The Power of Upskilling: How Women of Color Can Coach Their Way to the Top
In today's fast-paced, ever-evolving professional world, women of color continue to face significant and unique challenges when it comes to our career advancement and leadership trajectory.
The “concrete ceiling,” a term that captures the compounded barriers of sexism and racism in the workplace, can make the path to executive roles seem like an insurmountable obstacle. And while it is a formidable obstacle, it isn’t insurmountable.
We can’t wave a magic wand and obliterate the “concrete ceiling,” but we can invest our time, energy, and resources into strategically upskilling every chance we get. Now this does not mean going back for that third Masters degree. Collectively, we have already invested enough in extremely expensive and time-intensive graduate degrees.
It’s time to think more strategically: What are the areas where we actually need to upskill–and that translate into–the money, power, and respect we deserve in the workplace?
Having worked with thousands of women of color to carve their own career paths and find career success for themselves, I can confidently say that one of the “must-have” skills for us in this rapidly evolving future of work is coaching. With the training to coach “up,” “down,” and “sideways,” we will future-proof our careers come hell or high water.
Why Coaching is a Must-Have Skill for Women of Color Leaders
Coaching is one of those in-demand leadership skills that women of color can leverage to position themselves as influential, supportive, and transformational leaders in a shifting jobs and economic landscape. As technology leaps forward and continuously redefines the nature of work, it's crucial for all professionals to continuously update their skill sets to stay competitive and relevant.
For WOC aspiring to leadership roles, upskilling is not only a matter of staying current. It’s not a “nice-to-have,” either. It’s non-negotiable for us. And the bonus when it comes to upskilling by learning how to coach is that coaching is an incredibly powerful tool. Coaching is a skill that enables us as leaders to empower, motivate, and guide our teams and colleagues to unlock and achieve their full potential.
In today's complex work environment, where remote and hybrid teams, cross-generational collaboration (and friction), and diverse stakeholders with opposing viewpoints are the norm, upskilling in the area of coaching is more important than ever.
For us as WOC, as well, let’s face it–we are already coaching our colleagues, managers, and direct reports from an intuitive and organic place. But ensuring that we keep our skills sharp and have that technical training and foundation to coach effectively is crucial–not only for leading with integrity, but also so that we gain the respect we deserve.
In this way, upskilling in the area of coaching is a key strategy for us to chip away at the concrete ceiling and carve out our own opportunities for growth and impact.
The Game-Changing Nature of Sharp Coaching Skills
Coaching skills enable leaders to:
Build trust and rapport with team members
Communicate effectively across different generations, cultures, and communication and learning styles
Provide constructive feedback and support for growth and development
Facilitate meaningful conversations that lead to insights and breakthroughs
Empower team members to take ownership of their work and contribute their unique strengths
These are the ingredients for building a workplace where people want to work, a workplace with a positive and productive culture. And if we bring these skills to the table, as WOC, we’re immediately better positioned to communicate our value proposition to decisionmakers in charge of hiring, promoting, and supporting a strong and robust leadership team.
By mastering coaching, there’s a much greater likelihood that we’ll be seen as the kind of leaders who not only excel in their own roles but also lift up and inspire others to reach new heights. A dream outcome for a company!
Looking Ahead: The Need for More Transformational Leaders
In the coming years, we are going to need more transformational leaders as companies and employers increasingly seek out leaders who can inspire, motivate, and guide their teams through complex challenges and uncertain times. But first, what even is transformational leadership? As UMass Global puts it, “A transformational leadership style inspires employees to strive beyond required expectations to work toward a shared vision, whereas transactional leadership focuses more on extrinsic motivation for the performance of specific job tasks.”
Because of the increasing frequency of complex challenges impacting and disrupting the workplace–from the global to the local–companies and employers are going to increasingly and specifically seek out leaders who can inspire, motivate, and guide their teams through these tumultuous and uncertain times. That’s transformational leadership.
What’s this got to do with upskilling and coaching?
We as WOC leaders can strengthen and cement the skills and mindset needed to be the transformational leaders that companies need to drive positive change and foster a culture of innovation, resilience, and inclusivity. Frankly, I would argue that we already are these leaders, as-is. But having the official training and demonstrating our continual efforts to upskill, stay sharp, and expand our skillset–often that’s the difference between landing that promotion, raise, and title–or not. In other words, upskilling in the area of coaching and demonstrating our transformational leadership is how we can show–not simply tell–decision makers that we are not only in-demand…We are irreplaceable.
