The final word on the transition
Photo of the incoming and outgoing Co-Directors (L-R Mitoshka, Jess, Euella, Ellayah) by Sinag Yuson
We’re in the midst of the handover with Jess and Euella’s last day imminent and Mitoshka and Ellayah having started two days a week, so we thought it was a good time to sit down and find out a bit more about how they’re all feeling.
Congratulations Ellayah and Mitoshka! How are you feeling about the transition right now?
Mitoshka: I’m very excited to get stuck in and start dreaming up projects with Ellayah! There is a lot to get to grips with but the team has been fantastic!
Ellayah: Very much in the thick of it! Holding both roles has been challenging, but the team has been great and Mitoshka and I are steaming with ideas. Super exciting times and couldn’t have asked for a better co-director!
So, you’re all still in the midst of handover but Jess and Euella, how’s the winding down feeling for you both right now?
Jess: Really good generally, just trying to get everything crossed off the to-do list now we’ve done the big fun celebration and announcement! I’m also just really proud how we iterated on the last transition and that all the thought and care that went into the recruitment process paid off with these incredible new Co-Directors that might not have ever met another way.
Euella: It’s been such a whirlwind. The pace of this year has felt so up and down, one minute it feels like we’re moving at a snail's pace, next minute we’re moving at the speed of light. I think now we’re at the final weeks, it feels like time is moving fast and slow at the same time. Just trying to stay really present in it all and bask in this wonderful thing that we’ve gone through together.
The Co-Direcors at the supper club, one of the events we held as part of the Rising DECADE exhibition where Jess and Euella invited people who had been important to them over their 5 years of leading Rising, photographed by Sinag Yuson
This leadership transition coincides with Rising’s 10th birthday and the events have been great! But what are each of you doing to mark or celebrate this moment for yourselves?
Jess: I’m trying to journal every day during June and July over the handover period and into my next role, just to give myself the space to stay present in what’s happening and remember all the little moments of full-circleness. I also made a giant plushy Rising logo as a physical baton to pass onto Ellayah and Mitoshka which felt really good to do as a somewhat secret textile artist.
Euella: That’s such a good question! The past few weeks have been a cacophony of moments for reminiscing and connecting and laughing and feeling emotional. At Rising, moments in time are marked by people and it’s been a joy seeing so many people showing up and sharing their own memories of Rising recently. It reminds you just how special what we’ve all built together. I’ve just started writing thank you cards or recording rambly (probably incoherent) voicenotes and sending them to people who have been part of this journey. There are so many feelings but gratitude will always underpin every memory associated with Rising.
Mitoshka: As a brand new member of Rising, I’ve been doing a lot of listening and absorbing during this time. It has been wonderful to celebrate through the shared memories of Jess and Euella, hear how other members of the team have been in awe of their strength and work, and listen to the community in conversation for the first time. For myself, I’ve been treating my belly with cherries and strawberries as I read over all the fantastic work Rising has done over the years, and learning how to champion that.
Rising started with one Founder/Director, went to two Co-Directors at the last transition and has explicitly recruited and matched people together to continue co-leading after this transition. So, what does co-leadership mean to each of you or why is it so important that Rising continues to be led in this way?
Jess: For me Co-Leadership is all about the give and take of being allowed to have an off day and knowing someone’s got your back, which has often been the antithesis of more hierarchical, patriarchal models of leadership. For Rising, co-leadership means more people can access leadership who don’t have those in built support systems that enable them to take on the emotional labour of leading solo, or for those who haven’t led before to be given the agency to experiment supported by our community of creatives, advisory board and non-execs who also have their back and want to succeed together!
Euella: Co-leadership has been such a joy, and I’m so grateful to Jess for making this not just a positive experience but a self-defining moment in my life and career. There are so many things I’ve been able to do or have access to through being part of a co-leadership with her. When done well, it’s inherently collaborative, radical and has the potential to transform lives as well as organisations.
Mitoshka: I really agree with Jess, for me it means being able to access leadership in this space with support. This will be my first time co-leading, but me and Ellayah already feel so in sync and supportive of each other. To me, it means being there not just to run Rising, but protect each other's energy, celebrate each other, and use our strengths in balance.
Ellayah chatting to Rising’s founder Kamina at the supper club, photographed by Sinag Yuson
Is there anything that sticks out to you about this leadership transition or the process to get here that you want to hold onto or tell others about?
Jess: I’m really proud of pretty much every element of this transition so far (there’s still a couple of weeks to fuck it up). It was important to me and Euella to do an open recruitment this time because making our opportunities and work more accessible to more people has been a big part of our term and this felt like a big statement of commitment to that. All the over-thinking (and in some cases over-complicating) has led to an amazing pairing in Ellayah and Mitoshka and at every point it felt like we’d done the thinking we needed to get us to the next stage. I guess it’s basically been a microcosm of why Rising’s work is so unique and needed when every interaction we’ve had with people about the transition has left them in awe of how much work and care has gone into the process.
Euella: I think for me, this leadership transition has been as much about stepping forward as it has been about stepping back and there’s a lot of invisible work that has gone on behind the scenes that people haven’t seen. Jess and I have spent our whole term as Co-Directors supporting our community to step up, running events, workshops and creating opportunities that help our community see their own leadership potential. A year before we launched recruitment, we ran a lab with our community to understand what they want to see through this recruitment process. We’ve held countless free meetings with other organisations across the country about their own upcoming leadership transitions and sharing our learning. This is not about hoarding a process or centring it around us as individuals. Part of intentionally stepping back has been about not holding this process. From our community, the steering group, Rising’s board and us, there have been dozens of people who have fed into this work, and it just goes to show how much has been invested in this because it’s important work.
Mitoshka: What sticks with me is how gentle and caring the whole process felt. I’ve never had a more positive recruitment experience, and thats a testament to what an amazing job was done behind the scenes. I remember meeting Ellayah for the first time, and instantly feeling like we knew each other. The conversation felt so aligned, but also so gentle. It makes me realise that when you are given the tools to succeed, and feel supported, you can blossom into the person you are in that space. No nerves, just the confidence to be yourself.
Any words of wisdom for the new Co-Directors Jess and Euella? Or for your future selves Ellayah and Mitoshka?
Jess: Everything is up for debate and can be changed, but also it’s ok not to reinvent the wheel every 10 seconds!
Euella: Invest and pour into each other the same way you pour into the community, and the rest will undoubtedly figure itself out.
Mitoshka: Remember that you’re allowed to have fun, and rest up. There’s no need to be 150% every day, which is what I’m used as a freelancer. Maybe a little dance at the end of the day to shake off all those emails is what will keep us going in the long term.
Mitoshka chatting to Isla from Bristol Museum and Art Gallery at the supper club, photographed by Sinag Yuson
Get to know Mitoshka and Ellayah more here
