There’s Light in the Darkness.
At age 5 I was told “girls can’t be president.”
At 6 I was bullied. At 9 I was bullied. At 12 I was bullied. At 15 I finally admitted I was bullied.
Resilience.
At 16 I taught adopted Chinese kids to love their culture.
At 18 I was told “you’ll get less idealistic when you’re my age.”
At 21 I was told “you’re smart, but you’re making senior staff nervous.”
At 25 I was ‘jokingly’ told “you’re such a young leader, there’s nowhere to go but down.”
Resilience.
At 27 I was told “thank you for being a woman of color leading our team.”
At 32 I was told “you’re indispensable, but you’re too impatient.”
At 34 I was invited to mediate a major political issue.
Breakthrough.
At 36 I now own my own company and I am committed to shedding light to all of us fighting the good fight. I live to find the light, the spark, that gets all of us through tough times.
#MLK #career #diversity #resilience #strength #coping
Author’s Note:
Focusing my life and carer in service of others made it easy to gloss over the bullying, discrimination, and hurdles. Reflecting on them now I realize it was my way of coping at the time, but it doesn’t make them any less real. Or any less painful. Initially I hesitated to share some of these tough moments in my career. Now that I’ve put them out there, the key question is how did I really cope?
In leadership seminar after leadership seminar, I rarely share these moments. Rather I focus on how I built teams, facilitated touch conversations, and delivered results. Since this realization, I now put more of me into my seminars. Sharing the wins and the stumbles and how I overcame them.
To the bullies I’ve met, I stepped up to the challenge and we now have mutual respect. To the people who saw less of me, I now see you had self-doubt. I no longer let your vulnerabilities limit me. For all my family, friends, colleagues, thank you for joining me on this journey and believing in me – it is my honor to support you on yours.
To follow my career journey and Leadership Savvy, sign up here. Or connect with me on LinkedIn! You can also join me on my next leadership seminar by clicking here. We keep these free or low cost, and often offer video replays at no-cost.
If you’re ready to take action and looking for professional support – reach out! I coach executives through personal career growth as well as finding success in their current positions. This can cover leadership skills, team development, building collaborations, or aligning business strategy.
