Leadership is a decision. It doesn’t come from your position or your title. That’s something we talk about a lot in the trainings I do. [It’s also something I learned very early in my career.] My dream after graduation was to become the executive director of a non-profit organization. So when I was offered a director position, I took it. Something kept telling me it wasn’t the right job for me, but everyone around me told me it was the opportunity of a lifetime and being a “director” fit my plan. I was only about two weeks in when I realized that those feelings were right and that it was a bad idea.
It was one of the great defining moments of my life because it taught me that listening to your intuition is so important.
Since then, I’ve worked in school systems, non-profit, government and now, academia. In all of those, I’ve had the opportunity to give back and that’s important to me. [As the current director of Professional Development and Training at the Center for Women & Work at Rutgers University], I work with educators [on issues of diversity and inclusion] and help them understand what I’ve learned not only through research, but also from a personal perspective.
I grew up in an all-black community in Trenton, NJ. We were one of the only Latino families in the housing projects. But, I went to a predominantly white prep school in Princeton. Those worlds were very different. I would go to school with people who were getting dropped off in a Bentley every morning and then go home and be living with a family who had three generations in a two-bedroom apartment. That was my other world – all my Puerto Rican friends and family who we spent time with on the weekends. My mom was always very engaged with organizations in the Puerto Rican community, which kept me very connected to my own culture.
I was always aware of privilege and disparities growing up. My experience as an adult and in all of my jobs added to helping me understand how things like housing segregation and the educational system are set up to perpetuate inequality.
And because my life was so compartmentalized, I had to be able to understand how to code switch from a very early age. I learned that you had to talk to everyone in terms that they understand. That’s a big deal to me. Having to navigate all those audiences from a young age helps me now navigate my audiences as a trainer. It helps me get a good read on people and meet them where they’re at. We’re all at different levels of understanding and some of us can jump right into that conversation easily, but many of us can’t.
My goal is to lead people to that “A-ha!” moment where they say, “Yes. I do that. I didn’t realize the effect it was having.” That’s simplistic and small, but BIG.
There are times where I thought I’d want to be in a more official leadership capacity, and I’ve had opportunities. But this time, I listened to my intuition. I realized the only draw would be the title and the money, not the responsibilities. I love being out there developing relationships and building the programs that we have.
Glenda is a member of the board of the nonprofit Mercer Street Friends in Trenton, NJ. 
Glenda at a Women´s Council Meeting.
So much of leadership is knowing how to form meaningful and impactful relationships.
I speak my mind. I speak my truth. I’m authentic. I’m honest. People know they can come to me and that I’ll never ask them to do something I wouldn’t be willing to do myself. Leadership doesn’t have to be hierarchical. And it isn’t. Leadership is a decision.
Captured Spring 2018.
Images Courtesy of Glenda Gracia-Rivera.