On September 5, 2007, I addressed a group of 200 senior African-American business executives in Westchester County, NY on issues of identity, community and leadership. Little did I know that I would be in the company of Gen. Colin Powell, the summit's keynote speaker later that same day. (Fortunately for me, I did not have to follow General Powell!)
My address focused on the various factors that influence how we choose to self-identify as well as how we define "community" towards understanding one's purpose as an individual and a leader in an organization.
I was invited to present at this summit by the event planners who coordinated this gathering. They saw the 2006 Black Enterprise article that featured me, and inquired if I could talk about leadership through the lens of genealogy and family history.
After weeks of collaboration, I was able to craft a highly interactive presentation that included compelling visual aids including family photos, diagrams and customized exercises that I facilitated at the conclusion of my talk.
The audience was warm, very much engaged, and surprisingly vulnerable (in the best sense of the word) for top managers of a Fortune 100 company and its key vendors. As a result of my participation at this gathering, I received invitations from various attendees to speak elsewhere and have maintained in contact with a number of people I met there.
This engagement was as much a learning experience for me as it was for my audience, and I find that I am still drawing lessons from my time in Ossining.
