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Transcript

Quick Lift: What Young Girls Need Before the Workplace · Loud & Lifted

• 0:00
  Welcome to Allowed and Lifted Quick Lift, where
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  we take the biggest takeaways from the full conversation
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  and turn them into something practical. And the
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  episode with Cherise Johnson is such an important
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  one, because we spend a lot of time on this podcast
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  talking about human leadership, confidence, voice,
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  community, mentorship, owning your seat at the
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  table. But this conversation was a reminder that
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  these things do not suddenly become important
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  when women enter the workplace. They start much
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  earlier. They start when girls are still figuring
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  it out. Do people listen when I speak? Am I allowed
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  to take up space? Can I try and not get it perfect?
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  And Sharice's work lives right in that space.
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  She has spent years helping young people, especially
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  girls, build leadership skills, character, confidence,
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  and purpose through mentorship, role play, exposure,
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  and community. And what I love most about her
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  perspective is that it was not fluffy. It was
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  practical. patient, and very intentional. So
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  here are five takeaways from this conversation
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  and one action item for each. Number one, girls
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  learn from what we model before they believe
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  what we say. One of the things Sharice talked
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  about is how she shows up in a room with young
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  people. She leads with presence. She speaks clearly.
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  She gets their attention. That combination matters
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  because we can tell girls all day long to be
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  confident, speak up, and believe in themselves.
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  but they're also watching us. They're watching
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  how we walk into rooms, how we introduce ourselves,
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  and how we handle pressure. Also, let's remember,
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  they also see how we talk about ourselves when
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  we think that no one is really paying attention.
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  And let's be honest, they're always paying attention.
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  Girls don't just need lectures about confidence.
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  They need to see women living it in real time.
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  Not perfectly, not always loudly. not even performatively,
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  but with groundness, with a sense of I'm allowed
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  to be here. That kind of modeling gives girls
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  a picture that they can borrow until they can
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  build their own. Action item, pick one moment
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  this week where a girl in your life can see you
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  model grounded leadership. Introduce yourself
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  clearly, speak up in a room, set a boundary without
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  over explaining, let her see what it looks like
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  to take up space without making it weird. Because
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  sometimes the lesson is not what we say, it's
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  in what they see us do. Number two, leadership
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  has to be practiced before it feels natural.
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  Cherise talked about using role play and real
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  life practice with students, and I love this
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  because it's such a good reminder. Leadership
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  is not built through one magical moment. It's
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  built through reps. Kids need chances to practice
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  speaking, practice answering questions, introducing
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  themselves, making decisions, leading peers,
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  practice recovering when something feels awkward.
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  And that matters because we often expect young
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  people to suddenly know how to show up with maturity,
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  presence, and communication skills. But where
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  exactly were they supposed to learn that? Leadership
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  does not become natural because someone tells
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  you to be a leader, step up. It becomes natural
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  because you've been given opportunities to try.
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  And yes, sometimes it's clunky and feels uncomfortable.
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  They may mumble or freeze or rush through it
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  or probably look at the floor and that's okay.
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  It's just practice. The goal is not perfection.
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  Action item, give a girl in your life one small
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  leadership rep this week. Have her order for
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  herself. Ask her to introduce herself to someone
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  new. Lead a hard conversation. Ask for her opinion
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  and wait for a full answer. Small moments count
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  because every time she practices using her voice,
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  she learns that her voice works. Number three,
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  potential is not always obvious at first. One
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  of the most powerful stories Charisse shared
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  was about a student who completely froze during
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  an interview as a freshman. She could barely
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  answer the questions. And it would have been
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  easy to assume that she wasn't ready and maybe
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  not leadership material or not the right fit.
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  But Charisse saw something more. She followed
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  up. She invited her into a leadership program,
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  and she gave her other opportunities. And over
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  time, the same student became a senior, speaking
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  in front of hundreds of people and also mentoring
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  young girls. Love that story. Because potential
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  does not always walk around into the room polished.
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  Sometimes it's quiet or nervous, and sometimes
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  it's buried under fear, anxiety, lack of exposure,
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  or just one bad moment. And if we judge too quickly,
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  we miss it. This is true with girls, employees,
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  and emerging leaders. Sometimes people need someone
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  to see what is possible before they can see it
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  themselves. Action item, look for a quiet potential
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  this week. Not the loudest person or not the
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  most polished and not the one already raising
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  their hand. Pay attention to the girl who is
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  thoughtful, observant, kind, but maybe hesitant.
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  Then say something specific like, I noticed how
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  carefully you thought about that. You have a
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  calm way of leading. Or maybe you may not see
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  it yet, but I see leadership in you. The way
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  you helped her mattered. Do not praise the outcome.
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  Name the strength. This is how people start to
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  recognize it in themselves. Number four, exposure
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  expands what girls believe is possible. Charisse
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  talked about the idea that every 15 -year -old
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  should have at least one spark, something that
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  brings them joy. fuels them, and helps them imagine
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  a bigger future. And one of the ways girls find
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  their spark is through exposure. Because how
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  can a girl dream about something she's never
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  seen? How can she picture herself in a room she's
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  never been invited to? How can she imagine a
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  career, a calling, a leadership path, or a version
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  of success that no one's ever showed her? This
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  is where adults have more influence than we realize,
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  and exposure does not have to be complicated.
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  It can be inviting her to an event. Introducing
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  her to someone in your network, letting her shadow
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  you, having a real conversation about work or
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  leadership, money, service. Sometimes the door
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  we open feels small to us, but huge to her. Action
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  item, create one exposure opportunity this month.
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  Invite a girl to attend something with you. Introduce
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  her to a woman doing interesting work or let
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  her ask questions about your career. Bring her
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  behind the scenes. The point is not to map out
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  her whole future. The point is just to widen
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  her view. And lastly, mentorship is consistency,
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  not a title. Cherise used the phrase, pour into
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  them. And I love that. Because mentorship is
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  not just a formal program. It's not just giving
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  advice once and checking a box. And it's definitely
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  not pretending that we have all the answers.
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  Mentorship is a consistent investment. Noticing,
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  encouraging, following up, asking better questions,
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  challenging someone when they're playing small.
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  helping them see a future version of themselves.
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  Sharice shared a story about her own mentor looking
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  at her LinkedIn profile and basically saying,
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  this does not fully reflect who you are. And
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  that's a perfect example of good mentorship.
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  It helps you see what you cannot see. And young
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  girls need that too. They need adults who are
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  willing to stay engaged past the inspirational
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  moments. Because one pep talk, it's nice, but
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  consistent support. That's what actually shapes
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  people. Action item. Choose one younger person
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  that you can be more intentional with. Send the
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  text. Ask how things are going. Check in after
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  a big event. Ask what's feeling hard. Don't ever
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  complicate it. Mentorship does not have to start
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  with a formal label. It can start with being
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  someone who keeps showing up. Cherise's episode
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  is such a strong reminder that leadership development
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  does not start when someone gets their first
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  job title. It starts much earlier, when a girl
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  gives space to speak, when someone notices her
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  strength, when she gets a chance to practice
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  something new. And that is what makes this conversation
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  so relevant to all of us. Whether you're a mom,
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  aunt, mentor, manager, coach, teacher, or just
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  someone with younger girls in your orbit, you
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  have more influence than you think. So if this
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  episode spoke to you, go back and listen to the
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  full conversation with Charisse. And this week,
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  don't just talk about supporting the next generation.
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  Give them a rep, open a door, name what you see,
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  and keep showing up. Until next time, stay loud
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  and keep lifting the girls who are still learning
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  how powerful their voice can be.