Appreciate you joining us today. How did you learn to do what you do? What skills do you think were most essential? What obstacles stood in the way of learning more?

My new role as Chief Impact Officer for Reboot Representation is a convergence of many of my roles, lived experiences and skillsets I’ve learned over my career. Reboot Representation is a non-profit funded by Pivotal ventures, a Melinda French Gates company, laser-focused on doubling the number of Black, Latina and Native American (BLNA) women graduating with computing degrees by 2025. As Chief Impact Officer, I’m tasked with building relationships with senior HR and executive DEI leaders to support them in their goals of creating inclusive cultures for BLNA female technologists working within their organizations. This means I must be adept at understanding leadership and communications personal styles, hierarchies of companies, corporate strategy, tech and enjoy people.

How I learned?
I am biracial – half black, half-white. My parents – my white mother and black father – met and married in the 1960s. I’m the only child from their union. After their divorce, we moved from Chicago to Indianapolis, where my three white older siblings lived – from my mother’s previous marriage. Some years after we moved to Indy, my mother remarried a white man and had my little brother. Thus, I grew up an only in every way: the only black person in my family, in my church, in school and in my neighborhood. It was not easy wading through the prejudices against me: by white people for being black and from black people for being ‘too white.’ Even within my only family. But this experience shaped who I am today. I’m a more tolerant and empathetic person. I understand how it feels to not fit in. I also learned from a very early age how to endure through insults and bullying. I learned resilience, essential to being a good leader, which enables me to tackle tough issues and weather challenging work environments.

My lived experience has also taught me how to negotiate. It was very typical to get beat up, pushed around. I had to figure out from an early age how to stem the abuse, so I learned to negotiate – maybe I could help with homework or give up a toy to get out of getting my hair pulled or pushed down on the playground. It sounds tough and it was, but it made me a stronger person.

Fast forward to now. As a black female who grew up working in tech, again, I understand how it feels to be an only, to work harder for credibility, to constantly prove my intelligence and my capability. As a woman in tech, I’ve had male colleagues refuse to acknowledge me as a leader, refer to me as ‘help’ and withhold information necessary for me to do my job. I’ve been the target of scorched earth tactics by male colleagues when I’ve made decisions for my organization they didn’t agree with. I’ve been yelled at, ignored and ridiculed. I understand what it is like for BLNA women in the tech workforce. Thus, that lived experience helps me understand how to speak with leaders and DEI professionals about culture, bias and how we can work together to create accountable and awesome cultures where BLNA women, all women, and everyone can thrive. Equity is not a zero sum game – what is good for some of us, can indeed benefit all of us.

I earned my undergrad in Journalism and my Juris Doctor while working a full-time job. Resilience got me through it, but the actual skills I learned through education were critical for the roles I’ve held. Journalism teaches writing, how to strategize, reach people, speak their language and influence. For my roles as a global IT digital leader, director of communications, VP of a tech school and my role today, the skills I learned to influence and persuade were and are necessary for leadership, to sell ideas, and ask others to trust and follow me. And while I no longer practice law, my legal skills and what I learned in law school have taught me valuable skills in unpacking problems, thinking through challenges, and analyzing situations. I’m a better leader for this experience because I don’t run and jump into solution space, but take the time to think through a challenge, identify landmines and think logically through to a solution.

Learning through Leadership
People believe you must know everything to be a leader. It’s not the case. You must have high emotional intelligence and knowledge of your space. But you can learn something new and in fact, you never stop learning. To be a leader means you are willing to not know something, and surround yourself with experts who you trust and learn from. At a recent speaking event at an elementary/middle school, a 5th grader asked our panel, “Can you be a follower and a leader?” The answer is absolutely! I am willing to be vulnerable and admit that even now, 20+ years into my career, I don’t have all of the answers. I follow those who have expertise in a subject I wish to master. I believe these skills – following and seeking more knowledge – are required to become the leader you aspire to. And honestly, just to become a better human – how well you master your humanity will inform how good you are at being a leader. One necessarily informs the other.

What Skills mean The Most!
What skills are most essential? The toughest to answer as I want to say all of them. My lived experience informs my leadership style and how I engage with others. But my formal education and training have architected to my critical thinking, problem-solving and communication skills. But since the question what skills are MOST essential, I’d say: curiosity, tolerance, communication and problem-solving. Curiosity as you must be willing to learn something new to be an effective leader, or human. Tolerance because to really innovate and lead, we must all check our biases and embrace others. It is essential as embracing diversity enables you to create high-performing, innovative teams and ultimately, increase that bottom line! Diverse organizations with healthy cultures have greater balance sheets. Communication skills are an absolute! This means sharing information meaningfully, understanding personal styles so you communicate with others effectively. Unpacking a problem is no kidding essential for any role you have, from team member to leader. This means asking questions to understand a problem, conducting a situation analysis, why the ‘problem’ is the problem. Many times we are tempted to jump to a sexy solution which ultimately compounds a problem. Employers need you to be able to critically think through an issue before jumping into solution space. I’d say also to not be afraid to be vulnerable. If you don’t know something, ask questions. It’s how you become a better leader.

Obstacles as Part of the Journey
I encountered many obstacles as a black female in tech. Bigotry and bias at times has seemed insurmountable. Sometimes, you try hard to solve and sometimes you must walk away. I have walked away from jobs because no matter how hard I tried, I could not affect the change required to thrive. We all must be willing to make those tough decisions. You cannot win every battle. Sometimes as a leader you must face defeat. But you must learn from that defeat and use that knowledge as fuel to take on that next challenge or obstacle. What did you learn from the experience that you can internalize for the next?

I’d be remiss though if I didn’t admit that many times I was my biggest obstacle. My fear of not being the best at something, my hesitance to try something new, my stubbornness in refusing to acknowledge I was being unreasonable in an approach to a problem. It sounds very flakey or granola crunchy, but sometimes WE are our biggest obstacles. That’s why it’s of the utmost importance that we curate a personal board of directors – our own Superfriends Justice League if you will – to help keep us honest. We should all have those 3 or 4 people who can help us identify an opportunity for change, to learn and grow. My favorite quote that has circulated on social media says, “Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.” – Edmund Lee

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