Episode 135: Are You Whitewashing Your Consulting Brand?

"Your brand doesn't need permission to be brilliant. You just need to stop hiding it."

Does this question sound familiar: "If I show up fully, will they still hire me?" Many women consultants, especially women of color, have been conditioned to believe that authenticity is a liability rather than an asset. We're taught to blend in, tone down our personalities, and adopt a "professional" persona that often feels disconnected from who we truly are.

But what if this well-meaning advice is actually sabotaging your consulting business? In this episode, we discover how breaking free from corporate conditioning allows you to command rooms with your boldness and brilliance, making everything from networking to client acquisition more authentic and significantly more effective.

For more information, visit www.excelatconsulting.com

Chapters

• 0:00 The Risk of Not Being Authentic
• 4:30 Unlearning Corporate Conditioning
• 8:42 Breaking Traditional Marketing Molds
• 14:00 The Power of Professional Choice
• 17:15 Leveraging Your Unique Perspective
• 21:23 Stop Hiding Your Brilliance

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

If I show up fully, will they still hire me? That was a question that I used to often ask myself and, to be honest, I think many of us, as women and women of color in this consulting space, tend to have this question run through our minds from time to time, mainly because we've been taught that being ourselves and being really authentic to who we are is something that is a liability or even a risk. Is this a matter of us following good advice, or are we actually whitewashing our brands? We often are told that the risk means that there are people that won't want to work with us, that our businesses won't grow, that we won't be successful, but in actuality, one of the biggest risks is that we may not stand out. Hi, my name is Dr Angelina Davis and I am the founder of Accela Consulting and the host of the Black Girls Consulting Podcast. In this episode, I want us to talk about what it means to be authentic in the consulting space, how this impacts our brand, and to figure out whether or not we are truly whitewashing who we are in order to be successful.

Speaker 1: 1:12

If you're like me, you've likely been taught over the years that you need to blend in, that you need to fit in with everyone else, that you don't need to seem intimidating, and when you are, that can be problematic. I remember when I was in training and I don't think that I am intimidating at all. However, that was one comment that my mentor had for me. The feedback was that sometimes my interactions can be intimidating to others and I didn't know how to tone that down. I didn't know what that meant because at the time I was just being myself. I was trying to do the work that I needed to do to the best of my ability. That's what I had been taught through high school and through college was needed in order to be successful. So when I showed up in this new environment and I found that it wasn't received in the same way, it was my initial message and note that I needed to tone it down, and part of what I took from that is that oftentimes in a professional setting, it was necessary for me to begin to shrink myself, to not be as vocal, to not be as loud, to not be as demanding, to not seem like I'm trying to be confrontational, even if I was just trying to express my idea. So this is a level of conditioning that I had. That carried me through the years, from my training on, into the careers that I had in the future, definitely into the consulting world.

Speaker 1: 2:50

I learned that in order to be successful, I needed to play the game. I needed to show up and be the person that was able to work with anyone, that did not cause a fuzz, that did the work behind the scenes, that did not try and stand out from everyone else because my fear was that I was not going to be seen as a team player. So this was helpful for me. I grew because of it, I advanced in my career because of it, and oftentimes many of us, when we're entering into the consulting space as an entrepreneur, we have gone through similar lessons. We have had similar experiences.

Speaker 1: 3:26

So when we're talking about the transition from employee to now founder or CEO of your own business, you're making the shift and sometimes that shift and that change is not easy and we carry a lot of the conditioning that we've had from our previous environment with us. So there's no surprise that can be problematic, especially if you've been trying to blend in and not be intimidating, not be as bold as you normally would be or authentically you as you would typically be. That it could keep you from standing out, because that's what it was originally meant to do. What was required was unlearning this behavior, figuring out how to not follow the rules that had been working for so many years. Now, trying to change the way that we approach things is uncomfortable, because we're pushing back against what we have been taught and known to be true, what we've been conditioned to do.

Speaker 1: 4:28

When we think about what it means to market in the business-to-business space, we often think about being very corporate, and corporate meaning sterile, plain, traditional, all those things that seem to blend in. And that makes sense for a larger organization that's trying to make a body of individuals who have diverse thoughts and diverse beliefs and try to make them seem as if they're cohesive in one, one goal, one mission, one strategy that serves the purpose for this larger organization. And what happens is that when you're coming from this corporate environment, you've been trained in a space where you've been taught to blend in and for everyone to have a uniform approach. And when you carry that into your business, you're trying to do that with the other businesses and the other consultants around you. You're trying to blend in, you're trying to play the game in. You're trying to play the game. You are trying not to look as if you are different, because matching their branding, matching the way that they market in a traditional sense, seems like the answer.

