Legacy Through Leadership
- Sep 17
- 3 min read
By Janelle Sam
There are not as many women in executive roles as there are in middle management in multimillion dollar business in the private sector, unless they started the business themselves. I've worked my way up and sit in what is still a male dominated industry. At Cornell where I did my MBA, there were only 10 women in a cohort of 70. Only 2 of the 10 were black, and I am one of them. I am currently the Head of Business Strategy and Operations for Seabrook Family Law in San Jose which is a multi-million dollar firm in the Bay Area in California. When other women in the workplace meet me, they see what is possible. They see how I navigate the professional space and lead the way for them to follow. My legacy is normalizing that positions of influence can be done just as well or better as a woman in a male dominated field. I just look better doing it.
I try to expand what women think is possible for themselves. When I started my career as a business consultant to law firm owners, my role was to help drive growth and profitability. Attorneys are not taught the business of law in law school, and the women I worked with had to navigate being both an attorney and a leader. It is a difficult task that many have, and still struggle with.
The work I do is steeped heavily in psychology in mindset management even though I went to school for business management. The hardest part is working through the traumas and limiting belief systems that get in the way of success of the women I worked with. Whenever I consult with a woman and she says, "I can't..." my immediate response is "Why?".Usually that one word, asked many times, gets to the bottom of the real issue. In many instances, the "I can't" stems from "I am afraid" of judgement, or shame, and sometimes the fear of success. Very successful women face a unique set of challenges their male counterparts do not.
Women tend to carry the unfair burden of continuing legacies steeped in patriarchy. That's what I get to redefine in the women I help. Becoming a leader, while being a woman, demands shifting the paradigm, that we are to be seen as “kind”, “accommodating”, and “likeable”. Being perceived as anything other than, usually creates internal dissonance that stifles growth. It influences how decisions are made, and that is where the change is needed. There is a magic that happens once this shift is made. The leader is born, and she is fearless. She is no longer concerned about the opinions of those who have no influence in her success and it shows in her P&L, her business, and also her personal life.
The advice I would give women stepping in to positions of power is to be aware of your need to be liked. When you own a business, or are stepping into a position of power, you have an outcome that needs to be accomplished, or you will lose what you worked hard for. Women have been hard wired to "be nice" or you're labeled as a bitch. Unfortunately, this is how men have worked for eons. They are seen as decisive and driven with these traits yet there is a double standard for women. A must have the ability to go to a company dinner with a subordinate, ask about their family and get to know them, and still be able to write them up or terminate them if needed. It is not an easy thing to do. Power comes with heavy responsibility and the faster you learn this, the better a leader you will become.
Connect With Janelle
Comments