Michelle Greene: Leading and Living Intentionally

Living and leading intentionally - this is who I am. Who are you? I'm a business and technology leader for a health care organization. Having the ability to lead in this space, at this level requires me to be intentional. It is important to be intentional, both personally and professionally. I was asked, “How do you know if you’re being intentional?” I know because it’s necessary. I know because it requires self-awareness and discipline. I have been intentional with personal life decisions, my career, living abroad ... And with each conscious and intentional step, it has made me stronger as a person and as a leader. When you are intentional, there is passion, energy, power and truth. Words matter. Today, I want to talk to you about four pillars, and I ask you to consider the words that are being used. Understand your passion. My passion allows me to define who I am as a leader, and I will choose the way I like to lead. Strong leaders develop themselves and others, and when you’re passionate about developing yourself, it becomes more satisfying when you see that translate to development of others. Passion is having an impact, lifting while I climb, bringing others along. Some say it is a choice, I argue it is our responsibility. Being a black woman in technology at this level is rare. It is my responsibility to encourage other brown little girls to be interested in technology, lifting while I climb, understanding my journey, sharing my growth, helping others navigate the obstacles that may come before them. Understand your passion. Focus your energy. So my friends teased me about having too much energy at times. I do have a lot of energy. I have a workout routine I follow in the mornings. I try to do my time to just do some meditation and devotion. I travel. I would argue that I work hard and maybe sometimes play harder. But I am intentional about the things I do and where I would call placing my energy bits. Wasting your time, wasting your energy, being around people with negative energy are all things that will drain you. I do my best to avoid this. Worrying about things that you cannot control is also a horrible waste of energy. Place your energy bits appropriately. Positive vibes used to sound like a cliche, but it’s not. Positive energy and positive vibes help you intentionally choose the people you want to be around, and it helps them choose if they want to be around you. Think about how powerful that is. People choose who they want to be around and whether they want to be around you. Focus your energy. Own your power. I was asked, “When did I discover my power?” It took me a while. But now that I've discovered it, it is a wonderful place to be. I am able to have a response versus a reaction. I am able to move myself forward or hold myself back. Owning my power helps me find balance, understanding of what moves me, what guides me, where is my North Star. Having clarity about what I will do and what I will not do. I call it negotiables and non-negotiables. I have a very good friend that reminded me, “Your peace of mind is non-negotibale”. Think about how interesting that is - maintaining your peace equals power. Own your power. Stand in your truth. Stand in your truth. Bringing your most authentic and vulnerable self every day, know who you are, where you want to go and how you will get there is about you standing in your truth. Be comfortable with the uncomfortable. I have a personal board of directors. These are people that I have surrounded myself with so that they're not just telling me what I want to hear, but they're being very clear about what I need to hear. From this you grow. Being receptive to the feedback, taking action on the feedback you receive will help you understand where your truth lies and how you get comfortable in it. Maya Angelou has a very famous quote, “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.” “Ask for what you want and be prepared to get it.” So many times we have these grand ideas, the life we want, the career we want, the opportunities we want to go after, but then we have two pages of things we will not do. If you want something you have never had, you have to do something you have never done. If you do these things, then standing in your truth becomes your starting point, every day. I work hard to live and lead intentionally. I am passionate, I am energetic and I have learned how to be comfortable with owning my power. I am able to plant my feet on solid ground and stand in my truth. I will ask you to consider, will you or do you live and lead intentionally? What is your passion? Will you get up every day and be intentional about focusing your energy? And are you ready to own your power? And finally, as I’ve had the grand opportunity to be here before you today I wanted to talk about things that represented me, but will resonate with others. I need everyone, stand in your truth! Thank you. (Applause)