We recently connected with Jackie Robinson and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jackie thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you share an important lesson you learned in a prior job that’s helped you in your career afterwards?

At a previous job, I had the unpleasant experience of being targeted through what I consider to be office politics, To be honest, I was apalled that I was going through what I was going through. I guess you could say that was my initiation into “standing your ground” in the workplace.

I was director of my department at an education institution and really enjoyed the work I did. One of my colleagues, whom I had developed a friendship with, was the director of another department. I had no problem with her at all. She was funny and really had a kind heart. She and I often worked together because our jobs were interconnected. We had some similarities and went to lunch together frequently.

There was a time when there was a change in leadership at the company we worked for. At first, things seemed to be going well, but that didn’t last long. For some reason, the new managing director and my colleague began to have a contentious relationship. She was both of our supervisor so things started getting really awkward. It became tense and was obvious that our new leader did not like my colleague..

Consequently, I got caught in the middle of that. I was being indirectly encouraged to pull away from our friendship. I am not the type of person who will dislike someone because other people do. I don’t let other’s opinions influence my decisions, especially when it comes to judging people. I get to know people for myself. I refused to turn against her because the boss didn’t like her. Unfortunately, my stance for what was right caused me to become a target of hostile behavior as well. She started referring to us as “the girls”. Our lunches and visits to our community partners were suddenly being excessively monitored, especially when we were out together, Requests for documentation regarding our activities were suddenly being requested, when they never were before. This was very disturbng to me because there was a woman in a position of leadership who was behaving divisively and trying to pit two other women against each other.

At this same company, another change in leadership happened and the female managing director was replaced with a male. The change was welcomed but I didn’t know if this would be an improvement or something worse. He was ok initially when he was trying to get the lay of the land and familiarize himself with his direct reports and what was going on in their deparments. After a couple of months or so of joining the company, I noticed his interaction with me changed. It seemed as if he would go out of his way to avoid talking to me in person. One day, I spoke to him and let him know that I noticed the change and asked him to tell me why. With hesitation, he told me that he didn’t know how to interact with me because I was “too professional”. Naturally, I was shocked at his response. Not only was I the director of a department, I also taught a professional development class and facilited career preparation workshops. If anyone needed to be leading by example it was me. How could I be coaching and advising others on how to show up in the workplace if I wasn’t walking the walk? That made absolutely no sense to me. I found out that he had a preconceived notion of what kind of professional I was going to be and how I would conduct myself based on
his previous experience with others. When I didn’t live down to that expecation, he didn’t know how to communicate with me, so he alienated me. To make matters even worse, I once caught him taking credit for my work.

These experiences taught me two lessons. One, you have to be true to yourself and stand up for yourself, and others sometimes. Not every one is courageous enough to speak up. Some people are misguided and believe that as long as they just go along just to get along they will go further. It’s important to understand what office politics is, identify it when you notice it, and navigate your way around it. Steer clear of anything that looks like or sounds like drama. Be clear about what your professional goals are and commit to being your authentic self and not who you think you need to be or who someone else wants you to be. There is nothing wrong with being “different” or all about your business with no drama. Don’t let someone else’s issues become yours, even if that person is your boss, no matter how much you may want to stay on their good side. If it’s not right, it’s not right. Be a leader and use your own judgment. Focus on achieving your career goals rather than getting caught up in drama, which can actually delay your progress.

Two, create your own professional narrative and decide how you are going to show up in the workplace and what you will tolerate and what you will not. You have to power to create a professional brand that is influential in all the right ways. Just be you, be professional, and be consistent.

These experiences are a part of the reason I created a business whose foundation is to facilitate women’s advancement and to empower business and career women to go for what they deserve, unapologetically, on their own terms.

Jackie, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

I am an advocate for women’s advancement in leadership and passionate about empowering women to achieve their business and professional goals. These services are provided through one-on-one coaching sessions, workshops, conferences, sharing and networking events. Women are my primary target, however, I also provide consulting, advising, and coaching services to businesses regarding leadership program development, workplace culture development, and recruitment, particularly those companies who are committed to developing a productive and successful company that values to roles women play in an organization’s success. What sets my business apart is I don’t “sell” services, I “offer” solutions.

I’m most proud of having the courage to start SheBoss Unlimited because starting any kind of business that you want to be more than just a side hustle takes courage.

Any stories or insights that might help us understand how you’ve built such a strong reputation?

I believe being visible, sharing my knowledge and expertise tthrough various platforms, and consistency helped build my reputation within my market. Most important, recommendations helped me.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When the coronavirus pandemic hit I was about 5 months into planning a 2-day women’s conference, along with my co-host. The venue was secured and early bird tickets had already been sold. We were in the process of interviewing potential workshop presenters when the world went into the shelter in place lockdown,

My co-host and I had put a lot of time and effort into the planning of this conference already at that point and we believed that the pandemic and how it was affecting people intensified the need for it, especially since women were being affected more than men professionally.

We decided that the show would go on but we would have to pivot and make it a virtual conference instead. Of course, we had to make some adjustments to the program and activities but we still made it happen. We received positive feeback from the conference attendees and that felt really good. Our pivot was successful.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.shebossunlimited.com
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/she_boss_ultd
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jacqueline-monroe-robinson