“What Do You Need?”
by Lauren Wesley Wilson
2024
Hay House
$25.99
264 pages
A little over a decade ago, new-grad Lauren Wesley Wilson was the only woman of color in her workplace and that held her back. There was insider info that her white colleagues knew that would’ve made it possible for promotions and making contacts.
That was a valuable lesson: Being “a first-and-only” really does matter in the workplace, a fact that spurred Wilson to try something audacious. She invited a small number of women of color to a get-together in May 2011 to ask one another “What do you need?” and to share personal and professional answers. From that gathering, ColorComm Corporation was born, and it currently offers chapters for women of color in many cities.
So what do you need?
First, you need to thrive in the workplace, and you need to understand that some places aren’t set up for that. You need to acknowledge that being first-and-only makes things harder. Ask for a mentor or learn how to find one with gentle persistence. You’ll need to build a good reputation. Become a joiner, cultivate a wide mix of contacts, understand your value, learn to assess risks and promote yourself, be willing to work, and know when it’s time to walk away.
What sets this apart from similar tomes is its encouragement to continually think precisely. Wilson doggedly returns to her title question to help readers sort through their options with more focus, while case studies and examples steadfastly lead them to apply the lessons inside this book to their own lives and workplaces.