I took a poll on LinkedIn to see what my connections/followers wanted to focus on this year in their professional life, to much of my surprise “Establishing expertise” was a HIT. 

To to kick off this topic, I want to emphasize why it’s soooo important that women and femmes of color start to claim their expertise in their careers. Many of us are already experts in our own right but still wrestle with the idea of showing off our knowledge and experience on a daily basis. 

No more dimming our light, discrediting our expertise, or shying away from our next-level goals!

What does it mean to become an “expert” or establish technical/strategic/creative expertise in our careers?

Well, I look at this from a holistic approach and perspective.

First things first, can you do the “thing” and the work that you are an expert in? This means getting the job done and understanding the operational ins and outs of your field, role, and industry.

Reaching an ‘expert-level’ means you’re beyond competent, you’re able to problem solve intuitively, adapt to rapid changes and take on new problems that arise, as well as learn how to continuously grow and evolve in the work. You hold the bigger picture in mind, know how to create new processes, systems, and workflows for yourself and others, AND can effectively delegate and teach others on the subject matter.

I’ll use my current Marketing Strategist/Tech Wizard, Joely as an example. When I brought her on as a full-time employee in October 2020, she already had some experience with workflows and email marketing platforms under her belt. But she really leveled up in her expertise by 10x when we started creating our group coaching program from scratch in early 2021. It was months of preparation, self-educating, and set-up for our grand launch of Real You Leadership in March 2021. 

When we had our mid-year alignment and review, we both agreed that she gained so much confidence in her knowledge that she began leading “tech meetings” to show the team how each of our platforms/systems works and fit in our bigger picture as a business. Joely continued growing her skillset and wisdom the rest of the year, communicated her progress on every project she completed, and made sure our team knows the impact she makes. Now everyone knows she’s our go-to expert for all things marketing and workflows. 

^That’s what it means to unapologetically stand in your zone of brilliance and own your expertise.

Why is it important that WOC claim their expertise in their careers? 

To keep it as real as it gets, no one else is going to speak to our work and expertise as well as we can. 

So many WOC in technology (and in any industry) are already experts in some form or fashion but don’t get the recognition they deserve. It can be partly due to not feeling confident to speak on it consistently, especially in white-dominated and male-dominated workspaces. Or due to a lack of practice in taking up space and speaking about themselves and their work because they were taught to “stay humble” and “not brag” about themselves. 

I can’t forget to mention that there are factors out of their control (racism, sexism, exclusion, and micro-aggressions) that contribute to why WOC don’t speak up, and/or if they do speak up, their great work and words are not received nor recognized. I wrote all about it here.

However, my intention is not to bring us down with this information, rather my goal is to empower anyone reading this to prioritize establishing yourself as a go-to expert by enhancing your communication, leadership skills, and presence.

You are way too damn brilliant and skilled to keep it to yourself! 

Leadership & Negotiation Coach for Women of Color in Technology|Founder|Workshop Facilitator, Speaker & Trainer

Nadia’s career and leadership expertise has been featured in CNBC, HuffPost, FastCompany, New York Times Kids, and The Muse.

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