When you’re the ‘first’ or the ‘only’ at the leadership table
Good advice from a leader who’s been there and knows others who have been too
Cecilia Muñoz had worked as the director of intergovernmental affairs for President Barack Obama for three years when she was promoted to director of domestic policy and something happened that made her doubt her abilities.
An outgoing chief of staff said things to the press—that were then published—that suggested she was only promoted because of who she was (a Latina) and not because of what she could do.
“This was very distressing,” she said, during her session at the 2021 Diligent Modern Governance Summit. “It cost me, frankly, a couple years of confidence. I would walk into the room with the senior staff in the White House every morning and think, ‘If that’s what the last chief of staff thought, how do I know that’s not what everybody in this room thinks about me and how prepared I am for this job?’”
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