March Blog, Women's History Month: Who Runs The World?
Featuring: Zundra Bryant, Senior Vice President, Global People Experiences and Services at
Cushman & Wakefield, St. Louis Forum President
Who Runs the World?
In case you don’t know the answer, Girls! Run the World (Girls) is one of my all-time favorite Beyonce songs. In honor of Women’s History Month, I encourage every St. Louis Forum member to embrace and exercise your power daily! Make sure to command respect, express your authentic self, spread positive energy, and take up space! Although allyship is important we don’t need permission from anyone to lead. We play a vital role in fostering inclusive work and social environments that honor diversity, promote inclusion, and encourage innovative thinking.
The first and most important message I want to convey is Love Yourself! One of the hardest and most healing lessons I’ve had to learn (still learning) to stop being so hard on myself. I work at loving who I am, flaws and all, and stop evaluating myself against external goals and pressures that are unrealistic and hard to live up to, and start being my own best friend. Take time to take care of yourself!
Second, please Use Your Voice, it is important! Please share your thoughts, opinions, and expertise freely. Silence, complacency, and fear are all strategies “the system” promotes to protect status quo. Throughout my career others have tried to steal my voice by representing my insights as their own. If you find yourself confronted with this situation, politely thank the individual for restating your previous comments and do it as many times as necessary. Eventually, they will get the point.
While you’re working to master loving yourself and using your voice, Help Others. I work hard to make an impact every day. I’ve been blessed to have many individuals invest in me and I believe paying it forward is my obligation to honor them and make moments matter. I express my passion to serve others by serving on nonprofit boards, leading multiple corporate DE&I initiatives, one-on-one and group mentoring, teaching, sharing my network, and making connections.
I'm proud to share that during my tenure with the St. Louis Forum I’ve grown tremendously in each of the areas mentioned above.
Ladies, the world needs us now more than ever to lead! Be BOLD, BRILLANT, AND BRIGHT!