- 8 hours ago
Leadership is a powerful platform for change, and leaders of color are making remarkable strides despite the unique challenges they face. This conversation will delve into the complexities of leadership and its profound impact on leaders of color. Join us as we discuss how leaders from our community navigate the pressures of their roles, the invaluable lessons they have learned along the way, and practical strategies for thriving while paving the way for others.
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01:10Oh, good afternoon, everyone.
01:22Can you all hear me okay?
01:24All righty.
01:25Good afternoon.
01:26I'm so excited to be here today.
01:28Today, we're going to talk about leading with purpose and gaining insights from these amazing leaders of color.
01:36My name is Nicole Stovall.
01:38I am the Vice President of Merck's Global Diversity and Inclusion Center of Excellence.
01:44So when we think about leadership, we know that leadership is not just about titles.
01:49If you think about our communities, the schools, our churches, think about the people who are really making a difference, who's really making an impact, who's fostering progress.
02:01They don't always have to have the biggest titles.
02:04These are people who are really moving and shaking.
02:07And when I think about my dad, he used to always say, when you want something done, ask a black woman.
02:15Because I think we know black women, no matter what we do, where we are, we tend to want to make a difference and make an impact.
02:23So when it comes to leaders of color, it's really about making sure that we are finding a pathway to, and our path is really shaped by purpose and persistence.
02:36And so today's conversation, we're going to talk about looking behind the titles and thinking about the stories, the real stories that we have, the challenges, the breakthroughs, and the lessons that shape how we lead and how we uplift others.
02:53So I'm really, really excited to be joined today by these trailblazing leaders.
02:58These women are accomplished women. They have the titles, but they also have an amazing journey and many lessons to impart.
03:06And I'll ask them to share more about their journeys as we talk.
03:10They're going to really share how they are being able to make meaningful impact in their respective fields and how they continue to lead with intention, authenticity, and with a deep commitment to community as well.
03:24So please join me in welcoming these amazing trailblazing leaders to the panel today.
03:36So first, I want to ask all of the panelists here to talk about your journey.
03:42You all have these amazing titles, these amazing positions, and are very accomplished in all that you've done.
03:49But if you could talk about how you got there, what was your journey?
03:53What were the pivotal moments that got you to where you are today?
03:57And if I could start with you, Marquita, please, thank you.
04:00Absolutely.
04:01Well, first of all, thank you so much, Nicole, for hosting this really important panel, and thank all of you for being here.
04:08Really excited to be here today.
04:10So I am a psychiatrist by background and training.
04:15But after I finished my residency, my training in psychiatry, I knew that I wanted to make a broader impact on mental health in our country beyond the one-on-one patient encounters.
04:31Which I love, too, don't get me wrong, I love those interactions with my patients.
04:37And so after training, I decided to go back and get formal training in business leadership.
04:44And that was really a pivotal moment for me.
04:47Many of my mentors were like, why would you do that?
04:50Even my father was confused at the time.
04:54But I knew that I wanted more advanced training in leadership.
04:59And so went and got it.
05:01And from there, every step along the way has been a pivotal moment learning different leadership lessons.
05:09I've worked in public health.
05:11I've worked in clinical medicine.
05:13I've worked in the insurance company industry.
05:17And now have the true privilege and honor of leading the American Psychiatric Association,
05:24which is our nation's oldest medical professional society, 180 years old.
05:30And I am the first black American and first woman to hold that role in 180 years.
05:37Which is a true honor.
05:39A true honor.
05:40And so that would be how I would explain my story and some of the key pivotal moments.
05:45I'm excited to hear from the other panelists as well.
05:48Thank you so much for that.
05:49And congratulations.
05:50That's an amazing accomplishment.
05:52Chiquita, could you share your story?
05:54I would be happy to.
05:55And let me also say what a privilege and pleasure it is to be with you all,
06:00especially to such a wonderful panel.
06:03I started my career in government as what we call a civil servant,
06:08which means not a political appointee.
06:11I started at what we call the Office of Management and Budget at the end of the Clinton administration.
