Zuryna: Welcome to Operations
Unfiltered, the podcast that takes you
behind the scenes of influencer and
talent management with a little bit of
strategy and a whole lot of real talk.
I'm your host, Zaina.
Today's episode is another
seat at the table moment I.
I'm filling you in on my journey
in the spring cohort of the Board
Pipeline Leadership Program with
the associated black charities.
Basically, I'm out here learning how
to be the Olivia Pope of nonprofit
boards, but with much fewer scandals
and way more PowerPoint slides.
Week two is in the books, and
it was a deep dive into what it
actually means to serve on a board.
We covered the roles of board members,
the executive director, the board chair.
Basically everybody and
their mama got a mention.
And let me tell you, by the end of
the lesson, my brain was spinning.
Honestly, it felt like I had way too
many tabs open in my internet browser.
Our speaker for the night was from an
organization called Maryland Nonprofits,
and she did such an amazing job.
She gave us everything we needed
to know and then some, she even
backed it up with case studies,
which y'all know, I absolutely love.
Case studies for me are a way to apply
concepts to real life situations,
and the professional student in
me was absolutely giddy with joy.
We also had a group activity where we
assigned roles and responsibilities
to the different board members.
Now we all know group activities
can be absolutely tragic, but I've
actually clicked with a few of my
fellow cohort members so it wasn't bad.
And dare I say, I actually enjoyed it.
Can we talk about growth?
You guys?
RA training really scarred me.
Then at the end of the class,
the speaker asked us to think
about what was our aha moment.
During the lesson, people were
sharing these deep and philosophical
revelations, and my brain was like,
girl, please say something profound,
something thought provoking.
But all I could blurt out was, wait.
Board members can get sued.
Yes, y'all.
I really said that out
loud into the universe.
Now, old Serena would've been
absolutely mortified, but
honestly I really needed to know.
Thankfully, the ladies at my table
had my back and explained everything,
including the very important fact that
boards should have insurance, which is
good to know before I sign my life away.
When I walked out of week two, I was
energized, but also acutely aware of my
good old friend and imposter syndrome.
This is the moment in time where
my therapist would always say,
now let's unpack, so here goes.
I sometimes struggle to
recognize my own value.
Being in this program forces me to think
about what I actually bring to the table.
And you know what?
I bring a lot.
Not to toot my own horn, but too, too,
I mean, I love the art of communication,
but I love the science of business
and the science of project management.
I'm basically air traffic control
for marketing operations, which
means I keep everything moving.
I avoid collisions wherever possible,
and I make sure people actually
land where they're supposed to.
A former colleague of mine that I respect
once introduced me to the term master
networker, and I felt that in my spirit
because that's essentially who I am.
My whole mission with my business live
more agency is to make sure that my
clients have the right people, processes
and tools in place so that they can win.
And I guess after thinking about it,
that's really honestly my true aha moment.
I do belong at the table.
So here I am just a girl trying
her best to be the Olivia Pope of
marketing ops and project management,
but with slightly less red wine.
So that's all for this episode.
Thank you so much for tuning into my
digital diary, and thank you for listening
to this episode of Operations Unfiltered.
I truly appreciate it.
This is a passion project of
mine, so I appreciate every
listen, every like, every share.
It means the world to me, and
as always, connect with me on
social media, on Instagram at Live
More Agency or at Lady Z says.
That's where I share a little
bit about of my personality.
You'll see my amazing daughter.
So, yeah, just follow along
with me on all the socials.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
I'll see you guys next time.