Working in the corporate world, there are few instances when you walk into a room and know that everyone in that room sees you and understands the baseline from which you are starting. Tarita Preston’s Leadership for Professional Women of Color offered that space to me and my colleagues Zoe Miller and Melanie Bowles recently.
As Tarita’s website shares, “According to the McKinsey’s 2023 Women in the Workplace report over the past nine years, women—and especially women of color—have remained underrepresented across the corporate pipeline. WoC are also the fastest growing population of leaders and entrepreneurs. Yet, struggle gaining momentum, having support and feeling comfortable in the spaces they are in.”
The Leadership for Professional Women of Color focuses on four core principles:
- What if everything occurring in our professional lives, no matter what it was, was happening FOR us?
- What if the issues that Women of Color experience at work were not problems, but instead stepping stones?
- What if work could be a place of healing and growth?
- What if we could deepen our own understanding of ourselves and our capabilities, and most importantly, take our power back?
Shifting Perspectives: Turning Challenges into Stepping Stones
Oftentimes, it is so easy to get entangled in what we perceive as wrongdoings, and place blame on others. So much so, that we look over the fact that we are lacking self-leadership and our ability to control our reactions. This conference focused on how we can practice methods to approach our worklife with boundaries and a leadership skillset that makes us inquire “what if it’s not the issue, that’s the issue?”
The conference was split into two parts. On day one, we were instructed to sit at a table with people we did not know so we could freely share without past experiences clouding our interactions. Tarita introduced us to the tenants above and shared some of her worklife experiences. She told us that in previous roles she lacked boundaries. Her boss would ask her to jump and she would say, “how high?” An insightful piece of knowledge she shared resonated with me: “Do you know who lacks the most boundaries? Children. When you lack boundaries as an adult, you are letting that little girl inside of you run your career.”
We then engaged in partner work and a journaling session where we decided what we gave ourself permission to do during the conference, as well as in our professional and personal life. We contemplated on what we would actively engage in to allow ourselves this permission. A lot of the value from this exercise came from recognizing the power within you and that you already have the answers. You just have to recognize them and act on them.
Day two was a full-day experience where we sat at a different table with different women and dove into the multifaceted landscape of being a woman of color in a professional environment and how that affects us. We learned how to navigate workplace friction with leadership skills and step-by-step exercises. These tools break down workplace interactions and perceived wrongdoings to the core of the issue—what does this interaction say about me and how I judge myself or others? Furthermore, can I forgive myself for judging myself and others, and instead, what beliefs can I hold to result in positivity versus casting judgment and blame.
Empowerment and Overcoming Imposter Syndrome
These exercises and community building is why this space is so important to me. My colleagues who also attended the conference shared the value they received from this space:
“I walked away from the leadership conference feeling empowered and uplifted by all the women in the room. There was a strong sense of community and support which made it easy to be vulnerable and open with not just myself, but with those around me with whom I’ve never met before.” – Zoe Miller
“For women of color in leadership, external pressures such as systemic biases, microaggressions, and underrepresentation in leadership roles can contribute to heightened feelings of imposter syndrome. One of the most powerful concepts I took away from Leadership for Professional Women of Color is that ‘imposter syndrome is a misuse of your imagination’. Essentially, reframing allows us to redirect our own imaginative power toward self-belief, as well as seeing potential and accomplishments instead of focusing on doubt and insecurities.” – Melanie Bowles
The Unique Struggles of Women in Color in Professional Spaces
As a first-generation American and biracial woman, I have experienced many spaces of underrepresentation and a particular pressure to succeed and outpace my colleagues (which is unique to WoC). The women inherently understand that pressure and those struggles at Leadership for Professional Women of Color. There is no need to explain how it feels or what comes with the territory. That grace and camaraderie is often only found after work hours with the people who know you most. This space allows us to work from our shared baseline and grow together towards healing.
I would like to thank InfoTrust for investing in our growth in leadership as women of color and having a space to promote diversity. When we can effectively lead ourselves, we can lead others. We can do this without casting blame and create a positive space while upholding our boundaries and exemplifying self-leadership.
