When you don’t have a role model, the only option you have is to become one. That is exactly what Dr. Waajida L. Small did. For far too long, outside of her home, Waajida never saw anyone who looked like her, who was in a position she could aspire to. From preschool to Ph.D., she had one educator who looked like her. As she climbed the corporate ladder, there were none. It wasn’t until she looked outside of her organizations that she found women who shared her experiences, women she could look to for professional advice, mentors who had been where she was and found paths forward…but they were few and far between. Her vision of what leadership looked like was that of the narrative still being told; leaders are straight white men. Knowing this to be a false narrative -having seen prenominal women, Black women, Latina women, Asian women, lead teams and organization- she made it her mission to work toward changing the face of leadership. She discovered that in order to be successful at doing so, she had to first discover the underlying factors, internal and external, that play a role in preventing women like her from ascending into the leadership roles, and then educate those rising up the ranks to become leaders in their organizations of the obstacles they can expect to face and how to navigate them.

Rooted in research and backed by her experience as a human resources executive, Dr. Waajida Small’s Our Leadership Journey is the mentor she needed and has now become for other women of color on the rise into positions of leadership and influence. Through her model of leadership, the stories of real women navigating the treacherous terrain of corporate America, and sharing the lessons she has learned and advice she’s received along her journey, Waajida teaches readers how they can own their power, maintain their authenticity and change the face of leadership.