Speaker 1: 5:32

I know that often I found myself trying to tone down who I am in order to accomplish that goal, so that I wore the right colors, or I did not wear the big earrings, or I did not do the things that I normally would do when I was in a different setting, when I could be someone that really felt comfortable in my skin doing the things and saying the things that I normally would to any other friend or colleague. When we take this traditional approach and we show up in our business with this mindset, then we look the same. You're matching what a larger organization is putting out there in the world in terms of marketing and, truth be told, most of those organizations are now trying to lean into more creative approaches and more innovation, and so you're copying something that, in all honesty, is becoming outdated. That's not even working well for them, although their purpose of doing it was totally different. So a lot of what we need to do now is to not focus so much on blending in, but instead figuring out how we can stand out, and standing out means that sometimes we have to break that traditional mold. Sometimes, following the traditional approach and what you see everybody else doing is not best for you as a consultant in your space, especially if you are a solopreneur or if you have a small firm. You need to be different.

Speaker 1: 7:04

Now, the truth is I was never told to tone it down. No one ever said you are being too loud or your hair is too curly or your earrings are too big. No one ever said that it was something that was often felt because there was a picture of how I was supposed to show up. I remember when I was in college, I went to UNC Chapel Hill, and the one thing that was very common at that time was wearing pearls, and so if you went on any type of interview or any type of more professional on-campus function, then you had your pearl earrings. For me, that was a sign of being more professional, and I got used to showing up in spaces trying to resemble what I thought was acceptable.

Speaker 1: 7:51

In that space, and especially the consulting environment is very traditional and showing up in a different way was uncomfortable for me at first. It was uncomfortable to walk into a room and not only be the only woman, the only Black woman, but then also walk in with a head of natural hair and larger earrings, or maybe clothing that fit a little bit differently because, the way I was shaped, there were a lot of things that felt uncomfortable in those moments and in my attempt to try and minimize that, I found myself leaning into what I saw as the way to present myself quote unquote professionally, to be more corporate. But in all honesty, those were preconceived notions that I had based on definitions that someone else gave me. They were never meant to carry me through my career and into my business, because, after a while, showing up this way is a way of almost sanitizing ourselves. We're not reflecting who we truly are and what we truly bring to the table. I remember I was scrolling online recently and there's this video about a lady that gets off of work and she's leaving her job and she leaves the building and walks out all professional, based, so on traditional standards, and she gets in her car and then she starts taking off all these things and transforming in a matter of minutes into who she actually is when she goes home and on the weekend, and I thought to myself. This is so relatable, and I was the only one, because the fact that this video blew up it was viral was evident of how many people could relate to that experience.

Speaker 1: 9:43

It's what we have always done, but the truth is that the more that you shrink yourself, the harder it's going to be for you to win the clients that you want and meet. Whether we admit it or not, part of why we do this is that we feel like we need to mimic a lot of the dominant branding in order to be seen as credible or professional or to be considered for contracts that we find to be highly desirable and lucrative. You want to value the clients that you have, do your best for the clients that you have and show up and represent your brand in a way that will make you proud. But it does not mean that you need to become sterile. It doesn't mean that you need to be bland. You need to be seen. You need to attract business. You need to have a brand that stands out and reflects something that is different and unique in your space.

Speaker 1: 10:42

Now, I will not tell you that this is something that is easy to do, because it can be very difficult to push back against the conditioning, to feel comfortable showing up in a new way to test something that you see right now as being risky. But at the end of the day, it's a matter of knowing and understanding what the transition you've made mean, how being an entrepreneur in this space now is something different than when you were working your nine to five, because when you truly embrace that difference and that transformation, all of this makes a lot more sense and becomes a lot easier to do. A lot of what we may be uncomfortable with doing is a matter of us not realizing that we have a choice. See, when you are totally focused on trying to convince those who may not see your value in the value and worth of what you do, then you'll be stuck in this cycle. But the moment that you realize that, as a business owner and entrepreneur now you have the ability to attract those who are aligned with your values, with your beliefs, with your philosophy, with your approach, and those individuals will value you as an expert, as a strategist and as a consultant.

Speaker 1: 12:10

The difference is that you have power. You no longer have to accept the rules as stated. You no longer have to follow a process that was designed by someone else, based on their goals, you're now setting the foundation for the business that you want to have and that you want to establish. It's one of the reasons why, especially as consultants, it's important to share your ideas and your philosophy and your values and beliefs. All of these things help you to attract the right businesses and the organizations that will allow you to be yourself fully, because it's only when you are able to show up without this confined precedence that you will be able to work at a new level, at a level where you are not confined to think in a limited way. You need to be able to have and show all of your brilliance in every aspect of your work, and if you don't feel like you can be creative, if you don't feel like you can be open, if you don't feel like you can be honest, it's going to be very difficult for you to do that.

Speaker 1: 13:18

So when we're talking about whitewashing our brand, it shows up in very subtle ways. It is being extremely safe, making sure that we don't say the wrong things, and so that lends to you often relying on what the textbook says, always looking for the textbook answer instead of being more controversial or pushing against the standard or the common practice in your industry. Those things seem very risky and so we avoid it. We try to be the brand or the business or the consultant that makes everybody happy, that's able to do all of the things, when, in all honesty, people aren't looking for that. They have employees that do that. What they need from you is someone that has a belief and a view, a philosophy, a vision and an approach that they stand on, that they are going to practice by and they're gonna use to help them get to the next level. That's what they're actually wanting. They don't want the sterile, safe you. Although I know it makes us feel more comfortable when we are trying to fit in, to build credibility, what we're actually doing is not allowing ourselves to win the clients that we want and need.

