Shellye Archambeau, Board Director & former CEO of color, gave us a vastness of practical advice when she spoke about her book “Unapologetically Ambitious: Take Risks, Break Barriers, and Create Success on Your Own Terms”. She spoke about the unique challenges faced by women, even more so by women of color, and how to think about succeeding despite the odds.

Some nuggets of the great advice we heard from her: 

• On physical presence: speak slow & pause, no qualifiers (no “I’m sorry, no “I think”), sit straight, shoulders back, chin up.
• On dress mode: You cannot get away with a T-shirt like men often do. A blazer adds credibility, especially to a woman of color.
• On imposter syndrome: everyone has it, it’s your inner voice, go find your “cheerleaders” to overcome it.
• On the judgmental world that makes you feel every single thing has to be perfect: You decide what you are going to be judged on, and let the rest go.
• On networking in a man’s world: Just read the sports page for a few minutes, and know the names of teams in the news; this is enough to create a conversation starter (most men don’t know much more than that about sports anyway).
• On taking risks: You think “What’s the worst that can happen?” And then mitigate it if you can; but remember, you can always find another job!
• On setting & achieving goals: Ask yourself “what has to be true for this to happen”? and then research, plan, build a timeline and execute!

It is clear that Shellye herself followed her own advice and made it happen. When asked why she wrote the book, she said it was to “make herself more accessible”, as she could touch many more women’s lives and careers by writing it for us all to read and to learn. A terrific example of “paying it forward” so the rest of us can benefit!