Equip recent grads with tools to succeed

I recently had an experience earlier this month that made me feel accomplished. I got to return to school and invest in my?own?personal development. I've spent years creating spaces to help people develop themselves, but I rarely do it for myself. I'm changing that. I attended Harvard Business School to complete the executive education program Advancing Women of Color in Leadership. I spent time with 88 other women of color from around the globe to learn from each other and acclaimed professors and innovative business leaders. Overall, I feel reinvigorated, seen, hopeful and accomplished.

Being on campus reminded me of what it was like to be excited about what's next after completing undergrad. Do you remember what it was like to be bright eyed and ready for the world? It's graduation season, and a new group of grads are entering the job market. One thing that happens to many new grads is the feeling that they are being set up to fail.

I was sitting in my dorm room at Harvard University, and I reflected on my personal work experiences as a Black woman. I felt empowered in my experience during the Harvard University School of Business Women of Color Leadership Program to start sharing my thoughts around work and career again.

During the program, I had to read case studies about women of color who have faced tremendous adversity with launching a business function, managing teams, or achieving a certain level of success. Some of their stories involved each woman taking significant risks in a way that can't be replicated by anyone else. Some of the women were taking on tasks that have never been done. They were creating the blueprint. Each story had a theme of being set up for failure that resurfaced the times I felt this way and the reason why I wanted to write about this topic. There were different times that I felt like I was set up to fail: as a recent grad, a new hire and someone who switch teams. There was always a terrible transfer of knowledge. Most of that was due to managers not being able to come up for air to properly onboard and nonexistent systems to keep everything organized and easy to pass down. Many managers/leaders don't even realize the knowledge gaps that someone on their team has unless it has been brought to their attention. (Recent grads will take awhile to find their voice and know how to communicate in a corporate setting. The question is, who is going to teach them?)

My perspective is that managers can significantly enhance their leadership by equipping their young direct reports with the necessary tools for success. If you are a manager, I urge you to pause and reflect on whether your team has all the resources they need to thrive.

Click here to read the full blog.