Unwavering

CHAPTER 3Understand Your Power; Claim Your Worth

You got this! You earned this! Now claim your power! I turn to these affirmations, particularly when feeling that the bar has been raised, with new expectations set either by me or for me. They provide the internal guidance I need to adjust in a changing landscape. Too often, we fail to recognize the power that we have earned, so we do not fully leverage it.

I often get asked about the pivotal moment I unapologetically claimed my power. There are so many moments I can point to, but a few stand out as critical points in my career where I undoubtedly claimed my space. When we are determined to close gaps and solve for challenges plaguing diverse communities, we will find ourselves needing to tap into our innermost confidence to assert ourselves and effect change. Those actions associated with creating change will many times require the cooperation, agreement, and engagement of multiple leaders. These changes will require the disruption of the standard ways of doing things. They will require embedding new processes that generate additional work, which will cause some to hesitate or challenge the value of the new things being introduced.

Throughout my leadership I have introduced multiple new programmatic ways to solve for closing gaps. Many times I was tasked with bringing other leaders along to agree. Some of those conversations were pleasant and easy; others were extremely challenging. As I was introducing a process for increasing ...