African American Leadership and Mentoring Through Purpose, Preparation and Preceptors

As an African American woman who has served in several leadership roles at various types of postsecondary institutions, there are some common threads that can be explored through purpose, preparation and preceptors. These common threads or activities can positively impact reaching an individual’s desired goal. 

Purpose seems to be at the core of strengthening any leaders’ career trajectory. It allows the individual to stay focused on the goal even when there are obstacles.  Purpose allows for intentionality and determination. However, having purpose without preparation is futile.

 Preparation requires being strategic. Some of the strategies that can be employed to stay focused on the purpose or goal includes being clear about why you are pursuing the goal, creating a plan of action, creating milestones, tracking results, and finding an accountability partner or mentor which can establish lasting and impactful connections in reaching your career aspirations. As I attempt to provide guidance, inspiration, best practices, and tools for individuals seeking to advance within the academy, courage has been at the core of leadership success.

As an African American female leader, I view courage as a critical characteristic and a “necessary tool.” Sandra Ford Walston (2015), well-known courage author, global speaker, courage coach, and thought leader, believes that integrating courageous actions at work, leads to a more naturally propelled and fulfilled employee---able to advance the individual’s voice. Nonetheless, garnering courage to use your voice as an African American woman can sometimes be perceived as being a troublemaker, agitator, obstructionist, or according to the age-old term, “a royal b----.” 

As a woman who has focused on being prepared to be a successful leader in any and all environments, I have also included in my toolkit collaboration, communication, commitment, perseverance and the skills to maneuver politically through various situations. The benefit of having to deal with these perceptions as an African American woman leader in various types of environments has helped me to become more courageous and more prepared when faced with increased adversity. It has also taught me that we must be great collaborators and communicators with a strong commitment to the cause. 

Collaboration is a key skill to perpetuate and advance courageous leadership. It is important as a leader to have the ability to pull people together to work toward a common goal. It is critical to be able to focus on “intent” and not “ego” in the leadership journey.  Understanding that there is power in numbers and in bringing people together committed to reach the goal helps to build positive systems that create positive results. Positive results for an institution or organization can only lead to positive results for you as a leader as well as for the team.

Strong leadership skills also hinge on the ability to communicate effectively with others. Dan Scalco, founder and director of marketing at Digitalux, identified six communication strategies that would make each of us better leaders. In my leadership journey, I have attempted to utilize these strategies daily. The first step is to communicate from a place of self-awareness. As leaders communicate, they must understand how they are showing up. Are they tired, agitated, frustrated, angry, etc.? How a leader is feeling will be communicated to the person being addressed. A leader’s non-verbal communication will always trump their verbal communication. It is also as important to understand who the leader is speaking to. Although the message should always be consistent, knowing the audience will help the leader craft the message in a way that the individual or group can clearly understand. Leaders should also focus on providing simple, actionable and specific instructions. They should always start with the end in mind. What is it that the leader is trying to convey or accomplish? Sometimes it is helpful to ask the person or persons to repeat what it is the leader is asking them to do. Next, it requires the leader to pay attention to whether their body language aligns with what they are saying—this will help with being a more trustworthy communicator and exude confidence. Modeling active listening is one of the best ways to encourage open and honest communication with an individual or within a group. This can sometimes be one of the hardest strategies for a leader as they tend to want to provide answers and directives rather than allow others to provide solutions. Finally, transparent, fair and respectful communication within a group is one of the best strategies for any leader to cultivate loyalty and boost team performance. 

As a young leader, I had to learn not to hold my status over other people or use coercion as a motivator. Instead, I have had to continue to focus on bringing an honest, positive and ego-less attitude to situations. I have learned that intent is more important than ego if you truly want to be an effective leader especially as an African American woman. I also had to learn that I am not a superwoman. I have had to learn to depend on others in order to meet both personal and professional goals and objectives. I also learned that being vulnerable does not equate to being weak.

As I reflect on my journey as an African American leader, there are many more lessons that I have learned but the greatest is gratitude. My favorite prayer is the Serenity Prayer which I reflect on daily, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage to change the things I can, and wisdom to know the difference.  I thank God for giving me the strength, perseverance and skillset to manage, lead, survive and thrive in environments that have not always been welcoming. It’s how I stay focused on my purpose. 

Scalco, D. (2017). Communication Skills That Will Make You a Better Leader. Success

Walston, S.F. (2015). Courageous leadership in business and women in leadership. Retrieved from http://sandrawalson.com