Brian Levenson, Grace Aduroja Kolker, and Miranda Holder on Collaboration

Intentional Performers

Today’s episode is going to be a little bit different than our past episodes: I’m actually going to interview two friends of mine, two colleagues, that are going to share their perspective on collaboration.

Miranda Holder is an Executive Coach (and my own personal coach) that has a background in sport. She was a three-sport athlete in High School and then she found Rowing in College where she competed at an elite, high level. She then became a Rowing Coach and ended up becoming the Head Rowing Coach at Georgetown University. That journey of becoming a Rowing Coach ended up leading her to become an Executive Coach. Today, she spends a lot of time working with people in all walks of life in the corporate space, and she considers herself to be an insight wizard. She helps people see themselves in their situation more clearly, and for the people brave enough to do the work, there’s an incredible leader, person, and idea ready to surface. She loves to work with people on being the best leader or CEO that they can be while also taking risk to start a company or refusing to settle into a career path that doesn’t elicit joy and excitement. She loves helping people unlock their potential and at her core, she loves coaching.

Grace Aduroja Kolker is a friend of mine, someone I look up to, and someone who I consider to be a mentor. Grace is a coach and someone who is extremely wise when it comes to things like communication, emotional intelligence, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and decision making. She is someone who I personally have sent many friends to to get coached. She is someone who facilitates dialogue with me on a regular basis and helps me be the best version of myself. Grace is a lawyer by trade, but she also has a journalism background. She is somebody who has had to ask questions for legal purposes, had to ask questions as a journalist, and as somebody who is just ridiculously curious. Grace is amazingly inquisitive and is a leadership coach. She is someone who holds space for people, develops people, and also facilitates conversations in group experiences. Grace is someone who I look up to, someone who makes me wiser and better at my job, and we often co-facilitate together. Additionally, she has a high-potential accelerator where she will work with individuals one-on-one.

Here's a quick summary and some key takeaways from this conversation: In today’s episode, Brian, Grace, and Miranda discussed the paradox of autonomy and collaboration, the importance of collaboration, and its challenges and benefits. Additionally, they emphasized the importance of vulnerability, fulfillment, and clear communication in collaboration. Brian acknowledged his struggle with receiving help and understanding others' strengths. The group also discussed the need to work on aspects of collaboration to enhance teamwork and productivity.

More specifically, Grace and Miranda had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together” (12:00) – Grace

“The question of ‘Why?’ is less important to me than ‘Where do we go from here?’” (17:20) – Miranda

“I work on my own because I don’t like working for other people” (18:10) – Miranda

“Being in that energy of receiving can be really difficult” (22:45) – Miranda

“One of my weaknesses is I don’t allow people to contribute to me” (25:15) – Grace

“There is a vulnerability [to collaboration]” (26:40) – Grace

“I love being accountable and there’s a lot I’m accountable for. But I don’t want to be responsible for it all” (29:10) – Grace

“People who deliver excellence deliver excellence across the board” (32:50) – Grace

“The body [has] the ability to sense and be with the complexity of multiple experiences and multiple feelings and sensations” (48:215) – Miranda

“I want to be tested and see if I’m good enough more than I want to avoid the discomfort of the challenge” (49:40) – Miranda

“As you mature, you start from a place of dependence” (1:02:55) – Grace

“That ability to sink into interdependence is so powerful” (1:05:35) – Miranda

“The relationship matters to me more than anything else” (1:17:40) – Grace

“You’ve got to do you own work first” (1:18:10) – Grace

Thank you so much to Grace and Miranda for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.