May 2, 2025 • 22 mins
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"Your brand doesn't need permission to be brilliant. You just need to stop hiding it."
Does this question sound familiar: "If I show up fully, will they still hire me?" Many women consultants, especially women of color, have been conditioned to believe that authenticity is a liability rather than an asset. We're taught to blend in, tone down our personalities, and adopt a "professional" persona that often feels disconnected from who we truly are.
But what if this well-meaning advice is actually sabotaging your consulting business? In this episode, we discover how breaking free from corporate conditioning allows you to command rooms with your boldness and brilliance, making everything from networking to client acquisition more authentic and significantly more effective.
For more information, visit www.excelatconsulting.com
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
If I show up fully, will they still hire me?
That was a question that I usedto often ask myself and, to be
honest, I think many of us, aswomen and women of color in this
consulting space, tend to havethis question run through our
minds from time to time, mainlybecause we've been taught that
being ourselves and being reallyauthentic to who we are is
(00:24):
something that is a liability oreven a risk.
Is this a matter of usfollowing good advice, or are we
actually whitewashing ourbrands?
We often are told that the riskmeans that there are people
that won't want to work with us,that our businesses won't grow,
that we won't be successful,but in actuality, one of the
(00:46):
biggest risks is that we may notstand out.
Hi, my name is Dr AngelinaDavis and I am the founder of
Accela Consulting and the hostof the Black Girls Consulting
Podcast.
In this episode, I want us totalk about what it means to be
authentic in the consultingspace, how this impacts our
brand, and to figure out whetheror not we are truly
(01:08):
whitewashing who we are in orderto be successful.
If you're like me, you've likelybeen taught over the years that
you need to blend in, that youneed to fit in with everyone
else, that you don't need toseem intimidating, and when you
are, that can be problematic.
I remember when I was intraining and I don't think that
(01:30):
I am intimidating at all.
However, that was one commentthat my mentor had for me.
The feedback was that sometimesmy interactions can be
intimidating to others and Ididn't know how to tone that
down.
I didn't know what that meantbecause at the time I was just
being myself.
I was trying to do the workthat I needed to do to the best
(01:53):
of my ability.
That's what I had been taughtthrough high school and through
college was needed in order tobe successful.
So when I showed up in this newenvironment and I found that it
wasn't received in the same way, it was my initial message and
note that I needed to tone itdown, and part of what I took
(02:16):
from that is that oftentimes ina professional setting, it was
necessary for me to begin toshrink myself, to not be as
vocal, to not be as loud, to notbe as demanding, to not seem
like I'm trying to beconfrontational, even if I was
just trying to express my idea.
(02:36):
So this is a level ofconditioning that I had.
That carried me through theyears, from my training on, into
the careers that I had in thefuture, definitely into the
consulting world.
I learned that in order to besuccessful, I needed to play the
game.
I needed to show up and be theperson that was able to work
(02:57):
with anyone, that did not causea fuzz, that did the work behind
the scenes, that did not tryand stand out from everyone else
because my fear was that I wasnot going to be seen as a team
player.
So this was helpful for me.
I grew because of it, Iadvanced in my career because of
it, and oftentimes many of us,when we're entering into the
(03:19):
consulting space as anentrepreneur, we have gone
through similar lessons.
We have had similar experiences.
So when we're talking about thetransition from employee to now
founder or CEO of your ownbusiness, you're making the
shift and sometimes that shiftand that change is not easy and
(03:42):
we carry a lot of theconditioning that we've had from
our previous environment withus.
So there's no surprise that canbe problematic, especially if
you've been trying to blend inand not be intimidating, not be
as bold as you normally would beor authentically you as you
would typically be.
That it could keep you fromstanding out, because that's
(04:03):
what it was originally meant todo.
What was required wasunlearning this behavior,
figuring out how to not followthe rules that had been working
for so many years.
Now, trying to change the waythat we approach things is
uncomfortable, because we'repushing back against what we
(04:23):
have been taught and known to betrue, what we've been
conditioned to do.
When we think about what itmeans to market in the
business-to-business space, weoften think about being very
corporate, and corporate meaningsterile, plain, traditional,
all those things that seem toblend in.
