Implied Incompetence

Often, times Women of color, especially Black women, are reduced to stereotypes in their leadership and aren't trusted with decision-making that has more significant implications within an organization; often, there is bias, which leads to what I am coining as “implied incompetence.”

Let me tell you a story! 

A district reached out to me about a potential collaboration with my organization at the time, and they wanted to elevate student voices and promote participatory budgeting. Something that was definitely in our wheelhouse as an organization. All we needed to do was submit an RFI( request for information), a simplified proposal about what we would do with these students. We needed to do this project, and here's why. This district had been requesting and pushing for a partnership for the last few years. However, we consistently told them no due to capacity and finances. We needed more staff to do what they were asking of us effectively, or the amount they were willing to offer us for our work wasn't enough for us. 

However, this time, 180,000 dollars was on the table, based simply on the proposal we created. This partnership would be a strategic move as an organization to get our foot in the door to show how much the district needed us to support them in creating equitable spaces for staff and students. This was a win-win, right? Well, not exactly for me; what could have been a moment of creativity and collaboration became a moment of internal conflict within myself, fighting my thoughts, words, and actions, muffling my desire to scream at the top of my lungs.

We began to think about what this proposal could look like. I started to pour ideas about training staff and students in our model, which has been proven for over 30 years to amplify youth voices effectively. We began to go over the number of sessions and the amount of time that would be dedicated to the project by directors, program coordinators, and youth organizers ( all staff of the org). We began looking at the numbers, the cost, and capacity. We were off to a great start. My supervisor interrupted our process  and said, "We need Sharon because this is in her wheelhouse, and she would know what to do here." Immediately, my stomach began to do backflips; I was upset and expending every ounce of energy to hide my feelings. Now, why are you so upset by this, Shan? I will explain why.

 For one, Sharon was literally at that very moment on a two-week vacation with her husband; there was very plainly a disregard for her time and family. And secondly, Sharon had been a problem within our organization for almost the entirety of the time I was there. Not a problem in the sense of her work ethic ( she was brilliant) but a problem in the sense no one knew or understood what her role was; some people outside the organization thought she was the Executive Director, some folk thought she was my superior, and my team that I supervised felt she was their supervisor along with me. Her hand was literally in every pot, and as a result, people were constantly angry; she would never be on time for meetings, she would send emails at 2 a.m., and at that moment, my supervisor thought that she was more competent than me the Program director who would be overseeing this project and dedicating my time to it. 

He didn't have to say he thought I was incompetent; his interruption and suggestion to call someone thousands of miles away IMPLIED it.

I ignored his suggestion, kept working through the numbers and cost with our grants and development person, and developed a decent framework for moving forward. And you know what he did after the framework? He asked again!! "You guys don't think we should call her." this time, I responded, "No, we do not need to call her. We can do this." "let’s just keep chugging away at it together, and we will be fine; this is NOT  in her role." he then got quiet, and I was unsure if he saw my frustration or felt it. 

I had questions, and I mean, I still have questions. Why wasn't it in my wheelhouse? Why didn't he trust my expertise as a program director, providing vision and direction and creating new and effective ways to achieve our organizational goals? Why was this woman more qualified to say what we should do? and to top it off, she was white and older than I was, so as a young woman of color in leadership, you can’t help but question if that had something to do with it.

At the end of our session, our grants person was writing up the proposal with the information I shared and the suggestions I made in the session, and at the very last minute, he added, let's add 10 hours of Sharon’s time because she will be spending a lot of time on this as well." 

I politely got up and walked out of the meeting and into my office.

As a Black Woman, I constantly feel the need to prove my value and worth in my workplace. I know I don’t have to and shouldn’t have to, but I can’t help it. I am proving it to my team, who second guesses my leadership or even, at times, has attempted to undermine it. I am proving it to my supervisor, who believes that this organization would not survive without Sharon and, therefore, treats her unfairly and values her thoughts, opinions, and expertise over mine. Incompetency is a lack of physical or intellectual ability or being deemed unqualified to do something or take responsibility. Implied incompetence is simply the assumption that someone can't do or know something, so you won't even give them the responsibility or opportunity to demonstrate otherwise. We see and experience this in many ways, maybe like my situation, calling on a woman to create a program or project when it's not their job, possibly it's you not ever being offered certain projects or tasks, maybe it's questioning your leadership, judgment, decision-making, and expertise, perhaps it's you being overlooked for promotions, roles, and advancement. Implied incompetence is dangerous to the workplace and People of color, especially Black Women, who face the most workplace discrimination and often receive far less funding for their programs, projects, and organizations than their counterparts. 

Suppose you have made it this far into the blog. In that case, I want to remind you that you are qualified and worthy of recognition for your hard work and contributions in everything you do—employment, personal, relationship, or otherwise. Stand firm on knowledge, wisdom, and heart. Let your passion guide you to stand up for what you believe and against anything destructive to you, or excuse yourself from those unsafe spaces. And the next time you experience implied incompetence, call them out on it!!! Do what I couldn’t do! 

Implied incompetence will keep you from reaching your full potential. Make it a point to call it out or call your people in.

Black Women and Women of Color deserve to be heard, believed, and allowed to make decisions and lead without being doubted or undermined. So, sis, step up and speak up!

Until next time!