06:17And one of the first things that I worked on was children's health insurance.
06:22It had just passed Congress and so it was a baby program.
06:26And I got to travel around the country and really look in the eyes of parents who were so excited that their children were now going to have affordable health coverage.
06:39It really changed me and I became very passionate about making sure that everybody in this country had access to affordable care.
06:50I also, I stayed through the first couple of years of the Bush administration.
06:55And I mentioned that to say that one of the things I really learned during my time there was how to talk to people who don't think exactly the same way that you do.
07:07I had just come out of the Clinton administration, people all left, and they loved the children's health insurance program.
07:13It was their baby.
07:14And then my boss, I had to explain to him why we needed to do some of these things.
07:19Then September 11th happened and the administration wanted to cover, give insurance to people who were dislocated workers, people who had lost their jobs.
07:32And so they did work on health insurance and it looked very different than the way Democrats would go about it.
07:38But those things that I learned helped me in the future.
07:43So fast forward, I worked in the private sector and then I come to the Ways and Means Committee Congress and work on health care and we work on the Affordable Care Act.
07:57And some of those insights that I learned during the Bush administration helped me during that period of time.
08:05I had the privilege of really learning from some remarkable leaders, both leaders who gave me opportunities, even though I was young in my career and let me step forward.
08:17One of my favorite days was being in the room when President Obama and all of our bosses were negotiating the Affordable Care Act.
08:27My boss had given me her seat in the White House and I stood, she said, just stand really tall next to the curtains.
08:35I stood for four hours to be in that room, but it was an amazing experience and I learned a great deal about how to be a leader, how to get things done and spent time in the Obama administration.
08:48And those were wonderful years working on the Affordable Care Act, then some time in the private sector and then now just recently out of the Biden administration where we had an incredible, incredible four years.
09:04That's great. And we're still benefiting from the impact today. Thank you.
09:09Aaliyah, can you share your story, please?
09:13Absolutely. And thank you again for hosting this panel and to all of you for being here.
09:18As it was mentioned, I'm in the leadership development space and it's something that I absolutely love.
09:23But when I think about my leadership journey, it actually started when I was very, very young.
09:28To be honest with you, my family would tell you that I was born bossy.
09:33Okay. And why that's important is because what my parents saw in me was cultivated.
09:39It was encouraged. I was encouraged to sit at the front of the classroom.
09:43I was encouraged to take more responsibility.
09:46I was encouraged to speak up for people who couldn't necessarily speak up for themselves.
09:50And all along, I was building those leadership qualities through the support of my family.
09:55When I got into college, when I got into the workplace and I too started in government in Prince George's County, Maryland,
10:03I was also encouraged by my mentors and people who I worked with to continue to lead, to take the leadership course,
10:11to go represent this, to go represent that.
10:14So there were opportunities that were presented to me that I kept leaning into.
10:19And when I had the opportunity to manage people, I said, of course I will.
10:24Because I knew that I could treat people the way that I wanted to be treated and I could help to bring out the best in them.
10:30And it was a rocky road at the beginning of my leadership tenure or leadership career.
10:35But I learned those lessons.
10:37I kept learning them over and over again until I felt like I became a better leader.
10:41So it really was about accepting responsibility.
10:44It was about the different principles being cultivated in me very young.
10:49And also, I happened into leadership development.
10:53I actually started my career in Health and Human Services.
10:55I was at Department of Family Service in Prince George's County Health Department.
11:00And when I came, I moved to Texas and I was at UT Southwestern Medical working in HIV AIDS.
11:06And I encountered one of a challenging boss.
11:09I won't say it because this is being streamed, so I won't go too far.
11:12I encountered a challenging boss.
11:15And it was then that I realized that people who are in leadership positions really need help and they need to be cultivated.
11:21And when I happened into leadership development, I said, oh, my goodness.
11:25This is a way that you can truly create change in the world when we create leaders who are better.
11:31Right.
11:32Excellent.
11:34And continuing to make an impact there through your leadership development and coaching executives all around the country.
11:39So thank you for that.