And that makes sense for alarger organization that's
trying to make a body ofindividuals who have diverse
(04:46):
thoughts and diverse beliefs andtry to make them seem as if
they're cohesive in one, onegoal, one mission, one strategy
that serves the purpose for thislarger organization.
And what happens is that whenyou're coming from this
corporate environment, you'vebeen trained in a space where
you've been taught to blend inand for everyone to have a
(05:10):
uniform approach.
And when you carry that intoyour business, you're trying to
do that with the otherbusinesses and the other
consultants around you.
You're trying to blend in,you're trying to play the game
in.
You're trying to play the game.
You are trying not to look asif you are different, because
matching their branding,matching the way that they
market in a traditional sense,seems like the answer.
(05:32):
I know that often I found myselftrying to tone down who I am in
order to accomplish that goal,so that I wore the right colors,
or I did not wear the bigearrings, or I did not do the
things that I normally would dowhen I was in a different
setting, when I could be someonethat really felt comfortable in
(05:55):
my skin doing the things andsaying the things that I
normally would to any otherfriend or colleague.
When we take this traditionalapproach and we show up in our
business with this mindset, thenwe look the same.
You're matching what a largerorganization is putting out
there in the world in terms ofmarketing and, truth be told,
(06:16):
most of those organizations arenow trying to lean into more
creative approaches and moreinnovation, and so you're
copying something that, in allhonesty, is becoming outdated.
That's not even working wellfor them, although their purpose
of doing it was totallydifferent.
So a lot of what we need to donow is to not focus so much on
(06:38):
blending in, but insteadfiguring out how we can stand
out, and standing out means thatsometimes we have to break that
traditional mold.
Sometimes, following thetraditional approach and what
you see everybody else doing isnot best for you as a consultant
in your space, especially ifyou are a solopreneur or if you
(07:02):
have a small firm.
You need to be different.
Now, the truth is I was nevertold to tone it down.
No one ever said you are beingtoo loud or your hair is too
curly or your earrings are toobig.
No one ever said that it wassomething that was often felt
because there was a picture ofhow I was supposed to show up.
(07:23):
I remember when I was incollege, I went to UNC Chapel
Hill, and the one thing that wasvery common at that time was
wearing pearls, and so if youwent on any type of interview or
any type of more professionalon-campus function, then you had
your pearl earrings.
For me, that was a sign ofbeing more professional, and I
(07:44):
got used to showing up in spacestrying to resemble what I
thought was acceptable.
In that space, and especiallythe consulting environment is
very traditional and showing upin a different way was
uncomfortable for me at first.
It was uncomfortable to walkinto a room and not only be the
(08:05):
only woman, the only Black woman, but then also walk in with a
head of natural hair and largerearrings, or maybe clothing that
fit a little bit differentlybecause, the way I was shaped,
there were a lot of things thatfelt uncomfortable in those
moments and in my attempt to tryand minimize that, I found
(08:26):
myself leaning into what I sawas the way to present myself
quote unquote professionally, tobe more corporate.
But in all honesty, those werepreconceived notions that I had
based on definitions thatsomeone else gave me.
(08:47):
They were never meant to carryme through my career and into my
business, because, after awhile, showing up this way is a
way of almost sanitizingourselves.
We're not reflecting who wetruly are and what we truly
bring to the table.
I remember I was scrollingonline recently and there's this
(09:10):
video about a lady that getsoff of work and she's leaving
her job and she leaves thebuilding and walks out all
professional, based, so ontraditional standards, and she
gets in her car and then shestarts taking off all these
things and transforming in amatter of minutes into who she
actually is when she goes homeand on the weekend, and I
(09:30):
thought to myself.
This is so relatable, and I wasthe only one, because the fact
that this video blew up it wasviral was evident of how many
people could relate to thatexperience.
It's what we have always done,but the truth is that the more
that you shrink yourself, theharder it's going to be for you
(09:52):
to win the clients that you wantand meet.
Whether we admit it or not,part of why we do this is that
we feel like we need to mimic alot of the dominant branding in
order to be seen as credible orprofessional or to be considered
for contracts that we find tobe highly desirable and
(10:14):
lucrative.
You want to value the clientsthat you have, do your best for
the clients that you have andshow up and represent your brand
in a way that will make youproud.