This is how we can break through the concrete ceiling.
Navigating the Challenges of Remote / Hybrid and Diverse Teams
While the pendulum may be swinging back to in-person teams, there are still many companies that are remote or at least hybrid. And even if workplaces are back in-person, the culture of getting work done virtually is here to stay. That means that as WOC in the workplace and as leaders in the workplace, we have to be able to face the new and evolving challenges and opportunities coming our way.
Managing remote teams requires a different set of skills than traditional in-person leadership. Switching from one to the other also requires a flexibility and resilience that’s improved through sharpening our coaching skills (self-coaching is table stakes these days!). Similar to transformational leadership skills, coaching can help leaders bridge the (literal or figurative) distance between team members and create a sense of connection and purpose among the entire team despite difference.
Similarly, leading cross-functional and diverse teams requires a high level of emotional intelligence and cultural competence. Coaching skills enable leaders to navigate the complexities of different personalities, work styles, and backgrounds, and to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued and heard.
And we all know, if you’re in a dysfunctional work environment where morale is lagging, productivity and efficiency levels will tank. Smart companies and employers understand that and if we can explain to them in plain terms how our skills, including our coaching skill set, position us perfectly to bridge the gaps they’re experiencing? We’ll flip the script on job searching and hiring.
This is how we can break through the concrete ceiling.
The Entrepreneurial Advantage of Coaching Skills
And you know I am forever harping on the need for all WOC to have multiple income / revenue streams. Upskilling in coaching is not only beneficial for advancing within a company–it also opens up new opportunities for entrepreneurship and financial independence. As the workforce becomes increasingly global and distributed, there is a growing demand for external leaders who can provide much-needed guidance and coaching to individuals and teams across different industries and sectors. (Don’t get me started on the phenomenon–forgive me, I cannot remember the term for it–where people won’t believe something if someone internal to a company is saying it, but if someone comes in from the outside and says the same thing, folks will suddenly believe it. This is another way we can leverage our coaching skills to maximize our impact!)
By developing our expertise in coaching, we can position ourselves as sought-after consultants, speakers, and experts who can offer valuable insights and support to clients on a contract or project basis. This can be a massively powerful way to diversify our income streams and create new opportunities for our growth–and positive impact!
The beauty about having coaching expertise is that coaching skills are highly transferable across different contexts and industries! So whether you’re working with/in a large corporation, a startup, or a nonprofit organization, the ability to coach and develop others is a valuable asset that can lead to new opportunities and collaborations that we decide if we want to take on or not.
This is how we can break through the concrete ceiling.
Putting It All Together
For women of color who are determined to break through the concrete ceilings we face and achieve our full potential as leaders, upskilling in coaching is a smart and strategic move. It’s also possibly one of the few career moves that is guaranteed to pay off for us:
It’s valued and understood across sectors and industries
We take it with us wherever we go
It gives us credibility and respect that we are all too often denied
And it’s perfectly positioned to future-proof our futures in this turbulent jobs and economic landscape
On top of that, by developing the skills and mindset of a transformational leader, ambitious and career-minded WOC can navigate the challenges of remote/hybrid teams, cross-generational collaboration, and diverse stakeholders with confidence and grace.
By leveraging coaching skills as an entrepreneurial tool, we create new opportunities for impact, income, and wealth outside of traditional career paths. It becomes part of our “career insurance.” Whether working as an internal coach within an organization or hanging your own shingle and offering coaching and consulting services as a side hustle or full-time entrepreneur, the ability to empower and develop others is a valuable, in-demand, and lucrative skill set.
As the professional landscape continues to evolve and change, it's more important than ever for us to invest in our own growth and development as leaders who are keeping up with the times. By upskilling in coaching, we position ourselves precisely as the leaders that our organizations and communities need–and create new pathways for success and impact on our own terms.
This is how we can break through the concrete ceiling.
Don’t be left behind in a rapidly changing jobs and economic landscape. Invest in yourself and your career today. Get certified through the Embrace Change Coaching Certification program, the only coaching program specifically and exclusively for BIPOC coaches who want to coach BIPOC clients.
