We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Melanie Ho a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Melanie, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear about a project that you’ve worked on that’s meant a lot to you.

Probably the publication of my book BEYOND LEANING IN last year – a passion project I’d been working on “side of desk” for almost a decade while dealing with the challenges of being a woman climbing the ladder in corporate America, and where I went against a lot of the advice and conventional wisdom from publishing industry experts in terms of how I wrote my book.

BEYOND LEANING IN examines the varied challenges that professional women still face in our society. It’s a different kind of business book –- based in research, but told as a novel. The book alternates between the perspectives of half a dozen characters across genders and generations at a fictional company. Business books are often so dry, and I wanted to bring the research to life with a fast-paced story where you really get invested in the characters.

A lot of experts told me not to write a business book as a novel – that it was too risky to do something unconventional like this. I decided to self-publish so that I could tell the story that I felt called to tell. It meant a lot to me for the book to be recognized by a silver medal in the top business book awards (Axiom). I think it’s always hard as a creator to know when to follow your vision vs. try to follow the mold set by the gatekeepers, and I’m grateful to friends who pushed me to be true to my voice and perspective.

Melanie, love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I’m a writer and visual artist, and I’m passionate about using storytelling and art as a way to provoke social and organizational change. For example, I’ve drawn dozens of comics about diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace and have used these comics with business, non-profit, and government leaders to facilitate interactive discussions about how to create more equitable professional environments. DEI discussions can be complex and sensitive, and the comics help lower everyone’s guards so we can have more candid discussion and generate more creative solutions. I’ve used the tools of science-fiction writers to help hundreds of university leaders envision bolder futures for higher education.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

I love this question. I left my corporate job during the pandemic to focus full-time on my creative and entrepreneurial endeavors. I’m often asked what I’ve learned since then, but I believe strongly that what’s been more important (and humbling) is what I’ve had to unlearn. I’d been a senior vice president with a corner office and so much of my identity was tied to that job, to worth defined by climbing the ladder.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

What’s most exciting to me is helping people “see” things in a different way — when someone tells me that my book or one of my comics or a talk that I gave led to an “aha” moment. A lot of my work is centered around feminism, so I love hearing from women who tell me that they felt empowered or that they understood more clearly why they shouldn’t put up with certain barriers or biases that we often face. I also really enjoy hearing from some of my male readers when they say that they considered themselves good allies, but that my work helped them see even more concrete areas where they could be more supportive to women.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.melanieho.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/melanieho13/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/melaniehoauthor
• Linkedin: http://www.linkedin.com/in/melanieho
• Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/melanieho13
• Other: BEYOND LEANING IN on Amazon: https://amzn.to/3bht0PO

Image Credits
Headshot credit: Ginny Filer Book cover: Laura Duffy Comics are mine: Melanie Ho