But it does not mean that youneed to become sterile.
It doesn't mean that you needto be bland.
You need to be seen.
You need to attract business.
(10:34):
You need to have a brand thatstands out and reflects
something that is different andunique in your space.
Now, I will not tell you thatthis is something that is easy
to do, because it can be verydifficult to push back against
the conditioning, to feelcomfortable showing up in a new
way to test something that yousee right now as being risky.
(10:57):
But at the end of the day, it'sa matter of knowing and
understanding what thetransition you've made mean, how
being an entrepreneur in thisspace now is something different
than when you were working yournine to five, because when you
(11:19):
truly embrace that differenceand that transformation, all of
this makes a lot more sense andbecomes a lot easier to do.
A lot of what we may beuncomfortable with doing is a
matter of us not realizing thatwe have a choice.
See, when you are totallyfocused on trying to convince
(11:40):
those who may not see your valuein the value and worth of what
you do, then you'll be stuck inthis cycle.
But the moment that you realizethat, as a business owner and
entrepreneur now you have theability to attract those who are
aligned with your values, withyour beliefs, with your
(12:01):
philosophy, with your approach,and those individuals will value
you as an expert, as astrategist and as a consultant.
The difference is that you havepower.
You no longer have to acceptthe rules as stated.
You no longer have to follow aprocess that was designed by
(12:24):
someone else, based on theirgoals, you're now setting the
foundation for the business thatyou want to have and that you
want to establish.
It's one of the reasons why,especially as consultants, it's
important to share your ideasand your philosophy and your
values and beliefs.
All of these things help you toattract the right businesses
(12:44):
and the organizations that willallow you to be yourself fully,
because it's only when you areable to show up without this
confined precedence that youwill be able to work at a new
level, at a level where you arenot confined to think in a
limited way.
You need to be able to have andshow all of your brilliance in
(13:07):
every aspect of your work, andif you don't feel like you can
be creative, if you don't feellike you can be open, if you
don't feel like you can behonest, it's going to be very
difficult for you to do that.
So when we're talking aboutwhitewashing our brand, it shows
up in very subtle ways.
It is being extremely safe,making sure that we don't say
(13:27):
the wrong things, and so thatlends to you often relying on
what the textbook says, alwayslooking for the textbook answer
instead of being morecontroversial or pushing against
the standard or the commonpractice in your industry.
Those things seem very riskyand so we avoid it.
(13:52):
We try to be the brand or thebusiness or the consultant that
makes everybody happy, that'sable to do all of the things,
when, in all honesty, peoplearen't looking for that.
They have employees that dothat.
What they need from you issomeone that has a belief and a
(14:13):
view, a philosophy, a vision andan approach that they stand on,
that they are going to practiceby and they're gonna use to
help them get to the next level.
That's what they're actuallywanting.
They don't want the sterile,safe you.
Although I know it makes usfeel more comfortable when we
are trying to fit in, to buildcredibility, what we're actually
(14:36):
doing is not allowing ourselvesto win the clients that we want
and need.
When you think about it, ifsomeone is looking to work with
a consultant and they have achoice between someone who has
been established for a decadeand someone who has been
established for two or threeyears and they look the same,
(14:56):
they're offering the same thingsand they're saying the same
thing, you're going to go withthe one that has been
established for a longer periodof time.
That's just the naturaltendency.
So we don't do ourselves anyfavors by trying to show up in a
similar way.
The difference in what's goingto cause somebody to make a
different decision than goingwith a larger corporate firm
(15:20):
that's been around for a longtime what's going to make them
choose not to go with them andgo with you, are the new ideas,
are the things that make youintangible, more innovative,
unique and fresh.
That's the part that sells.
So it makes sense that we tendto start our businesses and show
up like we did when we were inour corporate environment.
(15:41):
You are not the first one to doit.
I did it and I'm sure manyother consultants have done it
as well.
It's very common because that'swhat we know has been
successful over the years.
But now that we've talked aboutthe need to be ourselves and to
create this different brand andI will even say persona then how
(16:03):
do we do that?
That becomes the question.
How do we begin to be moreauthentic?
What does that authenticitylook like?
How can we be authentic andstill be professional?
How will people respond to usshowing up in this way?