11:40So I want to talk a bit about navigating challenges.
11:45As leaders of color, we tend to bear a bit more responsibility for our communities as a whole.
11:52And that can carry a certain level of weight in the workplace and in organizations that we lead.
11:59Because we often feel like we have to represent our community, but we're also trying to lead at the same time.
12:06So can you talk about how you balance that type of responsibility and shoulder that particular burden that sometimes gets placed on you as a lead of color?
12:18Yeah.
12:19So I'll start just by saying how CMS, the programs that we operate, Medicare, Medicaid, they are the financing part of health care.
12:31And there are not a lot of people of color who end up in that sphere of the space.
12:38I mean, CMS manages, I had responsibility for over $1.4 trillion.
12:44That's where the money is.
12:46Right.
12:47But there were not people in the room that looked like me for two decades, really.
12:52It was very rare for me to be in a room with another person of color.
12:56And so I had to learn how to navigate that space.
13:03When I became CMS administrator, I really was caught off guard in a wonderful way of how meaningful it was to so many people, so many women, but so many African Americans.
13:21I am the first black person who has been the CMS administrator.
13:30And when I was a kid, I wanted to be, I would read these biographies and said, oh, all the barriers are going to be broken by the time I grow up.
13:37I'm not going to get to be a first, but I was.
13:40I would say for the most part, I felt the privilege that comes with being in that role,
13:48as opposed to it feeling overwhelming and pressure.
13:53Because I felt like my community had lifted me up and helped.
13:57And that by my just being, just being who I was, was meaningful and helpful.
14:04And I really tried to lean into that.
14:06I was at a, I was speaking at an event and someone came up to me and she said, your name is complicated.
14:14And I just feel she was so happy.
14:17She said to me, and you didn't go by C in your middle name.
14:21And I realized like making this decision, I am being a leader for these women who are like me with a complicated name that people say.
14:29Um, I had staff who would get in tears that they, they never thought they would have a black leader.
14:37And so I tried to channel all of the pressure into seeing this is a positive thing.
14:46And I am getting more positive than the negative pressure that comes from getting a side eye in the room or, um, you know, the things that come with being the only.
14:59Um, and really tried to focus on there is way more positive than negative.
15:05Great answer, Chiquita.
15:06That's very impressive.
15:08Um, for me, um, I think earlier on in my career, um, there were times when as a woman and as a black American, I would be in the room.
15:21Every other doctor would be called Dr. Such-and-such, Dr. Such-and-such, Dr. Such-and-such, and then Markita.
15:27And that would always be very dispiriting.
15:30Yes.
15:31Yes.
15:32I see Dr. Lawson right there who really understands that.
15:35Um, and you know, you, you take that personally.
15:38Um, but then you also have to figure out a way to rise above it.
15:44And the way I Jedi mind tricked it was that I'm an eponym.
15:47I'm like Beyonce.
15:48They call me Markita because I stand out that much.
15:51And that's how we're going to carry that.
15:53So every time someone would come with a sideswipe, I would just try to find a way to find goodness in it.
16:02Um, and my commitment to myself, and I know Chiquita feels this way too, is I may be the first, but it is very important to me to make sure that I'm not the last.
16:12Um, and so I'm creating spaces, creating spaces wherever I am to mentor, sponsor, um, give information.
16:23I think that's something else just sometimes we don't have access to the information, give information about some of the unwritten rules about some of the, along the edges and fringes and try to pass that along, um, to anyone.
16:38I mentor anyone, but certainly, uh, black Americans and black women in particular.
16:43Great. Thank you. Thank you for that.
16:45And I love how you're opening doors for others as you're moving up.
16:48And I appreciate that very much.
16:49And I'm sure we all do.
16:50So I want to turn to now talking a bit about leading with purpose.
16:54That is actually the title for this particular panel leading with purpose.
16:58Uh, and so Aliyah, can you talk a bit about how you lead with purpose and really thinking about not just from an aspirational perspective, but really incorporating that into your day to day work, your behaviors, your actions.
17:12How do you lead with purpose?
17:15Thank you for that question.
