UIC doctoral student: Communication leads to leadership

Brandon Barksdale was an emergency medical technician working on Chicago's West Side when he felt drawn to social work.

In 2019, while still working in healthcare, Barksdale was tapped by the Obama Foundation Community Leadership Corps to develop a program called Recipes for Dialogue. Barksdale's program was set in a community kitchen, where participants could share in the joy of cooking while also healing through discussions about trauma and the benefits of therapy.

"That was my first seed of getting involved in community support and taking that leadership role to the next level, while working and advocating for people."

Already a UIC alum, Barksdale returned to earn a master's degree from Jane Addams College of Social Work because, he said, he wanted to help people in need of long-term community connections and mental health resources. While in school, he added to his leadership resume by serving as president of the college's student governing board.

On the board, he didn't want to just run meetings. His first agenda item was to listen to what students needed and wanted from the college. This simple act of listening led to lasting programs; chief among them was the SPACE program - Student Peer Advocacy for Community Empowerment.

"This was created as a space in the Wellness Center for students dealing with mental health issues or disabilities to just have a space for them to be able to either communicate, collaborate and get the resources they need," Barksdale said. "Because I am a forever Flame, one of the big things I did was spread the word about the programs and resources offered to students."

Barksdale is now in the doctoral program at the Jane Addams College of Social Work, studying how low-cost interventions, such as creating green space in neighborhoods, can have a positive impact.

"Where I really want to focus my research is on green spaces and recreational access as low-cost interventions for inner city youth," Barksdale said. "I see that as a big need in terms of building positive socialization and being able to offer those spaces that could open up to more traditional clinical interventions."

In a discussion with UIC today, Barksdale explained his leadership style and how he balances student needs with decision-making.

What does leadership mean to you?

There's a common phrase in social work called "stepping up and stepping back." So, you have to pick and choose. Sometimes you do have to step up and advocate in terms of pushing for something, especially social workers. Sometimes we have to speak up; we have to be the thorn in other people's sides when no one else wants to be.

But the other thing that is important is being able to step back to allow other people to take the roles of leadership. If you see other people's strengths and work with them and advocate for them and empower them, I think that's extremely important. Leadership is working for the people and working with the people that you represent, and ultimately being that change that you want to see in the world.

What's your leadership style?

Sometimes you have to just shine the light and be a beacon or lighthouse for other people. But once you get some people around you that definitely follow that same goal or mission, I think that it's important to step up and step back be able to say, "Hey, we're going to get this initiative done. We're going to get these things started. We're going to get these programs in place. But also, let me empower you to lead, and I'll follow your lead and help you however I can."

I'm also very big on communication. Being able to just talk and work things through, I think, is the best step, especially once you have everything established.

What advice would you give to students who might not see themselves as leaders but could be?

I'm familiar with imposter syndrome. So, fear is normal, and doubt is normal. Understand that fear and doubt don't determine who you are. If you see a gap, an issue, or even just a solution to something, then you have all the capabilities of being a leader, and everything else just comes with experience. Don't count yourself out.

I did feel that fear and that doubt. I did feel like, "Do I belong here?" I just persisted, and once you kind of rack up enough wins - even if they're small - you start to realize, "Oh, I belong here. Oh, I can. I can come here."

The fear and the doubt do not always go away, but the volume decreases. And you find the thing that you're passionate about. Because a lot of times, that'll be your guiding light, your beacon, to navigate a lot of the darkness that you might be feeling at that time, and that'll put you in that leadership role. And by you just doing that, you are that example for other people who are either inspired by your mission or your actions. That's central to being a leader.