Anita Wright

I really attribute my success to an early work ethic that was instilled in me. I often tell the story about my grandfather, who was a tobacco farmer in Caswell County, North Carolina. I learned early on about the value of hard work. I can remember as a little girl, 8 years old, driving that tractor up and down the tobacco rows. I can remember as a young child, less than that age, pulling my first row of tobacco and having that tobacco gum on my hands and having a sense of pride from it, knowing that I accomplished something. All of those things that I experienced early on in life really helped to shape me into the person that I am now. I just really throw myself into my work. I want my work to represent the very best of me. I want to perform everything with the highest level of excellence. That's basically it, the way that I was raised and guided by my parents and my grandparents. I saw it in their work as well, and so it's deep-seated. My grandfather sat us down and shared stories with me. He went to school 2 days in his lifetime, so he did not have formal education, but he was one of the smartest people that I knew. He made sure that his children and grandchildren had formal education. I can hear him say it now, he said, 'Nita, the world does not owe you anything. You can have anything you want as long as you get out and you work for it.' He also said, 'You can go anywhere in this world as long as you know how to read.' My grandfather could not read, but he was really talking about education and how it opens the door for opportunities for us. Those are just things that I really took to heart, and they guide me today.

The best career advice has always been about aligning yourself with excellence in everything that you do. What I find is that when you do that, the results that follow are more impactful. It's really just about throwing yourself into your work in the area of excellence. As my parents always said, always put your best foot forward. My mom told me, always, never say no to anything, always use every opportunity that's presented to you, whether it has to do with your job or not, as an opportunity to learn. Basically, what I found is that in me doing that, it has made me very well-rounded. Also, in doing that, it's really opened up various doors that I've been able to walk through. Oftentimes, my work is recognized without me really necessarily seeking out anything, so people just kind of notice you and something different about that person. And then, of course, always putting God first in everything. That definitely helps to align.

One of the first things I would say to young women, and I would say this to my early self as well, is know your worth. Know your worth early. Don't wait for others to validate you. Confidence grows when you recognize your own strengths and you continue to develop them. Invest in your growth through education, skills, and self-awareness. Read, ask questions, seek out mentors, don't be afraid to grow. Don't be afraid to stretch. Growth happens outside of our comfort zones. Don't shrink to make others feel comfortable. Be unapologetically you. Know that your voice matters and is important, your ideas matter, your presence matters, and all of those things belong in every room. Choose the environment that allows you to thrive. Pay attention to the way people treat you and those that are around you. Make sure that you're in healthy environments. Advocate for yourself. Take care of yourself, your well-being, your health. Define what success is for yourself. Don't allow social media, outside pressures, or timelines to dictate your path. I didn't have the traditional path. When I graduated high school, I knew that I wanted higher education, but I wasn't ready to go off to school at the time. I grew up in a very close-knit family and was really close with my mom, and the thought of me leaving home and going away to some school for 4 years absolutely terrified me. So I started in community college, and it was a great experience. I got my associate degree from community college, then transferred into a 4-year college and got other certifications along the way. Don't be afraid to define what success is for you. You don't have to chart the path of others. You can chart your own path, and it's okay. The last thing I would say is to lift other women up as you grow. I have always prided myself in that. As I go forward, I have one hand reaching back, pulling someone along with me and challenging them as well. I think it's very important for us to rise together.

I would say the biggest challenge is having people, when you sit in an administrative support role, really getting people to see and value that position. It's really about having people value that position and seeing the position not in a traditional way, but more as a strategic partner. Part of the work that I do, working with leaders specifically, is helping them to not underestimate the role. The other challenge is balance and expectations, so what I may see bringing that vision together with what the leader is seeing, or helping them to see a little differently in the way that it's being executed. As for opportunities, I see in this area that I'm working in an opportunity to really expand leadership pathways. Again, redefining influence, I think, is one of the biggest opportunities here. And leading with authenticity, I think, is an opportunity here as well.

The values most important to me are integrity, definitely. Excellence, of course. Being true to oneself and being authentic. I think those are very important. Those are the things that have mainly guided me.