Those are all questions that Iknow I had and I'm sure you're
asking right now.
We all want to be ourselves.
(16:24):
We all want to show up fully,without this cloud of hesitation
that hangs over our heads, andthat's something that, as women,
especially as women of color Iwant us to be free from, because
we've spent our whole careerjourneys trying to fit into
somebody else's definition andnow, in your business, this is
not the time for you to continuethat.
(16:47):
It's time to move beyond thatpoint and think about how we can
use our authenticity to ouradvantage.
I want you to consider all ofthe things that you see happen
in your industry or in yourfield that most people don't
notice.
Think about your path and yourjourney and the steps that you
had to take.
For many of us, we didn't getto where we are right now, doing
(17:11):
the same things that everyoneelse did.
I'm sure, if you're like me,you have adapted, you have
modified, you have totallyremixed everything, trying to
get to the end result thateverybody else got to, and so
you have to think about what ittook to get there, how that was
different, how that was unique.
(17:32):
It allows you to see thingsfrom a different viewpoint and
something that exposes thelimitations in your industry,
the limitations that others face, and also the areas in which
your industry can improve.
Those are valuable insightsthat many of our clients need to
see, hear and recognize.
(17:52):
It's actually a lot of whatwill make the difference in
their businesses and how they'reable to grow and move to the
next level, and how you can helpthem do that.
Your view of problems in yourfield that your clients may be
facing is totally different, andbeing able to take that view
and process and evaluate theirproblems, you're going to come
(18:17):
out with a completely differentanswer and solution than someone
else who has not had those samelived experiences.
When you're able to honor that,instead of leaning so heavily
into the thing that you've beentaught in school, is the right
response, then that's whereyou're going to see the
breakthrough, because thestrategy that you're going to
provide the insights, thedirection, the way that you're
(18:42):
helping them navigate, is goingto be reflective of your
brilliance and the lessons thatyou have learned, and those
lessons are things that otherpeople cannot copy, they cannot
recreate, and therefore it makesyou valuable in a very
different way than someone elsewho may show up in your space.
(19:02):
This is the part that we haveto lean into.
This is what should be shapingthe frameworks that we create.
This is what should be shapingthe insights that we provide
being able to be more authenticand really reclaiming your voice
.
That's profitable, that isgoing to generate profit for you
and your business.
So I'm not talking aboutsomething that's just making you
(19:22):
so.
I'm not talking about somethingthat's just making you
comfortable.
We're talking about somethingthat's going to actually
generate revenue, and the greatpart about it is that the more
liberated you become fromshowing up in a very confined,
traditional, boxed-in way, theeasier it's going to be for you
to do your work.
The easier it's going to be foryou to show up and serve
(19:42):
clients.
The easier it's going to be foryou to do your work.
The easier it's going to be foryou to show up and serve
clients, the easier it's goingto be for you to do everything
that's necessary to run yourbusiness.
The easier it's going to be foryou to show up on stages and
speak, the easier it's going tobe for you to network, the
easier it's going to be for youto attract and land clients.
Everything becomes easierbecause you're no longer trying
(20:03):
to process what you should doand say in order to meet
someone's expectations, butinstead you are totally focused
on just showing up and doing thework and being in the
excellence that you typicallyprovide.
That is freeing, it'sliberating and it's what you
deserve.
(20:23):
No more whitewashing your brand,no more sanitizing your story,
no more showing up overlycorporate and sterile.
It's time for you to command theroom with your boldness and
your brilliance, because, at theend of the day, no one can copy
your lived experience and yourunique perspective or the
(20:47):
philosophy you have regardingyour practice.
Those are the things that areunique for you, and the more you
allow people to see it, themore you showcase it, the more
you share it, the more clientsthat you're going to attract to
your brand that truly align withwho you authentically are and
value the work that you do.
(21:07):
So I want you to take a look atyour brand today.
Go through your website, lookat your social media pages, look
at your bio on LinkedIn, gothrough your pitch deck, look at
everything and think toyourself is this something that
looks like a template that couldgenerically be online for
anyone to copy?
Does it reflect who I really am?
(21:28):
Is it showing the world how I'muniquely different?
Is it obvious?
Because this is not the time toedit your presence.
Your brain doesn't needpermission to be brilliant.
