Keeping Your Head Held High

LinkedIn Friends, I'm pictured above with Lobe from Cameroon. He works as one of the doormen in my building. I was returning home one evening this week when he stopped me in my path and commented, “Bonsoir majesté” (‘good evening, majesty’ in French) accompanied with a moderate bow at the waist. Awestruck, I asked why he presented me with this kind but very unnecessary gesture. He said, simply, “When I see you, sir, I feel like high spirits and good about myself. The way you carry yourself, like a king. . . it makes me feel strong and powerful.” 

On the evening Lobe and I had this exchange, I was returning from a day of disappointments. And my time here in Dubai, while exciting, has been marred with challenges and uncertainty — personally and professionally. I told Lobe that, perhaps, what he sees in me is a humble attempt to rise up to my mother’s strong sense of self and expectations of me. 

Growing up, I witnessed my mother as a woman, wife, mother, professional, and human, (same as any other I suppose), face challenges head on. Whether it was a setback on the job, dealing with a family matter, co-raising my siblings and I, or responding to life’s many unpredictabilities, her head was never lowered in defeat, yet raised high and erect with an unmatched resilience, determination, and grace. The same you’d expect of a queen or any regal figure. 

From watching my mother, I have learned that self-respect, dignity, and humility must be maintained always, and at all costs — in both life and career. And graciousness, rather than egotism, will grant you unprecedented access. Departing my brief exchange with Lobe, I also shared with him a poem I recite to myself every morning and on the heels of any professional challenge: Maya Angelou’s ‘And Still I Rise.’

You may trod me in the very dirt, but still like dust, I’ll rise.