A Seat @ the Table | Substack
A Seat @ the Table
I spent decades in rooms where decisions shape systems, science, and society. Former USDA Chief Scientist. I write about leadership, visibility, and the cost of being first, the real work that happens before, between, and beyond the visible moments.
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A Seat @ the Table
A Seat @ the Table
@drchavonda
A Seat @ the Table
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Latest post
A Seat @ the TableJun 16
Agility Is Your Superpower: A Lesson from the High Jump Pit
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Today I want to salute the small choices.
We celebrate the big decisions. The pivots. The promotions. The bold bets.
But lately I’ve been thinking about the real architecture of a career.
The meeting you prepared for.
The person you helped.
The opportunity you accepted before you felt ready.
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Agility Is Your Superpower: A Lesson from the High Jump Pit
The hardest leadership question is not “how do I do this better?”
It is “is this still the right thing to be doing?”
Difficulty is not the signal. Recurrence is. When the same fix keeps failing, it is usually not the effort that is the problem. It is the technique.
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Like many in 2025, my career took a turn I didn’t plan for. My federal senior executive career ended two years early. I found myself in the in-between: no clear next chapter, just the decision about how to move forward without knowing what I was moving toward.
I kept moving without the ball. And I started writing.
One month ago, I launched…
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A Seat at the Table
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When organizations let people go, the people who remain are watching.
They are watching whether the explanation matches what actually happened.
They are watching whether leaders distinguish between a workforce reduction, a change in priorities, and a true performance issue.
They are watching the language used, the fairness of the process, and whether dignity is preserved.
Those moments become part of the culture too.
The question is not only, “How do we manage the people leaving?”
It is also, “What a…
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A Seat @ the TableMay 21
When Performance Isn't the Real Reason
This is the most honest thing I know about leadership preparation.
Preparation is foundational to success.
So, when the moment turns toward you, and it will, you are not getting ready. You have been ready.
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A Seat @ the TableMay 7
Moving Without the Ball: Preparation as a Leadership Practice
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If you are in a season of waiting, a job you have not yet been given, a role you are working toward, a moment that is taking longer to arrive than you thought, I want to tell you something I wish I had heard more often.
The waiting is not wasted.
The waiting is where preparation happens. The lists nobody sees. The reading nobody assigns. The plans for jobs you have not been given.
Do that work. When the moment turns toward you, and it will turn, you will not be standing there empty-handed.