Safe and Brave Spaces

By Kira Kimball

“We need your beauty for this meeting.”

The words fell heavy like a sucker punch to the gut. I lost my breath and couldn’t speak. Instantly my self-confidence plummeted and I couldn’t feel any smaller than I felt at that moment. My beliefs about myself were put into question: how about my strategic prowess, my ability to persuade and inspire, my knack at instilling confidence in what we could accomplish, my expertise at saving the day when the conversation went in the ditch. These are things I had believed about myself.?

I sat there quietly—or was it silenced? Diminished for sure. No one stepped in for me. No one said differently.

I never spoke of this, and years and years have passed since this day. Why didn’t I say anything? Why didn’t anyone say anything on my behalf? The memory still grips me even though it is long in the rear view mirror. As someone who didn’t have a lot of influence or power at the time, I needed an ally in the worst way at that moment.??

Fast forward to today and those who identify as women are still calling on allies. Whether it’s to call out or call in a colleague about the value they place on a woman colleague, a bias they might have about how she should or should not show up, or to create space for her to bring her whole self to work and the many intersections of her identity, we know we have work to do to #breakthebias. This right here is the call to action of workplaces around our globe, including ours.

As for me, I’m taking up my space and #breakingthebias of what leadership with an impact looks like and acts like. I’m often told “I’m too nice” or “I’m not raw enough.” I assert these thoughts don’t align with what the workplace of the 21st century needs. My kindness, belief in servant leadership and my self-composed manner have all served me well. As a leader who believes we’ve been called to humanize our workplace like no other time in history, I’m really very OK with bringing who I am to the office every day.

In honor of International Women’s Day, let’s create more safe and brave spaces for all of our colleagues, no matter how they identity, to bring their whole selves to work without fear of bias or judgment, but instead with celebration of our diversity.