Speaking Truth to Power

Sibil Sebastian Patri, CFA, CAIA , a dynamic and visionary leader whose career spans over two decades across finance and strategy, is a sought-after voice in discussions around diversity, inclusion, and systemic change.?

We were so honored to have a conversation with her on episode 61 of Embracing “Only” where we explored pursuing the liberation of your time, love, and freedom while achieving moral clarity.?

In this newsletter, we’re diving into speaking truth to power. It can be scary, but it is so worth it.

Listen to the episode or scroll down to read one of the highlights of our conversation ↓

Personal Sacrifices of Liberation Work

Sibil shares that for the 20 years that she was in corporate spaces, she presented a corporate persona. Topics of liberation are taboo in those spaces. Everything Sibil felt about humanity, she kept bottled up.

“I needed to release that. And I did have a choice. You're right. But it was a calling.” - Sibil Patri

For Sibil, there was no other way to pursue liberation other than completely and freely because she knows what it feels like to have her fundamental human rights and dignity taken away from her.

Because of her experiences,? she is able to look at everything around her with moral clarity and discernment.?

Speaking Your Truth

Speaking your truth is scary, but every time you do it, it gets easier.

“What you gain is this fearlessness of being unbought. Being able to stand in your truth and discern what you're doing and why you're doing it with clarity.” - Sibil Patri

There are always going to be people against you when you speak out, but it helps you to build resilience. It is not the absence of fear. It's feeling the fear and doing it anyway.

“I am still scared when I talk in spaces and I speak truth to power. My voice still shakes. But I do it with so much conviction. I just know that it needs to be done. And I know that I'm the vessel that needs to carry the message.” - Sibil Patri

This doesn’t mean it won’t come with awkwardness.

“There are people that don't talk to me anymore. I've lost friends. But none of it actually matters when you have moral clarity. [...] It just shifts you to a different space of being who you are unapologetically.” - Sibil Patri

Unlearning People-Pleasing

In many ways, an immigrant upbringing can cause us to be people-pleasers. For Sibil, the hard realization that she will never make her mom happy helped her to unlearn people-pleasing.

“At this point, I just want to be enough for myself. And I want to show up for my children and my husband, who embrace me for who I am.” - Sibil Patri?

This doesn’t make it easy. There are always repercussions to what you do.

“It's not about being a good Indian girl. It's about breaking generational and systemic traumas and making it better for my descendants, not for those who came before me. I can be grateful for what they've done for me, but I need to make it better for the future. And that means being rock solid in the clarity of who you are. And it comes with a lot of pain. And it comes with a lot of loss.” - Sibil Patri

To hear the full conversation with Sibil Patri on the Embracing “Only” Podcast, scroll up and hit play – or click here and tune into episode 61.

EMBRACING “ONLY” PODCAST:?

?? Available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and anywhere you find your podcasts!

Women – particularly women of color – are constantly bombarded with societal and systemic hurdles that they face professionally with no balance in solutions.?

News, media, and coaching tend to focus on our differences and obstacles but don’t provide thought-provoking solutions to help people regain control of their lives and find direction.?

The Embracing “Only” Podcast seeks to provide a community for women to share their lived experiences and not feel alone in their journey to claim their power and purpose in the communities they seek to serve, transform, and impact.