Breaking the cycle of isolation with Shelley-Anne Vidal
How can women of color overcome the isolation of being the "only one" in leadership and build strong, empowering communities together?
Join us in this heartfelt conversation with Shelley-Anne Vidal, founder of ACT by Vidal.
Shelley-Anne shares her journey of discovering her natural leadership abilities from a young age, driven by her “gift of the gab.” Her career as an author, coach, speaker, facilitator, and instructor has been shaped by her Trinidadian heritage and her experiences of living in Canada.
Shelley-Anne highlights the challenges of being one of the few women of color in leadership roles and how finding community helped her shed the feeling of being a "lone wolf." She offers powerful metaphors like the "unicorn" to illustrate the importance of self-awareness, releasing societal expectations, and finding like-minded individuals who uplift and re-energize.
Together, we dive into how breaking the cycle of isolation is critical to creating supportive communities where women of colour can be truly seen, celebrated, and nurtured into the leaders they aspire to be.
Reclaim your leadership journey with intentional choices, authenticity and community.
Listen to the episode here or watch the episode on Youtube.
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Learn more about Shelley-Anne on LinkedIn and Instagram
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04:19 – Shelley-Anne shares her natural gift of leadership, which stemmed from her early experiences guiding others and her “gift of the gab.” This propelled her into a career as an author, speaker, facilitator, and instructor, all of which have been shaped by her cultural connection to Trinidad and her experience of living in Canada.
09:49 – She opens up about her isolation as one of the few women of colour in educational and leadership spaces and male-dominated industries. Seeking out like-minded individuals, sharing in the humour of seeing oneself as a “unicorn” rather than a “lone wolf,” and finding community are the few steps Shelley-Anne reinforced solidarity with others championing change.
16:33 – To break this cycle of isolation and uniqueness, Shelley-Anne extends the metaphor of the “unicorn” with imagery to showcase how important self-awareness, letting go of expectations, and finding the right people to uplift and re-energize you are, especially when leading in challenging environments.
28:55 – We end the episode with Shelley’s advice for women of colour to find supportive communities where their being is accepted and celebrated. She highlights that breaking cycles doesn’t need to be done in isolation, and processing experience in the sacredness of others helps women of colour evolve into the women they want to become.
African Proverb: “A person is a person because of other people.”
What is one small change you can do today to nurture relationships that uplift you?