You just need to stop hiding it.
So I hope you enjoyed thisepisode and, if you are
listening to this on ApplePodcasts or Spotify, don't
(21:48):
forget to leave your five-starrating and review.
It is greatly appreciated andhelp us attract more and more
listeners and grow this brand.
So until next time, beauthentic, be you and let's win.
If I show up fully, will they still hire me?
That was a question that I usedto often ask myself and, to be
honest, I think many of us, aswomen and women of color in this
consulting space, tend to havethis question run through our
minds from time to time, mainlybecause we've been taught that
being ourselves and being reallyauthentic to who we are is
(00:24):
something that is a liability oreven a risk.
Is this a matter of usfollowing good advice, or are we
actually whitewashing ourbrands?
We often are told that the riskmeans that there are people
that won't want to work with us,that our businesses won't grow,
that we won't be successful,but in actuality, one of the
(00:46):
biggest risks is that we may notstand out.
Hi, my name is Dr AngelinaDavis and I am the founder of
Accela Consulting and the hostof the Black Girls Consulting
Podcast.
In this episode, I want us totalk about what it means to be
authentic in the consultingspace, how this impacts our
brand, and to figure out whetheror not we are truly
(01:08):
whitewashing who we are in orderto be successful.
If you're like me, you've likelybeen taught over the years that
you need to blend in, that youneed to fit in with everyone
else, that you don't need toseem intimidating, and when you
are, that can be problematic.
I remember when I was intraining and I don't think that
(01:30):
I am intimidating at all.
However, that was one commentthat my mentor had for me.
The feedback was that sometimesmy interactions can be
intimidating to others and Ididn't know how to tone that
down.
I didn't know what that meantbecause at the time I was just
being myself.
I was trying to do the workthat I needed to do to the best
(01:53):
of my ability.
That's what I had been taughtthrough high school and through
college was needed in order tobe successful.
So when I showed up in this newenvironment and I found that it
wasn't received in the same way, it was my initial message and
note that I needed to tone itdown, and part of what I took
(02:16):
from that is that oftentimes ina professional setting, it was
necessary for me to begin toshrink myself, to not be as
vocal, to not be as loud, to notbe as demanding, to not seem
like I'm trying to beconfrontational, even if I was
just trying to express my idea.
(02:36):
So this is a level ofconditioning that I had.
That carried me through theyears, from my training on, into
the careers that I had in thefuture, definitely into the
consulting world.
I learned that in order to besuccessful, I needed to play the
game.
I needed to show up and be theperson that was able to work
(02:57):
with anyone, that did not causea fuzz, that did the work behind
the scenes, that did not tryand stand out from everyone else
because my fear was that I wasnot going to be seen as a team
player.
So this was helpful for me.
I grew because of it, Iadvanced in my career because of
it, and oftentimes many of us,when we're entering into the
(03:19):
consulting space as anentrepreneur, we have gone
through similar lessons.
We have had similar experiences.
So when we're talking about thetransition from employee to now
founder or CEO of your ownbusiness, you're making the
shift and sometimes that shiftand that change is not easy and
(03:42):
we carry a lot of theconditioning that we've had from
our previous environment withus.
So there's no surprise that canbe problematic, especially if
you've been trying to blend inand not be intimidating, not be
as bold as you normally would beor authentically you as you
would typically be.
That it could keep you fromstanding out, because that's
(04:03):
what it was originally meant todo.
What was required wasunlearning this behavior,
figuring out how to not followthe rules that had been working
for so many years.
Now, trying to change the waythat we approach things is
uncomfortable, because we'repushing back against what we
(04:23):
have been taught and known to betrue, what we've been
conditioned to do.
When we think about what itmeans to market in the
business-to-business space, weoften think about being very
corporate, and corporate meaningsterile, plain, traditional,
all those things that seem toblend in.
And that makes sense for alarger organization that's
trying to make a body ofindividuals who have diverse
(04:46):
thoughts and diverse beliefs andtry to make them seem as if
they're cohesive in one, onegoal, one mission, one strategy
that serves the purpose for thislarger organization.
And what happens is that whenyou're coming from this
corporate environment, you'vebeen trained in a space where
you've been taught to blend inand for everyone to have a
(05:10):
uniform approach.