17:16The first part of that is really understanding what your core values are.
17:20What are your, your, your, the things that guide you?
17:24What are your guiding principles?
17:26When you have that, you can then get more closely connected with purpose.
17:30I went through my own leadership development journey.
17:32I'm a lifelong learner.
17:34And back in 2014, I went through a year long leadership development program.
17:38In that program, we had to figure out our core values and guiding principles as well as our purpose.
17:44And I wanted to make it super complicated.
17:46I'm the architect of dah, dah, dah, dah, dah.
17:48I wanted to get real flowery with everything.
17:51And it never quite fit right.
17:53And then it came to me one morning I woke up and it's, and I, I heard your purpose is to be of service.
18:00Period.
18:01And when I got that clarity, when I have a difficult decision, when I've got to, you know, hire or fire, whatever it is, does this align with my purpose?
18:12But the clarity of your purpose is what helps you to get to that place where you can always check in, you can always go back to it.
18:19And it's not necessarily easy to get there, but it's necessary.
18:23And there's lots of different tools, lots of different processes that you can use.
18:27And some people just know this is my purpose, which is wonderful.
18:30But it's about having that self, that check in and that self-talk and that connection to say, does this align to, to my purpose?
18:38Am I walking in it every day?
18:39And I know that when I'm taking certain actions, I'm like, I'm very well aligned.
18:43And when you're out of alignment, you know as well.
18:46Absolutely.
18:47And tying it to your values, I'm sure, makes a huge difference.
18:52So, I do want to be, I want to make sure that we are able to talk a little bit about some advice that we would give to the emerging leaders in the audience.
19:01As you think about your journey and some hard lessons that you may have had navigating your career.
19:10Chiquita, could you talk about some lessons that you learned and advice that you would share to emerging leaders in the audience?
19:17Yes.
19:18I would say one of the things, people ask me all the time, how did you get to be where you are?
19:25And there is no magic formula to becoming whatever it is that you want to be.
19:31But one thing that I think is key to that is really some of these two golden rules.
19:40Treat others as you want to be treated and remember that how people feel about you, that's what they're going to remember.
19:47And that's a misquote of Maya Angelou.
19:50But I would say that D.C. is a very transactional town.
19:55Sometimes people will size you up when you go in a meeting like, do I need to talk to them, do it at a party, who do they?
20:02And so often, I don't understand why people don't learn this lesson, but power comes and goes.
20:09And the person who is the intern can be your boss in a couple of years.
20:15When I was in the private sector, hired several people and then two jobs later, they were able to hire me because they were at companies.
20:26It is so important that you not be focused only on achieving your goal, but bringing people along with you, listening to other perspectives.
20:36All of us, no matter what our experience is, we only see in part.
20:41And we need to have openness to getting criticized, to bringing other people to the table.
20:47One of the things about me is I will explain to you if I'm not taking your recommendation.
20:52And sometimes, you know, you'll make a mistake and you need to have somebody on your team that will say, I know you don't want to do this, but you gotta.
21:02My former chief of staff is hearing me say, yes, that was me.
21:07You know, of really having people in your life that can say, you need to keep this perspective.
21:14But that is just something in that I would just really encourage people to make sure you have some truth tellers in your circle.
21:21And make sure you are treating people really, really well all the way up the process.
21:27Cause you never know who's going to be part of that decision making process.
21:32Thank you so much.
21:33So I know we're at time, but I just, if you just give one word, each of you, how you, how you would describe leadership.
21:40Leadership with purpose is what?
21:42What does it mean to you?
21:43One word.
21:44Presence.
21:46One word.
21:47You go.
21:48I can't do a word.
21:49You go.
21:50I can't do a word.
21:51Leadership is about the ability to bring out the best in everyone.
21:55Great.
21:57I'd like to tell you started knowing your, knowing your values and living your values.
22:04Excellent.
22:05On that note, we'd like to wrap up.
22:07Thank you so much audience for being here today.
22:10And thank you for these esteemed panelists for your words of wisdom.
22:15Very much appreciated.
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