My first #IamRemarkable session as a FACILITATOR

#IamRemarkable, Google Initiative, Self Promotion, Self Advocacy, Self Care, Women and Under represented groups

Success and milestones come in different forms.  But accomplishments are for everyone!

In the last year, I’ve attended 2 #IamRemarkable workshops as a participant.  Before attending, I had only heard about the initiative, but didn’t know much about it or how powerful it could be.

After attending the first one, I knew immediately I wanted to be facilitate the workshops for working/career moms and members of the BIPOC community.

ICYDK:  #IamRemarkable is a #Google initiative empowering women and other underrepresented groups to celebrate their achievements in the workplace and beyond.

It’s not bragging, if it’s based on facts!

Why am I so excited about being an #IamRemarkable Facilitator?

Over the last few years, I’ve learned that mentorship and coaching can really improve your circumstances and your surroundings (not only for the mentee, but also the mentor/coach).  #IamRemarkable offers a mentor/mentee partnership where benefits are realized almost immediately.

And since hosting my first #IamRemarkable workshop as a facilitator, I saw how participants resonated with the experiences shared.  As a facilitator, I got out of my comfort zone & shared my own accomplishments, but more importantly the participants were inspired by my stories and felt empowered by the workshops’ exercises.  By the end of the session, everyone left feeling powerful, confident and more joyful.

If you’ve ever spoken about yourself, you may know that self promotion and self-advocacy can feel awkward and be challenging for most people.  But mix in culture, societal or modesty norms and it’s usually women and under-represented groups that suffer the most.

Another reason why I knew I wanted to be an #IamRemarkable facilitator was because I’ve learned through my mentors that our careers aren’t just about working heads down all hours of the day.  We need to find ways to enjoy the journey!  It’s about making space for opportunities/stretch goals, building your personal brand, actively seeking out your board of directors and leaning into your growth mindset.

Don’t get me wrong: working hard is still important but there is more to your work life than that (ahem hustle culture) so you need to find the harmony that works best for you, your home life and your mental well being.

And when your hard work pays off and you have accomplished something big – you have to know that accomplishments won’t speak for themselves.  You have to actively share your achievements!

That is what #IamRemarkable is all about!  Learning to talk about your accomplishments in a way that is true to you.  It’s also about challenging the social perception around self promotion!

Even if you are confident in speaking about yourself, you’ll learn about how to build a safe space for others to speak about their accomplishments and the art of active listening as a leader or person of majority.

If you have the chance to attend a workshop, I would highly recommend it!  Feel free to reach out in the comments below and share your thoughts on self promotion, being marginalized, unconscious biases and holding space for listening to other peoples accomplishments.