And when you carry that intoyour business, you're trying to
do that with the otherbusinesses and the other
consultants around you.
You're trying to blend in,you're trying to play the game
in.
You're trying to play the game.
You are trying not to look asif you are different, because
matching their branding,matching the way that they
market in a traditional sense,seems like the answer.
(05:32):
I know that often I found myselftrying to tone down who I am in
order to accomplish that goal,so that I wore the right colors,
or I did not wear the bigearrings, or I did not do the
things that I normally would dowhen I was in a different
setting, when I could be someonethat really felt comfortable in
(05:55):
my skin doing the things andsaying the things that I
normally would to any otherfriend or colleague.
When we take this traditionalapproach and we show up in our
business with this mindset, thenwe look the same.
You're matching what a largerorganization is putting out
there in the world in terms ofmarketing and, truth be told,
(06:16):
most of those organizations arenow trying to lean into more
creative approaches and moreinnovation, and so you're
copying something that, in allhonesty, is becoming outdated.
That's not even working wellfor them, although their purpose
of doing it was totallydifferent.
So a lot of what we need to donow is to not focus so much on
(06:38):
blending in, but insteadfiguring out how we can stand
out, and standing out means thatsometimes we have to break that
traditional mold.
Sometimes, following thetraditional approach and what
you see everybody else doing isnot best for you as a consultant
in your space, especially ifyou are a solopreneur or if you
(07:02):
have a small firm.
You need to be different.
Now, the truth is I was nevertold to tone it down.
No one ever said you are beingtoo loud or your hair is too
curly or your earrings are toobig.
No one ever said that it wassomething that was often felt
because there was a picture ofhow I was supposed to show up.
(07:23):
I remember when I was incollege, I went to UNC Chapel
Hill, and the one thing that wasvery common at that time was
wearing pearls, and so if youwent on any type of interview or
any type of more professionalon-campus function, then you had
your pearl earrings.
For me, that was a sign ofbeing more professional, and I
(07:44):
got used to showing up in spacestrying to resemble what I
thought was acceptable.
In that space, and especiallythe consulting environment is
very traditional and showing upin a different way was
uncomfortable for me at first.
It was uncomfortable to walkinto a room and not only be the
(08:05):
only woman, the only Black woman, but then also walk in with a
head of natural hair and largerearrings, or maybe clothing that
fit a little bit differentlybecause, the way I was shaped,
there were a lot of things thatfelt uncomfortable in those
moments and in my attempt to tryand minimize that, I found
(08:26):
myself leaning into what I sawas the way to present myself
quote unquote professionally, tobe more corporate.
But in all honesty, those werepreconceived notions that I had
based on definitions thatsomeone else gave me.
(08:47):
They were never meant to carryme through my career and into my
business, because, after awhile, showing up this way is a
way of almost sanitizingourselves.
We're not reflecting who wetruly are and what we truly
bring to the table.
I remember I was scrollingonline recently and there's this
(09:10):
video about a lady that getsoff of work and she's leaving
her job and she leaves thebuilding and walks out all
professional, based, so ontraditional standards, and she
gets in her car and then shestarts taking off all these
things and transforming in amatter of minutes into who she
actually is when she goes homeand on the weekend, and I
(09:30):
thought to myself.
This is so relatable, and I wasthe only one, because the fact
that this video blew up it wasviral was evident of how many
people could relate to thatexperience.
It's what we have always done,but the truth is that the more
that you shrink yourself, theharder it's going to be for you
(09:52):
to win the clients that you wantand meet.
Whether we admit it or not,part of why we do this is that
we feel like we need to mimic alot of the dominant branding in
order to be seen as credible orprofessional or to be considered
for contracts that we find tobe highly desirable and
(10:14):
lucrative.
You want to value the clientsthat you have, do your best for
the clients that you have andshow up and represent your brand
in a way that will make youproud.
But it does not mean that youneed to become sterile.
It doesn't mean that you needto be bland.
You need to be seen.
You need to attract business.
(10:34):
You need to have a brand thatstands out and reflects
something that is different andunique in your space.
Now, I will not tell you thatthis is something that is easy
to do, because it can be verydifficult to push back against
the conditioning, to feelcomfortable showing up in a new
way to test something that yousee right now as being risky.
