What Costa Rica Taught Me About Leading Well
Costa Rica had been on my vision board for a while. I didn't know the path there would start with a LinkedIn post.
One afternoon, while scrolling, I came across a post about the Global Social Impact House, a fellowship from the University of Pennsylvania's Center for Social Impact Strategy. I had never heard of it. They selected only 20 leaders from across the globe. I applied on a whim, not expecting much.
Then the acceptance came. This September, I found myself in Costa Rica alongside 19 other social innovators doing remarkable work around the world. Here is what I brought home.
Your network really is your net worth
I have heard that phrase a hundred times. In Costa Rica, I felt it.
I got to name the challenges I carry as a leader: how to grow social innovation and scale without losing what makes the work matter.
Then I listened as leaders from other countries shared how they wrestle with the same questions.
That openness pushed me out of my comfort zone. Being honest about what is hard, in a room full of people you admire, takes courage. That is exactly where the value lived.
Leadership is a skill and a theory
So much of leading happens on instinct. This fellowship reminded me that leadership is also a discipline, with a deep well of resources, vocabulary, and frameworks to draw from. Having language for what I already do, and tools for what I want to do better, is a gift I am still unpacking.
The lesson I didn't expect
By the end of the program, one thing was impossible to ignore. All 20 of us were doing meaningful, important work. And nearly all of us were burned out.
We were firing on all cylinders, all the time. The work had become so serious that there was little room left for joy or rest. I saw myself in that pattern, and I knew it wasn't sustainable, not for the team I led or me.
So I committed to bringing more fun and more rest into how I lead. To hold myself to it, I started a Substack where I write about exactly that. Rest is not a reward for finishing the work; it is how we keep doing it.
Take the leap
If you are a social innovator wondering whether a fellowship like this is for you, my answer is yes. Apply. Even if it feels like a long shot; especially then. Twenty seats across the globe sounds impossible until one of them is yours.
Costa Rica went from my vision board to my reality because I said yes to something I almost scrolled past. Don't scroll past yours.