Lead from the Outside: on Principles & Values
What do I want, and how do I get there?
When we win, we achieve beyond ourselves. We become models for others, known and unknown, who see our victories as proof that they can win too. Even by simply embracing ambition, talking about it, trying and failing, we mentor others who see their
potential. And by going beyond their own limits, we change the places we inhabit. We bring a fresh perspective to a company or a cause, a minority lens that expands or shifts how the work gets done.So what takes us beyond the dream to charting a new
reality? Whether the dream is to run a company, run for office , or run a 5k-or even if your dream has not yet been discovered-the path to recognizing ambition is the sme;1. What do I want? 2. Why do I want it? 3. How do I get there?
Before exploring
these steps, it's important to understand & internalize our right to being ambitious. Because, for too many of us, we are stopped in our tracks before we even begin because we don't believe we deserve to want more. And it is by wanting more that we win.
Source: Lead from the Outside, by Stacey Abrams, p. 6-7
Mar 26, 2019
First black woman as major party governor nominee
In May 2017, I became the first black woman to receive the gubernatorial nomination in American history. On November 6, 2018, I received more votes than any Democrat in Georgia history, outpacing Barack Obama and Secretary of state,
Hillary Clinton. I learned later that our turnout tripled the amount of Latinos and Asian Americans, more than doubled the youth participation rate.
I received more votes from African Americans than the sum [of all] voters in 2014. My candidacy created a path to win a congressional seat and flip sixteen legislative seats.
I received the highest white vote in a generation. And I was within 1.4% of the man who had run the election and run against me-serving as both contestant and referee.
Source: Lead from the Outside, by Stacey Abrams, p. xiii
Mar 26, 2019
Yale Law School; tax attorney and romance novelist
I received a master's degree from the University of Texas. I would attend Yale School of Law, the most exclusive in the country, where I would try to confront the questions of race and gender in a space that prided itself on mediocrity, on ignoring
the value of privilege, though I could count the number of folks who looked like me in a class on one hand.When I graduated from Yale, I joined a white-shoe law firm, where I was the only person of color who practiced my type of tax law.
Despite the long history of the firm, only two people of color had ever become partners--and this was one of the more diversity conscious law firms in Atlanta.
For every success-becoming deputy city attorney, running for office,
and rising in less than four years to serve as the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives-I have consistently confronted racism, sexism, ageism, and other bias about my otherness.
Source: Lead from the Outside, by Stacey Abrams, p. xxvi
Mar 26, 2019
The best ideas & the best policies are collaborative
Given the scope of the issues we face, too often we wrongly map out power by assuming the right leader is the one with the most brilliant mind, with the most unique approach, WHO CAN GO IT ALONE. Moreover, as minorities, we believe that to be valued, we
must take all the credit and be the author of every solution. I assure you, this thinking is wrong. The best ideas and policies are typically collaborative, and those that succeed are the product of a community. When a woman, a person of color,
or a millennial prepares to lead, she can be lulled into believing that the resident genius will be the winner, and the only way the work gets done is to go it alone. The reality is much simpler: the ones who deny themselves a place in the room where
the work gets done will be the victims, not the leaders. Too often, race, gender, and age convince us to sacrifice our power because no one has told us we have it--or that we already have access to enough of it if we read our power map.
Source: Lead from the Outside, by Stacey Abrams, p.169-70
Mar 26, 2019
Short-sighted leaders have definite opinion about everything
Public policy--usually--isn't good or evil, or even that interesting. It is mundane and routine, and it cuts across neighborhoods, nations, and ideologies. So when a belief allows for only a single myopic focus, a solitary filter has no room for debate,
leaders miss the true role of government and of public policy. The same goes in the office where doing what has always been done in the reason to keep doing it wrong, or where fear of the unknown paralyzes decision making.
These shortsighted leaders are easy to spot. They are the ones who have a definite opinion about every headline and give you the answer before you ask the question. And if you can't point out who is in the circle of colleagues is that person, it just
might be you. I do have core beliefs, but I don't have an unshakeable opinion on every issue. I accept I may not know enough about every situation to render immediate judgement.
Source: Lead from the Outside, by Stacey Abrams, p.171-2
Mar 26, 2019
I author romance novels, but I'm not married
As the author of romance novels, I have been asked on more than one occasion of my love life. As I got ready to run for governor, we did focus groups, and one of those topics was how harshly I would be judged for my single status.
The kindest question about why I'm not married is usually acknowledged by how busy I am. Less thoughtful ones accuse me of being too ambitious and of prioritizing my professional goals over my personal life.
Years ago, I decided to ignore how society told me I should behave because what I was doing turned out pretty well.
I have erred along the way in romantic relationships (a book for another day) but not because I picked work over life.
Source: Lead from the Outside, by Stacey Abrams, p.180-1
Mar 26, 2019
Page last updated: May 01, 2021
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