of Oregon, we were developing our diversity strategic plan, or the IDEAL PLAN. There was a lot of focus on what we needed to do, with references to policies, programs, and initiatives. Yet, there was far less attention to who we needed to be in order to truly live out the values of equity and inclusion.
So I began asking questions about how we were showing up as a community. What does it mean to embody the values we say we care about?
At one campus gathering known as “Showcase Oregon”, I invited people to think about leadership through four qualities: Love, Authenticity, Courage, and Empathy (L.A..C.E). I asked participants to imagine what it would look like if we showed up in our workplaces modeling those values. At that time, the idea of talking about love in institutional leadership spaces felt almost like a taboo. Some people worried that it could undermine merit or excellence. Others worried it might be used to excuse inequities.
But, in the context of L.A.C.E., I define love in a very specific way, drawing from the work
of bell hooks:
"Love is the intentional nurturing of growth in ourselves and in others in ways that build the common good. In that sense it becomes a powerful force for transformation."
The other values–-Authenticity, Courage, and Empathy-–are expressions of that love. Authenticity allows people to show up as their full selves. Courage allows leaders to move through fear and discomfort. Empathy allows us to recognize that other people’s experiences have value.
Without love as the grounding principle, those values can easily become distorted. Authenticity
without love, for example, can become self-centeredness. Courage without love can, as well,
become domination. Empathy without love can become merely performative and exhausting.
When rooted in love, however, all qualities become tools for building stronger relationships, teams, and institutions.
You talked earlier about courage showing up for students in the classroom. How does
the framework help administrators and leaders show up with more courage?
One of the first things I often tell leaders is that it can actually be healthy to hear people say things about one’s leadership that one disagrees with or doesn’t like. Part of courage is being willing to listen to feedback that challenges you. As leaders, we often have the power to suppress criticism, ignore it, or silence it. But when courage is embedded in love, the goal shifts.
Love, in the way I define it, is intentionally nurturing growth and development in ourselves and
others. So, the courageous act may simply be staying present and listening—even when what you’re hearing is uncomfortable or feels wrong.
People do not have to agree with me. But I need to listen to them politely. In listening, I can ask silently: what might I learn from this moment? What might help my organization grow? What might strengthen my team?
"Sometimes courage is not about immediately acting. It is about being willing to stand in
that space of resistance or discomfort without dismissing it."
Often, leaders respond to resistance by suppressing it or pushing it aside. I have done that myself at times, and I have realized that it is actually a form of uncourageous leadership. Instead, we can ask: what is happening here? Why are people reacting this way? What might this moment be teaching us?
The LACE framework operates at three levels—individual, relational, and organizational. At the individual level leaders examine how they show up, their values and fears, and how they respond to conflict. At the relational level teams create agreements about how they engage with one another. In my own work with teams we develop shared commitments around courage and accountability so that people support one another in practicing these values.
At the organizational level the questions become systemic. Where are our policies and processes reinforcing fear or the status quo? Where are we acting with courage? Where are we enabling growth? LACE cannot operate only at the individual level. It has to be woven into the fabric of the institution.
One of the most provocative ideas in the framework is the “love audit.” What does that
look like in practice?
The love audit begins with a very simple question: where does love already exist in the organization?
Often when I introduce the LACE framework,, people instantly assume that love is absent in institutional spaces. Yet, when we look a lot more closely, we realize that people are already doing forms of love work. There may still be someone on one’s team, who naturally nurtures people’s growth and wellbeing. In my own team, for example, there is someone I jokingly call the “love bee.” Simply being in her presence makes people feel supported and cared for. Recognizing those forms of leadership is part of the audit.
At the relational level, it may involve addressing conflict in ways that encourage growth. For example, I once had two team members, who were in conflict with each other. After trying indirect approaches to help them work together, I finally told them very clearly and simply: what is happening here needs to stop. You need to resolve this and come back with a plan. They did the work. When they came back, they were hugging. Sometimes, love requires clarity and accountability.
At the systemic level, the love audit asks deeper questions about how institutions respond to differences and conflict. In one example, two groups of students were placed in the same residence hall during a summer–-Native students and White students. The Native students were drumming outside as part of their cultural practice. Staff called the police.
Instead of responding only through discipline or enforcement, the department used the moment as an opportunity to ask deeper questions about culture, belonging, and understanding. In that sense, the situation became an opportunity for a love audit and learning.
Finally, we will be sharing a panel together at the conference on coaching and equity
leadership. Why is coaching important in this moment?
The fact is that coaching has always been part of how people grow.
If we think about the most successful versions of ourselves, many of us were guided along the way by parents, mentors, teachers, and professors, who helped us see our strengths and develop our potential. Coaching simply makes that process intentional.
Indeed, when we bring coaching into higher education’s leadership level, we expand its potential.
"Coaching shouldn’t only help individuals grow but, instead, we can use it to help institutions grow into their next best version."
Equity leaders are doing some of the most transformational work on campuses today. If so, why not give them access to one of the most powerful developmental tools available–-not only to support their own leadership, but to help guide institutions toward deeper integrity, courage, and impact?
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Join us at the NADOHE Annual Conference for the interactive session “Democracy in Action: Leveraging Coaching to Embolden Equity Leadership and Institutional Change.” Together, we
will explore how a coaching framework like LACE and other models can support equity leaders
in sustaining courage, strengthening relationships and helping institutions’ move toward their
next best version.
If Yvette’s reflections resonate with your own leadership journey, you may also wish to explore coaching with her through the Center for Liberated Leadership. Yvette works with equity leaders navigating complex institutional dynamics to strengthen strategic clarity, relational leadership, and sustainable impact. Book a free Leadership Clarity call to explore our coaching offerings below.
This blog is part of our series, Leading Out Loud, on courageous leadership in these difficult times. Join the Conversation:
#Courageous Leadership
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