16 Books By Black Authors We’re Excited About This Month From a raw relationship guide from one of your favorite 1990s rappers to a captivating novel rooted in the beauty of friendship, these are the picks you won’t want to put down in February. Read the article at Essence.com.
February 2026 Books By Black Authors We Can’t Wait to Read February may be the shortest month of the year, but it is full of great new books by Black authors. By Angela Johnson Published February 1, 2026 It’s hard to believe February is already here. But a new month also means great new books by Black authors for readers of all ages. A memoir from actress Marla…
If collaboration feels hard right now, you are not imagining it. A lot of teams are full of talented, capable people who genuinely want to do great work. And still, things move slowly. Momentum stalls. Projects become frustratingly complex. Meetings multiply. Everyone stays “busy,” but progress feels thin. That is not usually a skill issue. It is often a culture issue. One of the most powerful things I…
Why is a leadership expert spending this much time talking about the Black Church? That’s the question I keep hearing. Sometimes out loud. Sometimes implied. Sometimes wrapped in polite curiosity. Sometimes edged with skepticism. And let me be clear. This is not about religion. It’s about leadership. Specifically, it’s about where leadership theory is born before it ever gets labeled, studied, or monetized. It’s about where human behavior…
Neuroscience shows that prolonged stress suppresses the brain’s default mode network, the system responsible for imagination, insight, and strategic problem-solving. Positive psychology research confirms that inspiration isn’t a trait. It’s a state, one that requires psychological safety, novelty, and play to emerge. If your team feels flat heading into 2026, it’s not a motivation problem. It’s a brain-state problem, and January is the ideal moment to reset. I’m…
Her Next Power Move™ — Episode 21 Every year around this time, I start hearing the same quiet confession from even the strongest, most disciplined leaders: “I’m tired in a way that sleep can’t fix.” If that sounds familiar, you’re not alone—nor is your brain betraying you. There’s neuroscience behind the fogginess, the heaviness, the irritability, and the sudden lack of motivation that creeps in as the calendar…
As we move closer to the February 10, 2026 launch of my new leadership book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, we’re entering a pivotal moment—a moment to rethink, reset, and revive how we lead. Next Tuesday marks the start of the 10-week leadership countdown, a weekly journey that explores each of the ten leadership lessons at the core of the Call & Response…
Every leader eventually faces a moment that stops them cold: watching someone who cuts corners, sidesteps accountability, or operates without integrity get ahead. It’s the kind of moment that makes you question not just the environment you’re in, but the meaning of your effort. And it’s far more common—and more neurologically impactful—than people realize. In this week’s episode of Her Next Power Move, leadership expert L. Michelle Smith…
The very first trade review for my upcoming book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church, has arrived from Publishers Weekly — and it is everything I hoped readers and leaders would see in this work. They didn’t just summarize the book. They understood it. They affirmed the book’s central thesis with this line: “The Black Church and many of its traditions are a crucial…
Iron fists and machine-centered cultures may dominate the headlines—but the most effective leaders are charting a different course. They’re leading with heart. As I share in my forthcoming book, Call & Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church (Amistad Books | JVL Media, Feb 2026), heart-centered leadership isn’t sentimental. It’s strategic. It’s the science of emotional regulation, empathy, and trust at work. My research revealed that the…