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Josie Ann Lee

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We’re Not Onboarding Staff. We’re Rooting a Team.

Josie Ann / August 17, 2026

Words matter. People matter. 𝗔𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗲𝘁 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 […]

josieannlee

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲. This past yea

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗶𝘀 𝗱𝗲𝗲𝗽𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲.

This past year has taught me a lifetime’s worth of lessons about how grief impacts everything we do, how we live, how we work, and how we lead.

𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗛𝗥 is such a wonderful opportunity to help people see something through a new lens and, hopefully, change the way they lead.

𝗜’𝗺 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝘁𝗼 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗼𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗯𝘆 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗻𝘀 𝗜’𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗺𝘆 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗴𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗿, 𝗺𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗺𝗮𝗺𝗺𝗮.

I hope you’re able to join us in Detroit at The Corner on September 24th. It would be an honor to have you in the room as I share “𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳.”

#ReistanceisGrief
#Griefandchange
#LeadershipLessonsFromMom
#Leadership
#BakingBread
#DisruptHRDetroit

𝗜'𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗽 𝗼

𝗜'𝗺 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗷𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗽 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗿𝘂𝗽𝘁𝗛𝗥 𝗗𝗲𝘁𝗿𝗼𝗶𝘁!

I can't wait to share the stage with so many people who are challenging the way we think about leadership, culture, and the workplace.

I attended DisruptHR Detroit last year and left energized by the format. There's something powerful about taking one big idea and delivering it in just five minutes and twenty slides. It gets right to the heart of what matters.

This year, I'll be sharing my talk, 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗚𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳.

I've taught the Beckhard-Harris Change Equation for years. I've talked about resistance as something we need to work through in order to create change.

But during COVID, something happened that shifted my perspective.

As our team started talking about our Vision for 2024 one of my team members raised her hand and said, "𝗪𝗲 𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿 𝗴𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗲 𝗩𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻 2020."

Those words have stayed with me.

They changed the way I think about resistance. It made me wonder 𝗶𝗳 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗮𝗯𝗲𝗹 𝗮𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆'𝘃𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘁—𝗰𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘁𝘆, 𝗿𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽𝘀, 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘁𝘆, 𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝘂𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴.

Then this past year, after losing both my mom and my friend Melvin, that lesson became deeply personal. It gave me even more time to reflect on the role grief plays—not just in our personal lives, but inside our organizations. 𝗖𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗹𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗹𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗴𝗼 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝘆𝗲𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗽𝗮𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗶𝘁.

I believe that's one of the greatest opportunities we have as leaders. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗴𝗻𝗶𝘇𝗲 𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗮𝘀 𝗽𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀, 𝘄𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗲, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗵𝗲𝗹𝗽 𝗸𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗽𝗹𝗮𝗰𝗲!

#DisruptHRDetroit
#Leadership
#Grief

𝗜𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝘁𝗼 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁! For the past eight days, I'v

🥜 One of the most important lessons I've ever lear

🥜 One of the most important lessons I've ever learned about entrepreneurship came from kindergarten.

Our teacher asked us how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Then she did exactly what we told her to do.

If we forgot to tell her to open the peanut butter, she didn't. If we said, "Put the peanut butter on the bread," she'd set the entire jar on top of the loaf. Every assumption we made became obvious because she followed our directions exactly.

I still think about that exercise today.

Tomorrow I'm using it with my entrepreneurship class at Summer Springboard because I don't just want students to memorize business terms. I want them to learn how to think.

Ideas are exciting, but entrepreneurship isn't just about having an idea. It's about understanding it so well that you can break it into steps, look at it from every angle, and explain it clearly enough that someone else can help build it with you.

That's the real work.

Sometimes the most important business lesson starts with peanut butter and jelly. ❤️

#Entrepreneurship #Leadership #BusinessEducation #SummerSpringboard #FutureFounders

𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱. Monday I 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻

𝗜 𝗮𝗺 𝗯𝗲𝘆𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗰𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗱. Monday I 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘁 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗕𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 & 𝗘𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘂𝗿𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗦𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴𝗯𝗼𝗮𝗿𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗴𝗿𝗮𝗺 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗠𝗶𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗴𝗮𝗻 — my alma mater. 𝗚𝗼 𝗕𝗹𝘂𝗲!

They gave me the green light to weave The Superpower of Service right into the curriculum. Getting to bring my own book back to my own campus is a full-circle moment that makes my heart happy.

On day one, we're diving into the 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗻𝘁 𝗣𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗼𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 and the 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗴𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗲𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. At the end of every single class, students fill out the 𝗖𝗼𝗻𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗰𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆 𝗦𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲. We'll resist these in the mornings and actually talk about what they noticed. I love watching that reflection turn into real growth.

Wednesday we're headed to Zingerman's Bakehouse for our excursion. Amy, their managing partner, is building an entire experience just for our students, and I am so grateful! There's nothing like watching a business where good systems and good service actually meet in real life.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗸 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺𝘀, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 10-𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗴𝗼𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗮 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝘁𝗼 𝗳𝗿𝘂𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻, 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗰𝗵 𝗶𝘁 𝗦𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗸 𝗧𝗮𝗻𝗸–𝘀𝘁𝘆𝗹𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮 𝗽𝗮𝗻𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗼𝗿𝘀.

I get to walk alongside these students while they do that and share the importance of service at very stage of the business process.

𝗜'𝗺 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗯𝗹𝘆 𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗳𝘂𝗹 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝗶𝗳𝘁 𝗼𝗳 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝘂𝗱𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀!

#EntrepreneurshipEducation #ServiceLeadership #UMich #GoBlue #SummerSpringboard #TeachingMoment #NextGenLeaders #BusinessEducation #ExperientialLearning #SuperPowerOfService
#JosieAnnLee

I wanted you to hear this one, not just read it. 🎥

I wanted you to hear this one, not just read it. 🎥

My website just relaunched, and there's a video on the new Welcome page that I recorded because some things just land differently when you say them out loud.

It's an invitation to come see what we built, and why every bit of it starts with one idea: you matter here.

If you've got two minutes, I'd love for you to watch it. And if you know someone who's looking for a speaker, a training partner, or a coach who leads with service instead of a sales pitch, send them this way too.

Welcome. I'm so glad you're here. 🧡

Josie Ann Lee

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Josie Ann Lee's book, The Superpower of Service: A human centered approach to creating organizational magic

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