Guest Author: Coco Rogers | Founder, CoRo Consulting
Twendé means “let’s go” in Swahili, but not go alone. It’s a collective call to move forward together, grounded in courage, connection, and care. That energy filled the room during my time as a guest presenter with the Twendé accelerator cohort at the Nashville Entrepreneur Center.
This wasn’t a workshop about scaling strategies or productivity hacks. It was a space for truth, a moment for founders, visionaries, and creators to set down the armor and lead from something deeper: the heart.
We began by slowing the pace, breathing together, and reconnecting to the present moment. From there, we explored my CARE framework: clarity, authenticity, recognition, and empathy. It’s a simple but radical shift, a way of leading that prioritizes being over doing and presence over performance.
When we explored clarity, I asked, “Who are you becoming as you build?” The question lingered. The room grew still. Several founders reflected on how often clarity gets lost in the chaos of creation, and how powerful it feels to pause long enough to remember why they started in the first place.
Under authenticity, we talked about what it means to stop performing and start being real. The conversation turned raw. We named how often leaders are rewarded for the masks that keep them distant, and how culture begins to heal the moment someone dares to show up as themselves.
The recognition circle was the most powerful moment of the day. I asked each person to name one thing they wanted to be recognized for. Then, as they spoke, their peers looked them in the eye and said, “I see you.” What followed was a chorus of recognition that filled the room with warmth and connection. Dozens of voices, one after another, saying, “I see you.” It was simple, and it was sacred. Recognition shifted the energy from performance to presence and transformed a group of individuals into a community.
When we reached empathy, we used Mentimeter to ask, “What does empathy mean to you?” Words like understanding, patience, compassion, and listening filled the screen. We reflected on how empathy is not about taking on others’ emotions, but about staying open and human, even
under pressure.
To close, I asked one final question:
“What’s one commitment you’re making to yourself as a leader?”
The responses were brave and tender, commitments to pause, trust, rest, act, and begin again.
Some promised to be kinder when they fall short, others to communicate their needs without apology. Many vowed to slow down, to lead in love, to speak truth, and to honor wellness as fiercely as ambition. These were not business goals; they were soul goals. The cohort made declarations of integrity, self-trust, and renewal.
That is the essence of Twendé: movement with meaning, growth that includes grace, and leadership that starts with CARE.
I came to share a framework, but I left reminded that the most transformative work doesn’t happen in the slides or the strategy. It happens in the silence after someone speaks their truth, in the shared breath of a room that chooses honesty over hustle.
The Twendé Cohort didn’t just participate; they opened and they led with heart. And that kind of courage is what changes culture.
About Coco
Founder, CoRo Consulting | Creator of the CARE Framework
Courtenay “Coco” Rogers is the founder of CoRo Consulting and the creator of the CARE framework, a leadership model rooted in clarity, authenticity, recognition, and empathy. A former Naval Officer turned culture strategist, Coco helps leaders and organizations transform burnout and disconnection into clarity, alignment, and care. Through workshops, coaching, and speaking, she is on a mission to dismantle Crumb Culture and reimagine leadership that begins with being human first.
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