Sheree George

A mentor told me to walk away from a role that refused to pay me what I was worth, even though I was terrified because my father was dying and I needed the money to change my family's life. She said I had to show them my value by walking away because I was the best candidate for the role. She told me to stand in my confidence and know that I was worth more than what they were saying on paper. That advocacy led me to understand what I bring and my value, and being able to negotiate that in conversations. I turned down the role, and six months later, on the day we were putting my father in the ground, I got a call from Dropbox for a role paying 15K more than what I was asking for, plus a sign-on bonus. It was a full circle moment that taught me to fight for what I believe in and what I know I'm worth.

I would be very honest. If you are a woman, if you are a person of color, this is not going to be an easy journey. But if you truly love it, if you wake up every day wanting to be a lawyer or wanting to be a leader, it is important that you recognize that your influence comes from more than just numbers, metrics, and sitting in a seat of visibility. Sometimes it is the gritty work, being in the weeds, it is the emotional labor, it is the never-ending resilience and tenacity that goes into the work so that other people are able to blaze the trail. Sometimes we want to be the person that blazes that trail, we want to be the first, we want to be the person that opens the door, but sometimes that's simply not the story. Coming to grips with that and knowing that we're opening doors for the future of us, for the future lawyers and Black women and women in general to step into leadership positions, we have to be okay with taking a seat at the back of the bus versus always being the Michelle Obama. When we get that mindset and have those hard conversations and that reality of what might actually come down the pike, I think you can be more effective in the way that you lead. I think trust is the ultimate operational lever that isn't pulled enough. If women could lead going into all of these conversations building narratives around trust, we would see change, we would see more effectiveness, and we'd see the ability for us to shine in those spaces where we do feel that our lights are dimmed many times. It's not going to be easy, but go into it knowing that if you build that trust and you come into it with a mindset that it might not be you, it could possibly end up being you because you didn't go into it with that mindset.