2024: A year of perseverance
2024 was my teacher and I was its student.
As we close out the year, I’ve found myself reflecting on Rising Legacy’s journey – and what a journey it’s been! It feels fitting to pause and take stock of the lessons this year has taught me… the highs, the lows, and the vision that carried me through.
Reflecting on the sparks that started it all
A few years back, I started thinking about how my work as a leadership trainer and consultant was just more of the same that leadership training had always been – generic and gender-neutral (at best).
Something sparked in me: What if I, as a woman of color, could build leadership programs designed for women of color? I came to understand that the traditional corporate leadership space, often shaped by white male-centric approaches, doesn't always offer the opportunities or strategies that truly empower women of color to thrive and succeed.
I wanted to have more nuanced conversations with women of color in my corporate classrooms.
I wanted to facilitate learning and dialogue that women of color would feel comfortable participating in.
I wanted to create a space where no one felt overlooked or misunderstood.
I wanted to actually equip women of color to recognize their unique value and be confident, competent leaders.
Some of the traditional leadership models can be perceived and received very differently when delivered by, say, a black woman vs. a white man. (Example: “Oh that guy is so good at articulating feedback” vs. “I got some feedback from this really tough lady.”) My goal as a training facilitator is to teach techniques, give participants a chance to practice in the classroom, and equip them to go out into the world and use them – but it’s all a complete waste if I don’t set up the whole classroom for success.
Everyone has different experiences and approaches, but *I* can home in on leadership training, coaching, and mentoring of women of color so that they don’t give up when one-size-fits-all approaches don’t fit. I believe everyone should be able to understand and bring their unique approach to their leadership and that’s what makes their leadership strong, memorable, and capable of thriving and creating healthy teams for organizations.
I can’t solve gender inequality, but I CAN solve the challenge of equipping women of color for leadership.
Challenges
I wanted to give up three times this year. And I had great excuses for doing just that:
“I wish I had thought it out more before starting this venture.”
“I don’t have enough capital to really pull this off.”
“I’ll just embrace this as an entrepreneurial hiccup.”
But I chose to celebrate instead, switching my self-talk in the moment:
“I trusted my intuition enough to take action!”
“I did so much with limited capital!”
“I can celebrate that I came up with good ideas and took action!”
My biggest challenge was that as much as I believed in the mission, the response from corporations was lukewarm. People loved the idea, but when it came time to allocate budget dollars for this work, it wasn’t happening. Many corporations were excited about the mission but couldn’t justify the expense. Some encouraged their employees to attend, but I was left wondering if they fully understood the impact of and need for this work.
Looking into the coming year, this is going to be a big challenge to solve for – how to get organizations to recognize the value of this learning community. We’ll be working hard to prove this value in the coming year.
Lessons
2024 taught me some hard-won lessons:
1. Listen to your team and your friends.
I built it… and no one came. (At first.) In my moments of discouragement, my team and mentors helped me pull through by bringing me back to the most important thing: There are women out there who need me and what I bring to the world.
2. Do your market research and identify your MVP.
When I first launched, quite honestly I didn’t have enough market research or a tight-knit business plan. I dove in with my gut, and while passion and instinct goes a long way, they don’t replace solid strategy. However, I used our three-hour Rising Legacy workshops as proof of concept for the bigger vision (more on this to come) and there were so many beautiful moments with participants that I continue to see opportunity and am energized to keep building on our offerings through 2025.
3. Timing matters.
Had I launched in 2022, it would have been a much different experience – the DEI landscape was buzzing with momentum at that point! However, the downward spiral of DEI created the opportunity to refine my ideas and adapt to shifts so that I can position Rising Legacy as a self-actualized response to the increasing cutbacks of corporate programs. And maybe, this will even free me up to be more effective and adaptive. This journey has only strengthened my resolve to help develop the future leaders who will shape a more inclusive workplace culture.
4. Be willing to pivot.
We were running in a few different directions and lacked clear focus in our messaging and offerings, but mid-year, we had a lightbulb moment around the experience of women not knowing what it looks like to advocate for their career – we responded with a career development plan and workshop, more micro-learning opportunities, and strategy around how to equalize leadership training (recognizing that it can be difficult for some participants to pay for and take time off for a 3-hour workshop). Pivoting is not a sign of failure – stay flexible and creative.
Letting my north star shine
By 2060, women of color will make up the majority of women in the U.S. workforce. [source: Catalyst]
In 2060, my daughter will be 45 – the age I am soon approaching.
Will there be more women of color in leadership roles? Will she have leaders to look up to? Will there be mentors who are able to speak into her unique journey and develop what she has to offer?
This is why I’m here. The current system of raising up strong, diverse leaders isn’t working, and if we want to see more women of color in leadership roles, the time to start working is NOW. It’s up to us.
When I look back on my legacy, I want to know that I helped pave the way for strong, capable, talented, empathetic multicultural women to lead with confidence.
What you can expect from me in 2025…
I'm more committed than ever to Rising Legacy's mission. It’s been a year of growth, learning, and adapting – and also of reaffirming why this work is so important. The year ahead holds so much potential, and after this year of perseverance, I’m all-in for continuing to serve women of color in leadership with excellence and passion and love.
I’m working to make the Rising Legacy experience more accessible with micro-learning opportunities and a career development plan to help women of color advocate for their careers.
I’m thinking about PEOPLE of color – does it make sense for Rising Legacy to be gender inclusive, too?
I’m looking forward to collaborations with leaders who can bring more vision, more value, and more connection to the Rising Legacy space.
I’m listening to what you’re all looking for in terms of a learning community.
For all who have been part of this journey in any way – my team, my mentors, my participants, all 12 of my YouTube subscribers 😉 – I want to thank you for your support and belief in Rising Legacy. We’re going to keep dreaming and keep growing together. I’m so grateful you’re here.
Lead the way,
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