Meet Shana Francesca | Scholar of Intentional & Ethical Leadership & Living, Keynote Speaker and Consultant

We had the good fortune of connecting with Shana Francesca and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Shana, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Taking a risk on myself and starting my business was the scariest choice I have ever made but certainly not the scariest moment of my life. I knew I had no idea what it would require of me, I only knew the first few steps, but I also knew I would never let me down. I might fail but I would never let myself down, never give up if there was another path to take that felt authentic to me and my journey. And I was right.

The company I started back in 2016 is not the business I have now. I found such incredible clarity along the way. Realized I was thinking too small at the beginning and that the medium I chose at the outset was too limiting for what I wanted to bring into the world. Pivoting, being willing to pivot, taking those risks along the way is why I am who I am today and how I am able to show up as the strongest and most curious version of myself every day, for myself, those I lead, and my clients.

Can you give our readers an introduction to your business? Maybe you can share a bit about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Growing up in the environments I did, denied me the ability to show up as myself. When I left and began to explore the world and its possibilities and discover what my unique contribution could be, what I was uniquely suited for I just stayed open. Getting curious and staying curious is the most incredible thing I have ever done.

It is no wonder that my work now has me continually investigating what it is to be an intentional and ethical human and an intentional and ethical leader. I posit that leadership is relationship and all ethical relationship requires us to intentionally invest in curiosity, respect, and accountability.

Curiosity is the bedrock of all relationship. Whether we are talking about with ourselves, with others, with the living world, with innovation (which drives profitability), with creativity, the list goes on. But curiosity must be balanced out by respect. Curiosity without respect is intrusive and respect without curiosity is uneducated. The final aspect, accountability, is what amplifies the whole equation. Accountability requires us to get curious about and take responsibility for the impact of our actions on those who have been impacted and then dedicate ourselves to learn more and do better. Without it, there is no ethical relationship.

Being able to give voice to what relationship truly is and the ways that it empowers our life, our connection to the world around us, our success (personally and as a leader), our joy, hope…hope is a big one that is deeply connected to curiosity and hope is our most powerful emotion even more than fear.

I mean, intentional and ethical relationship transforms everything. It transformed me. In the paraphrased words of Rudy Francisco, it changed my life from a graveyard to a garden. The difference between those two things is only what you choose to put in the ground. I chose to plant curiosity and ground it with respect and amplify it all with accountability and what a wild ride my life has become as a result and how powerful my work is because of it.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I haven’t spent too much time in LA lately. I am back in the town I grew up in being the best aunt ever for the time being. SO, if you are ever in the South Jersey Philly area this is what I would love to do. Let’s start off with a great cup of tea or coffee from Four Green Cats and then head over to Haddon Culinary for breakfast. Next we are going to Philly and walking the Parkway and visiting all the gorgeous museums and gardens then head to Wilder for lunch they have the best pizzas and pasta. Then head to Old City there is this cool park along the Delaware, Spruce Street Harbor Park where we could jump into swan-shaped paddle boats and grab a beer before heading to Royal Boucherie for dinner and drinks. I think I am going to wrangle some girlfriends into this itinerary ASAP!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people and even more books that have supported me and changed me along the way. People like Keith Ferrazzi, Ashley Owens, Christina Renna, Sandy Joy Weston, Keisha Stephenson Taylor and so many more, they have supported me when I needed it most.

As far as books, I could go on about books for the rest of my life. My current favorites are “How We Show Up” by Mia Birdsong and “Braiding Sweetgrass” by Robin Wall Kimmerer. I am in the midst of reading a few books but one that really has me excited is “Joyful Militancy – Building Thriving Resistance in Toxic Times.” The first page sat me down and left me speechless I can’t wait to dive in more.

My love of books and learning in general, I think, is a result of the fact that I knew, when I left the abusive home I was born into and the religious cult I was raised in that I would need a community of support around me and a big part of that was going to be exposing myself to a wide array of learning and having a community of people who I could engage in and further that learning with. I created a book club a decade ago that is still going strong to this day. Books have become the mentors in my head, their words live inside me and gestate as I take in more information from the world around me and help me to see beautiful connections that I did not previously notice or understand. Books help to adjust my relationship with the living world in ways that surprise and fascinate me. Books innovate my thinking.

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Image Credits
Horizontal Image & Orange Pant Suit – Jamie Dunek All Other Photos Kseniya Berson