Speaker 1: 14:42

When you think about it, if someone is looking to work with a consultant and they have a choice between someone who has been established for a decade and someone who has been established for two or three years and they look the same, they're offering the same things and they're saying the same thing, you're going to go with the one that has been established for a longer period of time. That's just the natural tendency. So we don't do ourselves any favors by trying to show up in a similar way. The difference in what's going to cause somebody to make a different decision than going with a larger corporate firm that's been around for a long time what's going to make them choose not to go with them and go with you, are the new ideas, are the things that make you intangible, more innovative, unique and fresh. That's the part that sells. So it makes sense that we tend to start our businesses and show up like we did when we were in our corporate environment. You are not the first one to do it. I did it and I'm sure many other consultants have done it as well. It's very common because that's what we know has been successful over the years.

Speaker 1: 15:53

But now that we've talked about the need to be ourselves and to create this different brand and I will even say persona then how do we do that? That becomes the question. How do we begin to be more authentic? What does that authenticity look like? How can we be authentic and still be professional? How will people respond to us showing up in this way? Those are all questions that I know I had and I'm sure you're asking right now. We all want to be ourselves. We all want to show up fully, without this cloud of hesitation that hangs over our heads, and that's something that, as women, especially as women of color I want us to be free from, because we've spent our whole career journeys trying to fit into somebody else's definition and now, in your business, this is not the time for you to continue that. It's time to move beyond that point and think about how we can use our authenticity to our advantage.

Speaker 1: 16:55

I want you to consider all of the things that you see happen in your industry or in your field that most people don't notice. Think about your path and your journey and the steps that you had to take. For many of us, we didn't get to where we are right now, doing the same things that everyone else did. I'm sure, if you're like me, you have adapted, you have modified, you have totally remixed everything, trying to get to the end result that everybody else got to, and so you have to think about what it took to get there, how that was different, how that was unique. It allows you to see things from a different viewpoint and something that exposes the limitations in your industry, the limitations that others face, and also the areas in which your industry can improve. Those are valuable insights that many of our clients need to see, hear and recognize. It's actually a lot of what will make the difference in their businesses and how they're able to grow and move to the next level, and how you can help them do that.

Speaker 1: 18:02

Your view of problems in your field that your clients may be facing is totally different, and being able to take that view and process and evaluate their problems, you're going to come out with a completely different answer and solution than someone else who has not had those same lived experiences. When you're able to honor that, instead of leaning so heavily into the thing that you've been taught in school, is the right response, then that's where you're going to see the breakthrough, because the strategy that you're going to provide the insights, the direction, the way that you're helping them navigate, is going to be reflective of your brilliance and the lessons that you have learned, and those lessons are things that other people cannot copy, they cannot recreate, and therefore it makes you valuable in a very different way than someone else who may show up in your space. This is the part that we have to lean into. This is what should be shaping the frameworks that we create. This is what should be shaping the insights that we provide being able to be more authentic and really reclaiming your voice. That's profitable, that is going to generate profit for you and your business.

Speaker 1: 19:21

So I'm not talking about something that's just making you so. I'm not talking about something that's just making you comfortable. We're talking about something that's going to actually generate revenue, and the great part about it is that the more liberated you become from showing up in a very confined, traditional, boxed-in way, the easier it's going to be for you to do your work. The easier it's going to be for you to show up and serve clients. The easier it's going to be for you to do your work. The easier it's going to be for you to show up and serve clients, the easier it's going to be for you to do everything that's necessary to run your business. The easier it's going to be for you to show up on stages and speak, the easier it's going to be for you to network, the easier it's going to be for you to attract and land clients. Everything becomes easier because you're no longer trying to process what you should do and say in order to meet someone's expectations, but instead you are totally focused on just showing up and doing the work and being in the excellence that you typically provide. That is freeing, it's liberating and it's what you deserve.

Speaker 1: 20:23

No more whitewashing your brand, no more sanitizing your story, no more showing up overly corporate and sterile.

Speaker 1: 20:33

It's time for you to command the room with your boldness and your brilliance, because, at the end of the day, no one can copy your lived experience and your unique perspective or the philosophy you have regarding your practice.

Speaker 1: 20:50

Those are the things that are unique for you, and the more you allow people to see it, the more you showcase it, the more you share it, the more clients that you're going to attract to your brand that truly align with who you authentically are and value the work that you do.

Speaker 1: 21:07

So I want you to take a look at your brand today. Go through your website, look at your social media pages, look at your bio on LinkedIn, go through your pitch deck, look at everything and think to yourself is this something that looks like a template that could generically be online for anyone to copy? Does it reflect who I really am? Is it showing the world how I'm uniquely different? Is it obvious? Because this is not the time to edit your presence. Your brain doesn't need permission to be brilliant. You just need to stop hiding it. So I hope you enjoyed this episode and, if you are listening to this on Apple Podcasts or Spotify, don't forget to leave your five-star rating and review. It is greatly appreciated and help us attract more and more listeners and grow this brand. So until next time, be authentic, be you and let's win.