Listen to the full interview:
1. You just published your debut novel, Your Power Unleashed. What inspired you to write it and what got you committed to sharing it with the world?
“My journey of becoming a first-time published author has been a work in progress for over 40 years because I’m over 40. The reason I say that is I’ve always wanted to be a writer, from the time I was a young girl in the small Caribbean Island of Jamaica. I escaped by reading books. Being an introvert, I get a lot of energy by spending time with myself and through reading books. I’ve always wanted to write, but I was told by my family that becoming an author is not really a fast way to make money. When I got a corporate job and I put aside those thoughts, I forgot about it. But upon entering the corporate world and starting to coach leaders in organizations, I saw themes when I talked about self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome… A lot of what I speak about now is how to navigate organizational politics so that you can work and have a fulfilling career and make an impact in the world, not just make money. I saw that there were things that got in the way of people being effective in doing this.
I saw myself a lot in a lot of women who were coming up in organizations, emerging leaders, as well as people who were already leaders, and even C-suite executives getting in their own way and not understanding the unwritten rules of success, not understanding the personal development work that is needed to combine with their brilliance. You talk about your Brilliant Difference to combine with the natural brilliance that they have, as well as their expertise. How do you show up in that power? And once I started doing this within the organization I worked in, I started coaching people. I got a passion to start coaching people outside of the organization, which eventually led to me starting my business. I found myself saying the same things over and over and over again, so instead of me saying it over and over again, which I probably will be doing for the rest of my life, I said I’m going to write that in a book.”
2. Let’s talk about some of the core themes you’ve written about in the book. Who would most benefit from this book?
“The book is geared towards women, but frankly, men read it too because self-doubt, fear, and imposter syndrome are not only experienced by women—they’re also experienced by men. I focus on the internal work of succeeding professionally in the corporate space. As a former HR leader who has coached people in over 50 countries—emerging leaders, individual contributors, all the way up to C-suite executives—there are unwritten rules of success. I talk about removing the internal glass ceiling, which is a mindset piece, and building your courage muscles. I talk a lot about how to visualize yourself being successful. What are some success and courage habits that you can employ in order to be successful? The second half of the book is about removing external barriers. This is how you learn what steps to take to build your personal brand, to build a personal board of directors, to ensure you’re not just delivering results but getting visibility. The first part is about fulfillment and the second part is about salary negotiation and visibility. It’s also about how to communicate to get credibility, results, and influence across to stakeholders in an organization.”
3. You mention your famous DIVA method in the book. Can you give us an overview and break down this strategy?
“The background of the DIVA method: we think hard work is the only thing needed to be successful. Let me just put my head down. Let me deliver results. Let me do the hard work and this will be enough to get me to that next level professionally. Unfortunately, if you spend any time in corporate or in any workplace, you know that is only a small percentage. It’s an important part of the equation because if you’re not performing, no one can save you. You’ve got to be performing. It keeps you employed. It helps you build a brand. But it doesn’t help you necessarily advance, especially when you don’t have visibility and the right advocates and the right sponsors.”
D: Deliver Results
“The Diva method—D-I-V-A—is four steps. Each letter means something. The D is for deliver results. I say it’s important and it’s the baseline. It’s not the only thing. The reason why the DIVA method is important is because people don’t understand that when you work in organizations, there will always be politics. It doesn’t matter if it’s non–profit, if it’s a church, if it’s a synagogue, if it’s corporate. When you have people, you’re going to have to navigate the situation in a savvy way. You have to learn how to be organizationally savvy, and delivering results is the baseline.”
I: Image
“But there are three other things you have to do to be savvy. The I is for image. Image is your personal brand. What do you want to be known for?”
V: Visibility
“The third is the visibility piece. All right, you’re delivering results. You have a good brand. Do the right people know who you are? How do you get this visibility? I talk about making sure that you work on cross-functional projects and volunteer, so that it’s not just your direct leader. Although your direct leader or your direct manager are important, you can’t put all your eggs in one basket.”
A: Advisory Board
“I also refer to it as your personal board of directors. It consists of mentors, sponsors, and coaches. When we talk about development, we always hear about mentor, mentor, mentor. Mentoring is important. A mentor is going to teach you things because they have the background and experience in the area you need help with. However, it’s not the only thing. The other piece is a sponsor. It’s somebody who has positional power to open doors for you that you cannot open for yourself. If you want to get hired in a role, and let’s say the manager of the hiring manager says, ‘Hire Kisha,’ chances are, I’m going to get hired. It’s not just about what you know, which is your expertise, it’s about who you know, and you have to know the people with the power.”
4.Do you have any words of wisdom to offer people who may be considering writing a book?
“Just start. I talk about this in the book actually, about perfectionism, which leads to analysis paralysis. When you try to get things too perfect, you enter into procrastination, and you never start. You have life experience. You have expertise based on that life experience and training. Trust yourself, and just start. But don’t do it alone. Get a team around you to encourage you, to pour into you, to support you, whether or not it’s BETA readers, advanced readers, whether or not it’s your family that says you can do it. My mom, dad, sister, brother, and sister-in-law—everybody said I can do it. Just because you’re writing by yourself doesn’t mean you’re writing alone. Give other people the opportunity. That was a big learning experience for me—inviting other people in the process to support you. There are people who want to support you and help.”
Interviewer
Finka Jerkovic
Career Advancement Coach and Founder of Finka Inc.
With 25+ years in leadership and sales and the financial services industry, she has witnessed the power of recognizing and celebrating people’s unique strengths and differences (a.k.a Brilliant Differences™) within a workplace. When everyone’s unique talents are appreciated and people work together using them, that’s when the real magic of career and business growth happens. Fast forward 10 years. Finka has established programs that help mid-career professionals and leaders grow in their careers by tapping into the full potential of their personal brand, so they can clearly define their strengths, value their differences, and perform at their best.
Interviewee
Kisha Wynter
Founder of Wynter Rich Enterprises
Kisha Wynter is a leadership consultant, executive coach, author, speaker, and trailblazer in women’s leadership strategy. She has over two decades of corporate experience with a track record of developing and training leaders in over 50 countries. Kisha lives in the New York City tri-state area, loves the beach, and enjoys learning languages.
