Coaching Yourself to Leadership: Five Key Strategies for Becoming an Integrated Leader

Feeling Small

Many women and people of color grapple with the problem of how to hold onto their power. Although the culture is changing in terms of having more diverse people in leadership roles, women and people of color have historically been the “out-of-power” group; they haven’t been the leaders. Even though they might be in positions of authority now, certain situations can trigger a “memory” of not being in control or of not having power, resulting in behavior that defers to the people who have been in the “in-power” group.

A number of my women clients, all highly competent individuals who have achieved a variety of challenging goals and attained success in their careers, remarked on this phenomenon. They all feel quite confident about ...