Today we’d like to introduce you to Sabrina K. Garba.
Hi Sabrina, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I’m one of those people who usually answers, “all over” when people ask where I am from. Often called a global citizen for my international business experience and nomadic lifestyle, I was born in Brooklyn and spent most of my youth traveling between New York and a small town outside of Las Vegas, Nevada. Raised in an incredibly diverse immediate family with multiple ethnicities, languages, and religions, I quickly learned the impact of culture on human connection and perspective(s). Additionally, as a young survivor of dating violence, I was exposed to the gender inequalities that drive violence against women. Shaped by experiences with my family and as a developing young woman, I arrived at Howard University with a mission to create understanding and advocate for change across cultures, gender included. When I arrived on campus at the age of sixteen, I quickly started using my voice to create awareness around culture, women’s rights, education, and well-being; successfully bringing notable figures to campus like Nobel Peace Prize Winner Denis Mukwege. This helped me build an early career supporting nationally respected leaders and caused-centered organizations with global culture, communications, and strategy while completing a Master’s in Public Relations from Georgetown University.
Leaving my first job at 22, I had an unfortunate familiarity with burnout and a one-way ticket to Brazil. While immersing myself in Brazilian culture, I started a life-changing annual tradition of taking a sabbatical or “Bosspause.”Twelve years later, I now spend up to six months a year outside of the U.S. while advising influential and impactful high-net-worth leaders, executives, teams, and organizations on ways to “do good work and tell a great story about it” through my consulting firm Glass Ladder Group, while completing a dissertation focused on business psychology and building my women’s leadership community, Honey Hive.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
After almost a decade of working as a young, Black woman business owner and doctoral scholar — who also happens to live abroad sometimes — I have had to learn to navigate a lot of obstacles while prioritizing my well-being. When I think of my greatest challenges, they usually fall into four categories: lack of confidence, lack of community, lack of/shifting networks, and lack of resources. Whether it’s been having a dismissive self-view, not allowing myself to rest, feeling deeply isolated or having limited access to valuable information and support (including capital), I’ve faced all of the obstacles of your typical entrepreneur and human, to be honest. This journey has taught me that as a person with a high level of responsibility who is regularly in a state of exploration, creating rituals and community that promote my well-being, mental health, and abundance is a must. Finding a solution to obstacles like these for myself and other women leaders like me who are constantly facing the push and pull between our self-doubt, self-actualization, rest, and restoration led me to cultivate a community of women leaders known as Honey Hive. As women committed to growth and well-being, we come together quarterly to connect, encourage, and empower each other through vulnerability, belonging, and celebration.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
When I’m not helping CEOs and foundation leaders shape their purpose, initiatives, and messages for good as a consultant, I spend most of my time giving insightful and motivational talks to Fortune 500 leaders and their companies as a keynote speaker. In addition to my professional speaking and writing, I am currently writing a dissertation on psychological empowerment and preparing for an upcoming creative writing project focused on my journey as a woman leader in the #leanin, #girlboss era, trying to honor my own little rest revolution. I’ll be posting about the experience on my socials, so stay tuned! Finally, Honey Hive is a labor of love, and it requires a lot of labor (lol). Each day, my team and I work to bring new and invaluable quarterly experiences that help our community to connect with and celebrate themselves and one another with the hope of building a vibrant hive of women leaders committed to expansion, connection, and well-being. This includes our monthly personal productivity meetups, Soft Life Sessions, and our annual Women’s Empowerment Party and Fundraiser, Hive Night Out.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Let the road show you where you are meant to go and follow it confidently; that’s probably the biggest lesson I’ve learned so far. If you choose a life of entrepreneurship, global living, or adventure of any kind, you have to quickly learn to embrace uncertainty. As a woman of color who bootstrapped her consulting firm at the age of 25 (when that wasn’t so common), I faced a lot of obstacles. With each new one, I learned how to make the choice to be present and agile in each moment instead of fearing the change or the challenge. Over time, each lesson taught me the power of shifting my mindset from fear and avoidance to acceptance, curiosity, and manifestation and helped me to maximize and leverage the ever-changing nature of life instead of judging it or myself. In short, each crisis has taught me how to accept the truth of the lesson, reap its fruit, and sow more prosperous seeds for the future.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://glassladdergroup.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sabrinakgarba/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sabrinakgarbaleads
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/skgarba/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sabrinakgarba
- Other: https://www.honeyhivelive.com/
