Call and Response: 10 Leadership Lessons from the Black Church

A captivating exploration of why many high-performing Black business leaders attribute their transformational leadership qualities to their experiences growing up in the Black Church and how we can foster these skills in younger generations despite waning church attendance.

The Black church in the U.S. has long been a “one-stop shop” for developing Black leaders, teaching them many of the qualities required to lead effectively in today’s ultra-competitive, digital, and swiftly transforming corporate world. Many high-performing Black leaders benefited from their experiences growing up in this cultural institution steeped in rich history.

Merging cultural study with applied neuroscience and tenets of positive psychology, L. Michelle Smith dissects how these qualities are demonstrated by leaders across industries, from resiliency to their sense of undeniable purpose, their ability to build community and collaborative environments, the delivery and language of their speaking style, to their unique leadership flair. She reveals how this historic institution has served as a timeless wellspring of leadership development, empowerment, and cultural preservation and ultimately, is Black leaders’ “secret sauce.”

Call & Response also explores whether the Black Church will be able to continue to ingrain these skills in future generations. Smith examines how cultural shifts have resulted in a decline in church attendance, how online attendance has risen since the Covid pandemic, and finally, how Black leaders may—or may not—be passing these traditions down to their children.