My goal in this life: To help others.
Specifically, to help women like me. Well, help women like the woman I used to be: extremely shy, yet smart and ambitious, but not prepared for the realities of corporate life and how to succeed in it.
But I learned quickly. I moved out of my shyness and began to be assertive, speak up, and advocate for myself. I sought out mentors and aligned myself with those who were open, honest and generous with giving advice and guidance. That included my parents, whose after-work complaints, I was finally starting to understand.
I did learn and did succeed. And I’m so grateful for that so that I could move into my goal in this life. In this next chapter of my life. To empower other women who are where I used to be. To empower women in these spaces where they struggle to grow. Empower them to be confident and find their voice. To take charge of their careers and life and not live by default. To shift their mindset and move them into the driver's seat, into control over their futures. To empower them to live up to their full potential. To empower them to take a seat at the table and speak up. To empower them to save a seat for someone else. To empower them, so that when they are no longer being served at that table, to gracefully get up, push their chairs in, and seek another table.
I’ve created a platform to do just that. I created a community for women to get the motivation, inspiration, and support they need to feel and BE empowered in their careers, reach their financial goals, and make the impact they desire.
And I take the responsibility of my platform very seriously. I am honored by, and in service to each of the women who entrust me to teach them how to get the promotion, how to get the interview, how to be taken seriously, and how to speak to those with influence and decision-making authority.
That’s why it infuriates me that today there are still those in leadership positions who think that leadership by control is leadership. I’m amazed at the incompetence I’ve seen and witnessed in my own career by those who are in positions to grow and champion an organization’s culture and mission. Those that squander their positions and are interested only in self benefit when in fact, they have the responsibility to grow and nurture the culture and their employees.
Now, I know there are leaders out there who take their positions seriously and understand that it’s not all about what they can get and where they can go. There are leaders out there that truly care for their employees and their organizations. And to those leaders, I say kudos. But for those who fall short of their duties, who create a workplace culture of fear and despondence, who play on their employees fears, and actively reduce options for growth instead of expanding them.
To you I sincerely implore, do better. Your responsibility is not to be taken lightly. And while it is not easy to lead with care and integrity I promise you that the reward is great. Remember the leaders in your life who were shining examples or who may have helped get you to where you are today and make the choice now to walk the path they laid.
And if you can’t do that, for the love of all those women who are just like I used to be, get the heck out of leadership.
Better yet, get the hell out of our way!