Leading With Grace in a Modern World
- 2 hours ago
- 3 min read
By Kait Feriante
People often ask how I merge spirituality with leadership, and I always have a moment of hesitation. It is not because I am unsure, but because I never want to be mistaken for leading from a religious place. I do not. My faith is not built on doctrine or ritual. It is built on a few simple, steady principles: be kind to yourself, be kind to the people around you, and treat others the way you want to be treated. These capstones sit at the center of who I am and how I lead. They are quiet and practical truths that help me stay grounded when everything else gets loud.
These values, more than any business theory, shaped Redwood Literacy. They are why we treat every client like a VIP. They are why we build real systems for support, including 30, 60, and 90 day check-ins for new hires, regular performance reviews, and intentional conversations that give people the clarity and feedback they need to grow. We pay our team to read books like Nonviolent Communication and Emotional Intelligence 2.0 because communication, self awareness, and empathy are the foundation of high functioning work. This is where my spirituality shows up, in the culture, in the expectations, and in the way people feel when they walk into the work.
Still, nothing prepared me for the moment grace showed up in an unexpected form earlier this year. When I learned I had been named an EY Winning Woman for 2025, it took my breath away. It was not about prestige. It was the shock of feeling deeply seen. That recognition arrived at a moment when I needed reassurance more than applause. It reminded me that asking for help is not weakness. It reminded me that leadership does not have to be lonely. It pushed me to step into a stronger and steadier version of myself.
That moment changed my posture. It did not alter my path, but it expanded my confidence on it. It empowered me to lead with more intention, more humility, and more resilience. It reinforced that the work we are doing at Redwood Literacy matters, and that I am not meant to carry it alone.
Grace also sharpened my clarity about what real leadership requires. A workplace is not a family. Families accept you unconditionally. Teams expect you to grow. When you make bold promises to clients, you need a team of A players. Not perfect people, but committed people. People who take accountability, invest in their emotional intelligence, confront challenges directly, and stay open to knowing better and doing better. That is what grace looks like in a business context. It is giving people room to grow while also naming the standard clearly.
Compassion in leadership is often misunderstood as softness. For me, compassion is structure. It is truth telling. It is the balance between treating others how you want to be treated and treating them how they want to be treated. It is the discipline of returning to kindness, but not the fragile version. It is the steady version that says: I believe in your potential so much that I am willing to hold you to it.
This is where spirituality and leadership meet for me. Not in a religious identity, but in the daily practice of building environments where people can become better humans. It is where grace is real, accountability is real, and growth is expected. It is where kindness and clarity coexist.
If there is a calling on my life, it is this: lead in a way that lifts people higher, strengthens their voice, and makes them feel more whole than when they arrived. That is the work we are doing at Redwood Literacy, and that is the kind of leader I am becoming, one moment of grace at a time. Connect With Kait www.redwoodliteracy.com
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