And we're gonna discuss everything from life, blame, and business with the Tennessee player. Always relatable, always relevant, and always a good time. This is Duncan, Tennessee, and now your host, Yavonka.

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Welcome back to Talking Tennessee with Yavonka. This is part two of Phyllis Nichols Sit Down with Yavonka. Thank you for coming back.

Thanks for having me.

Most definitely. And let me go ahead and say, y'all know for season eight, I promised that I was going to do panel discussions. Uh, and I've already said Miss Phills has to be on it. She has to be on it. So I'll be bringing her back next year, most definitely. So tell me this. Let's talk about leadership. What is a good leader in your eyes?

A good leader focuses on the individuals that are around them and helping them to develop and grow. Okay. Not where we as a as you I I think that um people sometimes say, I'm gonna be the leader. Well, this is this is not what we did when we were kids and we chose teams. Right. This is this is different. And I think you evolve as a leader. You sort of bubble up as a as a leader, but it's not like being king of the castle or you know, uh it it's to me a good leader understands what the people around them need to grow and to be at at their best. There is a there's a picture that I saw online and it was called the leader of the pack. Okay, and there was a um uh uh a group of, I don't know what you call a group of wolves, so I'll just call it a probably a pack. A pack of wolves, and they were going across this snow covered tundra. And uh they asked the question, where is the leader? Because they were all stretched and they didn't you know that what they wanted you to do is where's the leader? Most people thought the leader was at the front, the front. The leader was at the back because what the leader has done is uh instill the skills in each of those uh wolves in the pack to go forward. And you're at the back to make sure that nobody gets left behind.

There you go.

So I think a good leader, and I've been asked, what do you how do you how do you lead? One of the things that I do, and it's all based on everything that I've done and and experienced throughout my life. Number one, I teach. Because how can I expect you to to achieve if we're not in sync? I you know, I I I we we determine what the goal is that we need to to what we're trying to achieve, how we're gonna get there. So we have our plan. And so we uh I I teach. I don't expect you to be able to read my mind and to just go and do, but we we spend some time. And that that might take, let's let's break this down into an hour. Of course, leadership and development of leadership skills is a long time, but let's just look at at the hour. So leadership uh and that teaching, depending on what a person comes with, it may take five minutes, it may take ten minutes, it may take 15 minutes. And when I say that, that's just a measurement of time on what you need to invest in that individual, depending on where they are. And it may be different. And it may be different. It's absolutely uh it's not that okay, I spend five minutes teaching. No, you understand what it is that a person needs. Then the second part is uh uh after you teach, then you uh allow that person you to to go on their own. And you're coaching. You let them let them demonstrate what you've taught. But you coach. And when when I say coach, that means you're still right there with them. They're out there on the court, but you're right here. And if they need you, there they there you are. And you're still providing direction. That's meaningful. They're doing the work. They're doing the work. Yes. And then the third part of it is empowered. I empower you to go and do the things that you've learned, what you've practiced, and now I set you on your own. It does not mean that you don't check back in. So when you reach empowerment, that means that you're confident about the skills and the in the training that you've had. Uh you're uh you're confident, accomplished, you're committed. You're ready, you're ready. Yes. You're committed to go. And it doesn't mean that you don't check back in. Right. Because we all stumble, we all, we all get fatigued, we all have different kinds of struggles in the leadership path. Right. But it's never about getting to the forefront. Somebody asked me one time, you got all these kinds of awards and you got all that. What how does that make me feel you feel? I never went out uh to achieve an award. Me either. What any kind of recognition that you get comes from your work and somebody noticing that you get, but I that that was never part of the game plan for me. It is it is.

A true leader doesn't look at it, it does not look for award. They look at how they made a difference and being able to see the difference. To me, a true leader is a it's not about the award. The awards are gonna come. You know that. The acknowledgments are gonna come. Right. You know, if you do great work, somebody's gonna acknowledge that. But I think a lot of times that people get caught up into what I call the lights camera action. Yes, yeah, uh intention. And I'm like, that's not a good leader.

And so I think that that in this current era of social media, of immediate gratification and all those things, people want to jump to being the leader of the pact without uh accomplishing the steps that they do there. You earn leadership just like you earn respect and trust. That's the truth. So uh uh, but I think that if you're if you're if you're kind, if your heart is if your heart is right and you're doing things for the right time, uh it it it was never about thing. At the Urban League, it would for me, it was about did we get somebody a job, did we help somebody ask? Did what did we make a change? Did we make a change in somebody's life? That was the greatest reward for me, is when we were able to see a family or individual achieving their goal. That that's when I could I could smile. I was always uncomfortable when they would say, Oh, you got nominated for this. It was good, but I know that I didn't get that for something I did. It was something that we did as a collaborative, as a team, or or whatever. So leaders leadership and and and here's the other part of leadership. You don't stop being a leader be if you if it's who you are and it's how you how you are how you operate. Right. You do it in a in different ways.

In different ways.

In different ways.

And so But look at look at you now. You've retired, um, but I know you still help when when needed. Um what is the next step for you?

Um uh to pretty much do what I'm doing right now. I'm really happy, right now. I'm really happy. I'm really happy right now.

The next step is Was it hard for you to step down when because you love the community so much? I I bet it was hard to, you know, you knew it was time, but at the same time, it's like, okay, is this the right time? Because think of all the things you've done.

But here's here's what I truly believe. No, it wasn't an art. Well, okay. It it it definitely wasn't hard because I believe to everything is a season.

Okay.

