You Have the Title But No Power: Now What?

Lemme guess … you’ve been promoted to a new position, with a seemingly important sounding title, but you quickly discover, you have zero power to change things, and no one is really excited that you are there.

In fact, you feel like people are wondering how the heck you got your position, and it seems as if your colleagues question every single thing that you do. You often feel like an outsider, having to work extra hours, talking to yourself like you are crazy, going over your work again and again, feel’n like you have to “prove yourself.”?

You quickly realize you're there to simply check a box and make the company look like they've done a "good thing."

You feel me?

Gurl, I can hear you screaming “That’s me.” ?

Right … I feel you.?

Because … that was ME!

Way back in the old'n days (CIRCA: 2002), I was promoted to a senior level executive position, at a large global automotive tier 2 Fortune 500 company in Toledo, because 90% their customers (Ford, GM and Daimler Chrysler) were questioning their commitment to diversity and inclusion. The customers collectively demanded that they hire, or promote, more people of color.?

Enter ME!? (take a look at the cover photo above, that's exactly how I felt).

You best believe I gladly accepted. I didn't go through all of my schooling for nothing, plus you could say I always felt I was BORN ready to take on challenges.

... little did I know.

Shortly into my new position, my direct report made it abundantly clear to me that I had to “earn” my way through the organization because they operated on seniority. He said they didn’t want to give me any sort of “preferential treatment.” He also quickly informed me to never use the words “I” and “me” - thinking he was teaching me a leadership lesson about how to “fit” into a culture, be a team player, not to make the work about me and what I needed.

Let’s bring in some facts:

• I had NO upper management support.?
• No women of color (much less many women) had ever held a position like this before me.
• The global company spend I was tasked to reduce, was decentralized, which wrecked havoc on my need to quickly and effectively reconcile for monthly senior level team member reporting.
• It would normally take a person about 10-12 years of seniority to have a position at this level.
• As a result, I was frowned upon by people at the plant level, and in most higher levels within the organization - especially my new “peers” and colleagues, and experienced significant microaggressions.
• I experienced a hostile work environment and persistent discrimination by one of the business unit leaders when I was told by one of the business unit leaders “the only reason why you have your position is because you are a Black woman, and I don’t believe you are even qualified to be in the position you are in" - he would frequently block my ability to do my job by not giving me information.
• AND, finally, because they felt like they were "doing me a favor," I was grossly underpaid compared to the people who were at the same level as me.

Oh, and to add to things, I just delivered our second child, less than a year before I was promoted. I was still trying to navigate having two children at home, and a lot of other home “caregiving” responsibilities.?

Suffice it to say, I experienced a lot of hardship, difficulties, and opposition, which left me with sleepless nights, feelings of doubt, worry and persistent anxiety of how to move forward. These negative feelings started to slip into my home life, as a simple human being - a mom, a wife, and to be a good friend … and caused a lot of problems.

So, what did I do? I left.?

( ...were you expecting some big hero story where I stayed, endured the blows, fought, and won, and the entire organization was turned around singularly by my sheer grit, determination, relationship tenacity, and actions .)?

Nope. I left.?

Yup, I’m not unlike a lot of women leaders who get promoted in positions where they don’t get the support from their direct reports, or from their colleagues, don’t have the structures in place for mentorship, ally ship, or sponsorship, experience significant microagressions, hostile work environments, and discrimination, and who are GROSSLY underpaid ... and there are no development opportunities to help them keep at it and protect their mental health.

Women often jump off what's known as the “Glass Cliff” - this is where historically underrepresented people finally reach higher levels of seniority, within their organizations, and then suddenly leave, for the very reasons I mentioned above.?

The issues I experienced, way back in 2002, are the very issues being discussed, 20 years later, in a 2023 McKinsey & Company and Lean In "Women in the Workplace" report.? The report summarized says “Women leaders are just as ambitious as men, they are more likely to experience belittling microaggressions - such as having their judgment questioned or being mistaken for someone more junior … It’s increasingly important to women leaders that they work for companies that prioritize flexibility, employee well-being, and diversity, equity, and inclusion.”? Even further, a 2023 study by Lean and McKinsey reported that “uncaring and uninspiring leaders?are a big part of why people left their jobs, along with a lack of career development.”

So, how are we gonna change this.?

What steps are you, as a women leader going to do?

What steps are you, the CEO and executive leadership team going to TAKE to make things better?

This is where the Rise with Diana training and consulting, along with the Rise Advocates? Academy and membership opportunities come in to solve these problems.

I will share some immediate ways to resolve these issues in this article - from my personal experience, and from working with colleagues and people in my Rise Advocates? Academy, and of course that of the 麦肯锡 /Lean In report.?

And then, over the next few articles and select video masterclasses, I will go into depth into each one of the following areas. Here they are:

1. Empower managers to be effective PEOPLE leaders
2. Address microaggressions HEAD ON.
3. Unlock the full potential of what it means to be a “flexible” workplace!
4. Fix the “broken rung” often referred to as the “glass ceiling.” So women don’t jump off of the “glass cliff.”

What do you think about all this??

Have you experienced any of the above scenarios? If so, please share in the comments below, direct message me, or connect with me.

If you are a women leader, and you are interested in learning how to dive into this work quickly, you can begin by taking my Speak Up and Rise Quiz and set up a 15 minute call with me.

Stay tune for the next article and upcoming masterclasses you can register for, where I’ll address the above areas in great detail.