For a long time, I saw myself through the lens of what I lacked and saw aspects of my cultural identity as a deficit. I walked into spaces defining myself as an African immigrant living in the US who has an “accent” and an unfamiliar name that others found hard to pronounce, and a Black woman. Often, I believed these parts of my identity placed barriers in front of my leadership in terms of being heard and understood and several times acquiesced to others’ ideas without shari

"Our children are our future" is a phrase we hear so often that it has become a cliché. As I have watched my son, Iidah, grow I have come to realize that it is much more than a familiar saying and our children reveal truths about leadership that many adults spend years trying to rediscover. Iidah has been one of my greatest leadership teachers. Before he was even born, his identity began with his name as his maternal grandfather chose to name him after his maternal great gra

There was a time when I believed leadership was primarily about developing skills, that is, learning to communicate more effectively, influence, inspire, and solve problems. While those skills certainly matter, I eventually discovered that the greatest leadership work doesn't begin with what I do, it begins with understanding who I am. We All See the World Through a Cultural Lens Every one of us has a story. Long before we stepped into a leadership role, we were shaped by our

A team of leaders tackled the same challenge in completely different ways. One leader wanted to build consensus before making a decision, another preferred to act quickly and adjust along the way, and a third believed the team needed more time to reflect before moving forward. At first, it looked like conflict, however in reality, it was culture.

Welcome to Synergy & Spark, a space where I use storytelling to explore my thoughts and ideas about cultural synergy.