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Episode Audio Link: https://podcast.ablackexec.com/episode/who-decides-what-a-leader-looks-like-
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In this episode of A Mixed Executive Perspective, Grace Fooden Correy shares what happened when she entered her first vice president role wearing her natural hair and refusing to let corporate expectations completely define her.
Grace reflects on moving from the creative freedom of New York’s fashion industry into executive leadership, where race, appearance, professionalism, and belonging carried different assumptions. Through her experience, she reveals the power of personal agency: deciding who you will be before the room gets a vote.
She also challenges listeners to recognize where they may be softening their voices, withholding their opinions, or presenting a more acceptable version of themselves. This episode explores natural hair in the workplace, mixed identity, executive presence, authentic leadership, workplace equity, and why receiving support is not the same as needing permission.
You do not have to earn the right to show up as yourself. Sometimes, you simply have to decide to do it.
▶︎ In This Episode
00:00 Welcome to A Mixed Executive Perspective
00:30 Entering Leadership with Natural Hair
01:17 Creative Freedom and Executive Expectations
02:18 Redefining the Image of Leadership
03:13 Before the Room Gets a Vote
04:06 The Version of Yourself You Present
05:15 Support Versus Permission
06:00 You Belong
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