I was there for a reason and a season, and I completed the task that that the assignment was over. Uh, I left the Urban League in a better place than I found it. You did. And I prepared uh uh for the next leadership. So I left with a joyful heart. I left, I left knowing that I had done. Now, did I um so I honestly I I I left uh uh feeling like I had done what I was supposed to do. Uh I am not sitting in a rocking chair though, because I still have a lot of things that that I do. But I was you still do community service. You still I am absolutely committed to those things when I said I'm an advocate for civil rights, I'm an advocate for public education, as deeply committed to public education as I ever have been, the fact that we have vouchers, the fact that we are doing things that take away from the assistance that our public school so vitally needs. You know, I speak about that, I talk to people about that, I'm a I'm an advocate of that. Now, am I going to Nashville every other week like I used to? No. No, no. But you didn't. But I absolutely am trying to make sure that people are informed of the choices that have been made and the impact that it will have on our on our community and on our students. And I also want to be um involved with leadership development for for our emerging and rising young professionals. Uh I we have we have such talent here in Knoxville that we just cannot afford to lose it.

I think you've found your purpose, and I think it's it you're doing even more, even though you're retired, and like you said, that season is over, the assignment's over, and I I get that. I totally get that. Um, but I think your purpose is so greater, and I think you're finding your way into this part of your life.

Um I th I thank you for recognizing that.

Yes, most definitely. So let me ask you this about leadership. What advice would you give a young leader stepping into spaces where their voice needs to be heard? What advice would you give them?

I think you have to have more than passion for leadership. And I've I I engage with a lot of young people who are very passionate to want to be the leader. There has to be substance that accompanies the passion. Um you can't look for life, it's camera action. And you can't look for that, but also there's a learning curve. It is. I'm not saying you gotta go sit in the corner, but there is so much to learn. Um, because I worked with the College of Social Work, I encountered a lot of young people who wanted to start their own nonprofit. And so uh uh a nonprofit exists to find a solution or help to a problem that exists. Okay. What so if you're gonna start a nonprofit, what new idea or solution are you bringing to what problem? That's the question I'd ask. So a lot of of times, and I'll I'll give this an example. So domestic violence. Okay. Still a problem today. It is, okay. Uh and we have not solved all the issues surrounding it. Correct. We know that there are that it is complex and there are many approaches that, but so when somebody says, Well, I want to start a problem because I want to help women and victim uh women and other victims of domestic violence, I say, what is unique about what you're doing? Because we have 15 different other organizations working on that. What uniqueness do you bring to the table? What new approach do you have? But I say, if you've got one, one of the best things that you can do is why don't you go before you start? Why don't you go and work in a nonprofit that's doing it and understand what's being done now.

And learn general principles of a nonprofit.

You learn general principles of nonprofit management because to be successful, it's you've got to have more than a bright idea. Say that one more time. You have to have more than a bright idea to be. Yes. Okay, so I'm not sure.

It is important, but at the same time, you have to, it's it's no different than you know, the restaurant we were talking about. Right. You know, you could be a great cook, okay, but does that mean that you could run a restaurant? Does that mean that you know business? You know, so it goes back to what you said at the very beginning. You know, you have to have more than that. And I do believe you have to have more than passion.

So, so uh I encourage those who have a great idea to maybe spend some time and work in an organization that has the mission that you are committed to and sort of learn what they're doing. Think about how you would approach it and do it better. Correct. What would you do, you know, for uh all kinds of things, but you see what it would exist now. See, we're not Henry Ford developing the Model T. Yes. People are people have already invented the car. What they're doing now is taking the car, making it better, perfecting it, they're doing uh the the other thing. And so there are new approaches, but sometimes we're impatient. We don't want to spend some time learning from somebody else that have a basic. Because look, I told you I had a great idea. My idea is better than your idea. Well, it could be, but it's more than just the idea. So I want there to be opportunities for people with those great ideas to have the opportunity to spend some time learning about how does it operate? How do you, how do you connect in community? How do you develop uh uh a media and campaign that is more than what you're doing just for likes? Yeah, there you go. You're doing it to information out and to share, and you make sure that it's not directed toward your friends, it's directed toward the strangers. The people who need whatever this great idea is for. So, but leadership is evolving. And and so it what it was 20 years ago, corporate when my husband started working, they had the IBM model. And he had to wear blue suits, gray suits, or a black suit, and you had to have a red tie and a white shirt. Not a blue shirt, not a gray shirt, but a white tie. And that was what corporate, and I say 20 years ago, it's probably more like 50 years ago. But but the leadership was very prescriptive. It is not that now because people do come with great ideas. How do we how do we create a pathway to allow people to lead, but also give them the tools so that they understand it's more than just who's in the who's in the spotlight. There is a there's a theory that you can lead from the center of the table. You don't always have to be sitting at the head of the table in order to influence and make changes. And you learn those kinds of techniques being in in group or in community. So I encourage leadership. I think that it fosters some passion that some people have. I just want to make sure that you have all the tools, as many as your little toolbox can carry, yes, so that you could be the best that you could be.

Well, thank you for coming and have a conversation with me. Viewers, I will be bringing her back and you see why. She has so much to give, and now she's retired and she's traveling, and she's still working in her community, but she's traveling, so this door is always open for you. Thank you. Door always open for you, and I would love to bring you back on our panel discussion so we can help more leaders build them up in this community for years to come. Thank you again. Tune in this Friday to Talk in Tennessee with Yavonka. Bye, guys.

Thanks for listening to Talk in Tennessee with Yavonka. Watch out for our weekly episodes from the first family of real estate. And check us out on the web www.yavonka's real estate.com. See our videos on Yavonka's YouTube channel, or find us on the Facebook Yavanka, lending Twitter.