Candace Doby's Top Tips for Speaking Up and Owning Your Brilliance

In a captivating keynote at the 2024 Administrative Professionals Conference, leadership development strategist Candace Doby challenged a room full of admin professionals to courageously own their brilliance and step into the fullness of their potential.

Hiding in the Back of the Parking Lot 

One of the most poignant moments from the session came when Doby shared her own experience of hiding her first car, a 1972 Chevy Nova, in the back of the high school parking lot out of embarrassment. She reflected, "I would get to school extra early before people got there, and I would enter the front of the student parking lot, and I would bypass every single available parking space in the front, and I would park in the back so nobody knew that this was my car."

The Fear of Being Seen and Heard

This story served as a powerful metaphor for the ways in which admins often shy away from owning their brilliance. As Doby explained, "It turns out, I'm not the only one with experience in the back of the parking lot. As a matter of fact, because of the work I do, I get to talk to professionals from all kinds of industries, and I get to ask them, what is it that you really want to do in the workplace?" The answer, Doby revealed, is that 42% of the professionals she speaks with want to be acknowledged for their unique presence and contribution. However, many are held back by fears of being perceived as "incompetent, weak, or needy" or facing "rejection and failure and humiliation." 

Defining and Owning Brilliance

Doby's solution lies in the power of courage, which she defines as "a choice to face a risk for a worthy purpose." She encouraged the audience to ask themselves three critical questions: "What is the risk?" "Why are we doing this?" and "What are your resources to persevere through the risk?" Only by facing these risks, such as the loss of social acceptance, and truly embracing one's own gifts and contributions can admins start to fully own their brilliance. As Doby emphasized, “Brilliance is a universal quality that expresses itself uniquely, meaning each person in this room will shine in their own way, different from the person next to them.”

Unlocking Organizational Success

By courageously owning one's brilliance, admin professionals can not only unlock their own growth and fulfillment but also contribute to the success and innovation of their organizations. As Doby eloquently stated, "Organizations are just made up of people, me and you, your mama and your cousin too. Organizations are nothing more than the collective capacity of their people." 

When individuals hide their talents and unique perspectives, it comes at a significant cost to the organizations they serve. Doby explained that this hidden brilliance robs companies of crucial opportunities, creativity, and engagement. In fact, she shared that when employees are not fully engaged, it can cost an organization up to 18% of that employee's salary. On the flip side, Doby emphasized that when professionals step into the fullness of their brilliance, it unlocks a wealth of benefits for their organizations, drives innovation, and positions companies for the future.

This left attendees with a powerful reminder: by stepping into their true potential, admins everywhere can transform both their careers and the future of their workplaces.

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