(10:57):
But at the end of the day, it'sa matter of knowing and
understanding what thetransition you've made mean, how
being an entrepreneur in thisspace now is something different
than when you were working yournine to five, because when you
(11:19):
truly embrace that differenceand that transformation, all of
this makes a lot more sense andbecomes a lot easier to do.
A lot of what we may beuncomfortable with doing is a
matter of us not realizing thatwe have a choice.
See, when you are totallyfocused on trying to convince
(11:40):
those who may not see your valuein the value and worth of what
you do, then you'll be stuck inthis cycle.
But the moment that you realizethat, as a business owner and
entrepreneur now you have theability to attract those who are
aligned with your values, withyour beliefs, with your
(12:01):
philosophy, with your approach,and those individuals will value
you as an expert, as astrategist and as a consultant.
The difference is that you havepower.
You no longer have to acceptthe rules as stated.
You no longer have to follow aprocess that was designed by
(12:24):
someone else, based on theirgoals, you're now setting the
foundation for the business thatyou want to have and that you
want to establish.
It's one of the reasons why,especially as consultants, it's
important to share your ideasand your philosophy and your
values and beliefs.
All of these things help you toattract the right businesses
(12:44):
and the organizations that willallow you to be yourself fully,
because it's only when you areable to show up without this
confined precedence that youwill be able to work at a new
level, at a level where you arenot confined to think in a
limited way.
You need to be able to have andshow all of your brilliance in
(13:07):
every aspect of your work, andif you don't feel like you can
be creative, if you don't feellike you can be open, if you
don't feel like you can behonest, it's going to be very
difficult for you to do that.
So when we're talking aboutwhitewashing our brand, it shows
up in very subtle ways.
It is being extremely safe,making sure that we don't say
(13:27):
the wrong things, and so thatlends to you often relying on
what the textbook says, alwayslooking for the textbook answer
instead of being morecontroversial or pushing against
the standard or the commonpractice in your industry.
Those things seem very riskyand so we avoid it.
(13:52):
We try to be the brand or thebusiness or the consultant that
makes everybody happy, that'sable to do all of the things,
when, in all honesty, peoplearen't looking for that.
They have employees that dothat.
What they need from you issomeone that has a belief and a
(14:13):
view, a philosophy, a vision andan approach that they stand on,
that they are going to practiceby and they're gonna use to
help them get to the next level.
That's what they're actuallywanting.
They don't want the sterile,safe you.
Although I know it makes usfeel more comfortable when we
are trying to fit in, to buildcredibility, what we're actually
(14:36):
doing is not allowing ourselvesto win the clients that we want
and need.
When you think about it, ifsomeone is looking to work with
a consultant and they have achoice between someone who has
been established for a decadeand someone who has been
established for two or threeyears and they look the same,
(14:56):
they're offering the same thingsand they're saying the same
thing, you're going to go withthe one that has been
established for a longer periodof time.
That's just the naturaltendency.
So we don't do ourselves anyfavors by trying to show up in a
similar way.
The difference in what's goingto cause somebody to make a
different decision than goingwith a larger corporate firm
(15:20):
that's been around for a longtime what's going to make them
choose not to go with them andgo with you, are the new ideas,
are the things that make youintangible, more innovative,
unique and fresh.
That's the part that sells.
So it makes sense that we tendto start our businesses and show
up like we did when we were inour corporate environment.
(15:41):
You are not the first one to doit.
I did it and I'm sure manyother consultants have done it
as well.
It's very common because that'swhat we know has been
successful over the years.
But now that we've talked aboutthe need to be ourselves and to
create this different brand andI will even say persona then how
(16:03):
do we do that?
That becomes the question.
How do we begin to be moreauthentic?
What does that authenticitylook like?
How can we be authentic andstill be professional?
How will people respond to usshowing up in this way?
Those are all questions that Iknow I had and I'm sure you're
asking right now.
We all want to be ourselves.
(16:24):
We all want to show up fully,without this cloud of hesitation
that hangs over our heads, andthat's something that, as women,
especially as women of color Iwant us to be free from, because
we've spent our whole careerjourneys trying to fit into
somebody else's definition andnow, in your business, this is
not the time for you to continuethat.
