Home
Blog
Posts
Leadership Is Not A Job to Do Alone

Leadership Is Not A Job to Do Alone

This past summer I had the phenomenal opportunity of leading a cohort of five young women through a virtual version of the You Can’t Fail, Inc. Learning Community in Houston TX. The program is called Millennial Women Making Moves and is a leadership development program specifically designed to develop and accelerate the career paths of early- and mid-career professional women of color. As the third cohort to graduate from the You Can’t Fail, Inc. Learning Community, this group of women did not disappoint.

I worked with the executive director of Style Lottery who hosted this version of the program. Despite coming from different industries, backgrounds, and locations it was insightful and validating to see how similar all of their professional experiences and challenges were. In a follow up evaluation of the program with past cohort members, a constant theme was presented regarding the importance and need for cohort programs that foster community for professional women of color.

At Gwen Inc., it is common to hear our motto that leadership is not a job to do alone. I believe that is especially true for women who hold less traditional leadership roles in their career than their male counterparts. As this gap is beginning to close, it is important that we all work to generate and cultivate communal spaces for professional women to obtain invaluable growth gained from learning from the experiences of their peers. As the success of this program has shown, this need is universal and relates to a network of professional women across the country.

You can expect that as we close 2020 and open 2021, Gwen, Inc. and You Can’t Fail, Inc. will continue to expand the profound work of this program. As you enter goal planning cycles and attempt to make sense of the uncertainty of this new year, I would encourage you to consider what your role could be in fostering this type of community. Whether it is as a mentor to another young professional woman; a sponsor serving as one who enforces and proves new opportunities for a young professional woman; or as a colleague who gives and receives from such a cohort.

In any role, we all have a part to play in advancing the careers of professional women of color. I count it as an honor and a legacy building opportunity for me to have participated in not one but three cohorts of the You Can’t Fail, Inc. Learning Community.

Caeresa Richardson is the Sr. Consultant for Emerging Leaders at Gwen, Inc. She is an energetic and driven leader who offers a unique and valuable perspective concerning the attraction, development, and retention of emerging leaders for clients at Gwen, Inc. She enjoys innovative and results driven methods that facilitates thought provoking and insightful client experiences. As a self proclaimed “Island Girl” her favorite vacation always includes sun, sand, and sea.