Before I ever became a coach, I was coached.
And that experience changed everything about how I lead, how I show up for others, and how I see myself.
Over 10 years ago, before diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) was cool or a hot-button issue, I was responsible for providing such professional learning and development opportunities to staff. As a former professor, an HBCU alum, and Black woman in America, I knew the ins and outs of adult learning, and understood this was a huge responsibility to undertake and get right. Also, I had the wherewithal to know I’d need support to make sure I didn’t screw it all up.
When I first met who would later become my leadership coach, I thought I was meeting just any other consultant – someone my boss was familiar with to simply support me and perhaps co-create and co-facilitate DEI sessions over time. The goal was to create an office culture where our very diverse staff would become more aware of and comfortable talking about our relationships with privilege, power, and race. This was an extremely important feat to accomplish, as our small but mighty, social impact-driven nonprofit (which was led by a relatively affluent white man, but whose target audience was mostly Black and Latino working class families) identified through staff surveys that they wanted to be more culturally humble and competent without alienating our boss or the families we serve and value.
This was important and high-stakes work to me. I wanted to do a good job and move up in the organization, I didn’t want to do any harm, and I wanted to learn and grow myself. I was eager to meet this consultant. What I didn’t realize was how much this person would guide my career steps going forward in a meaningful way.
She was such a leader! No-nonsense, deeply wise, and unafraid to push me in my thinking about the kinds of conversations and emotions these sessions would incite. She held up the mirror when I needed to see myself and my assumptions more clearly. She asked the hard questions when I was tempted to play small or stay comfortable. She modeled fearlessness in facilitating the sessions, stressing the importance of setting community agreements that made everyone feel safe to share and emote, and handling tough conversations. She offered me space as a co-facilitator to lead, but also to learn.
And maybe most importantly, she kept me humble, grounded, and fair.
There were moments when I thought I had the right answer or wanted to move too quickly, and she’d gently (and sometimes firmly) slow me down. She reminded me that leadership isn’t about being right; it’s about being effective. It’s about seeing other perspectives, leading with empathy, and staying aligned with your values even when the work gets hard.
Over time, we co-facilitated together less frequently. She continued to care about the outcomes of the sessions, but her role shifted in a meaningful way. I was creating and leading these sessions alone with more regularity, and she became my leadership coach as I planned and developed the sessions. Her guidance and structured input shaped the goals I wanted to achieve for each session, and those goals became more than just a professional tool to use: it became a practice. A space to pause, reflect, and recalibrate. A trusting partnership that helped me (and continues to help me) navigate career milestones and hurdles — not by telling me what to do, but by helping me discover how I wanted to show up and making space for my authentic leadership to blossom.
That coaching experience inspired The Brilliance Lab.
I know what it feels like to be guided, challenged, and believed in — especially as a woman of color in leadership. I know how transformative it is to have someone walk beside you, helping you stretch into your full potential while keeping your feet on the ground.
I want to help leaders see what’s possible beyond the noise and the pressure, offering the same mix of honesty, humor, compassion, and accountability that shaped my leadership journey.
Coaching changed my life. Now, it’s how I aim to help others change theirs — boldly, brilliantly, and with purpose.
If you’re ready to experience the same kind of growth, I’d love to connect.