(16:47):
It's time to move beyond thatpoint and think about how we can
use our authenticity to ouradvantage.
I want you to consider all ofthe things that you see happen
in your industry or in yourfield that most people don't
notice.
Think about your path and yourjourney and the steps that you
had to take.
For many of us, we didn't getto where we are right now, doing
(17:11):
the same things that everyoneelse did.
I'm sure, if you're like me,you have adapted, you have
modified, you have totallyremixed everything, trying to
get to the end result thateverybody else got to, and so
you have to think about what ittook to get there, how that was
different, how that was unique.
(17:32):
It allows you to see thingsfrom a different viewpoint and
something that exposes thelimitations in your industry,
the limitations that others face, and also the areas in which
your industry can improve.
Those are valuable insightsthat many of our clients need to
see, hear and recognize.
(17:52):
It's actually a lot of whatwill make the difference in
their businesses and how they'reable to grow and move to the
next level, and how you can helpthem do that.
Your view of problems in yourfield that your clients may be
facing is totally different, andbeing able to take that view
and process and evaluate theirproblems, you're going to come
(18:17):
out with a completely differentanswer and solution than someone
else who has not had those samelived experiences.
When you're able to honor that,instead of leaning so heavily
into the thing that you've beentaught in school, is the right
response, then that's whereyou're going to see the
breakthrough, because thestrategy that you're going to
provide the insights, thedirection, the way that you're
(18:42):
helping them navigate, is goingto be reflective of your
brilliance and the lessons thatyou have learned, and those
lessons are things that otherpeople cannot copy, they cannot
recreate, and therefore it makesyou valuable in a very
different way than someone elsewho may show up in your space.
(19:02):
This is the part that we haveto lean into.
This is what should be shapingthe frameworks that we create.
This is what should be shapingthe insights that we provide
being able to be more authenticand really reclaiming your voice
.
That's profitable, that isgoing to generate profit for you
and your business.
So I'm not talking aboutsomething that's just making you
(19:22):
so.
I'm not talking about somethingthat's just making you
comfortable.
We're talking about somethingthat's going to actually
generate revenue, and the greatpart about it is that the more
liberated you become fromshowing up in a very confined,
traditional, boxed-in way, theeasier it's going to be for you
to do your work.
The easier it's going to be foryou to show up and serve
(19:42):
clients.
The easier it's going to be foryou to do your work.
The easier it's going to be foryou to show up and serve
clients, the easier it's goingto be for you to do everything
that's necessary to run yourbusiness.
The easier it's going to be foryou to show up on stages and
speak, the easier it's going tobe for you to network, the
easier it's going to be for youto attract and land clients.
Everything becomes easierbecause you're no longer trying
(20:03):
to process what you should doand say in order to meet
someone's expectations, butinstead you are totally focused
on just showing up and doing thework and being in the
excellence that you typicallyprovide.
That is freeing, it'sliberating and it's what you
deserve.
(20:23):
No more whitewashing your brand,no more sanitizing your story,
no more showing up overlycorporate and sterile.
It's time for you to command theroom with your boldness and
your brilliance, because, at theend of the day, no one can copy
your lived experience and yourunique perspective or the
(20:47):
philosophy you have regardingyour practice.
Those are the things that areunique for you, and the more you
allow people to see it, themore you showcase it, the more
you share it, the more clientsthat you're going to attract to
your brand that truly align withwho you authentically are and
value the work that you do.
(21:07):
So I want you to take a look atyour brand today.
Go through your website, lookat your social media pages, look
at your bio on LinkedIn, gothrough your pitch deck, look at
everything and think toyourself is this something that
looks like a template that couldgenerically be online for
anyone to copy?
Does it reflect who I really am?
(21:28):
Is it showing the world how I'muniquely different?
Is it obvious?
Because this is not the time toedit your presence.
Your brain doesn't needpermission to be brilliant.
You just need to stop hiding it.
So I hope you enjoyed thisepisode and, if you are
listening to this on ApplePodcasts or Spotify, don't
(21:48):
forget to leave your five-starrating and review.
It is greatly appreciated andhelp us attract more and more
listeners and grow this brand.
So until next time, beauthentic, be you and let's win.
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