When was the last time you were asked what do you need and knew exactly how to respond? Odds are, like many of us, it’s been a while, particularly when it comes to our careers.
Lauren Wesley Wilson understands this, that why she decided to pen her latest book What Do You Need?, what she’s dubbed as a a game-changing guide for women of color in the workplace.
The idea for the book stemmed from the simple question being asked at networking luncheons she organized in an effort to push the gathering beyond the surface of just hearing powerful women speak on stage.
“Oftentimes, we go to these types of events and we don’t get the most of out them—we sometimes think the most important people in the room are the ones on the panel stage, but no, it’s the person right across from you,” ESSENCE says. Wesley asked the women what they needed to elevate their careers, and magic happened.
“It shifted people from thinking about themselves to operating from a place of service, and that’s when I realized I need to make this into a member organization so the momentum wasn’t lost.”
Founded in 2011, her organization ColorComm, Inc. has grown to touch more than 100,000 professionals across the nation, and includes banner spinoffs that includes the ColorComm Network, ColorComm Executive Conference, ColorComm NextGen Summit, ColorComm Media Group, and Men of Color in Communications Community.
Now Wilson is encapsulating the gems she’s learned throughout her own professional journey in her book.
“It was time to share some of the personal lessons I’d learn on my climb,” she said, although she also considers herself to still be in her grinding season. “I’m still very ambitious myself, even after all this success we’ve had so far, so I’m in prime position to look back on what I’ve gleaned from my experiences while still picking on new realizations myself.”
In the book, she takes readers on a journey from getting your foot in the door to dealing with the scars that come from breaking the glass ceiling as a woman of color at the top. And most importantly, she takes a no-BS approach every step of the way.
“We have to be real, corporate spaces are every man and woman for themselves in healthily competitive kind of way, so you have to be ready for that,” Wilson tells ESSENCE. “I wish there was someone around to tell me that at the onset, but that’s what this book is, the answers to questions you didn’t even know you had.”
What Do You Need? is currently available for pre-order and will be widely released in April.
