Bridging the Gap: How I Allowed My Authentic Self to Flourish
Name: Briana
Location: Riverwoods, IL
Title: Principal Social Impact
Pronouns: she/her
My personal brand
My brand is love in all its forms. I find true joy in seeing others around me happy and filled with love. I’ll do anything I can do to enhance that. It means nurturing and loving the people around me, and helping in any way I can.
Breaking barriers to be the best
When I was seven years old, I was doing homework and brought it to my dad to look it over. I got one of the answers wrong, then erased it and wrote the correct one. I didn’t do the best job of erasing my old answer. When my dad saw this, he said, “Briana, you can’t turn this in.” When I asked why, he said, “You have two things against you in this world. You’re Black and you’re female. You can’t afford to not turn in your very best.” Those words stuck with me and influenced my career—knowing the world and corporate America aren’t always fair. One of my top priorities is to be the best, perform well, and have the respect of my peers and leaders. Not just for myself, but also for other people of color as an example and as (hopefully) a door opener and table builder. I understand the importance of opportunity and my hope is to be in a position where I can create them for other women of color to excel and ascend.
The biggest barrier that I’ve faced in my current role is that it’s never been done before. My team and my role were brand new to Discover, which is a challenge, because there’s no roadmap to follow or shoes to step into. I overcome this barrier by adjusting my mindset. It’s not a challenge, it’s an opportunity. It’s an amazing opportunity to build something from the ground up and bring my own personal experiences with financial inclusion and financial literacy to the table, to hopefully change Discover, along with our landscape and reach, for the better.
One of the most impactful learning moments in my career came the first time I had to present in front of a large group. Until then, I was not very vocal or assertive in meetings. When I had opinions or thoughts, I would barely speak up, and my role then hadn’t called for me to present to a group larger than my small team. I was asked to present at my company’s national sales conference with less than two days’ notice and was convinced I couldn’t do it. What I learned was—not only could I do it, I was also good at it. I surprised myself with how well I did. Using my voice was exhilarating. I overcame my fear and uncovered a new skill. I realized I could bridge the gap between the version of myself I was at work and my authentic self, and by doing so, I could boost my confidence as a leader, networker, and businesswoman.
Purpose, self-reflection, and passion
After becoming a mother, the lens I look at the world through has completely changed. Wanting the best for my son has fueled me to do more than make a living. I want my work, my hobbies, my life in general to be a catalyst for positive change in the world, not only for him but for everyone.
A piece of advice I live by is “When you do right, right will follow you,” which is a quote from Shirley, my nana. She would always say that to remind us that if you do what you know you’re supposed to do, the rest will work out. When I was younger, this advice was literal. Follow the rules and good things happen, break them and bad things happen. As an adult this advice has taken shape differently. Now, it means that if I stay true to myself, and be intentional, everything will fall into place. If I stay true to who I am and let God do the rest, there’s no need to worry. Everything will work out the way that it’s meant to. I carry this with me each day.
Being BOLD means being unafraid and unapologetic. Being BOLD means having the belief and confidence to respectfully share your thoughts and opinions, advocate for what you think is right and hopefully inspire others to do the same.
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