Inspiring Conversations with Jaci Anderson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaci Anderson.

Hi Jaci, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
As a mixed-black leader, I was often regarded as a bridge builder between marginalized and dominant cultures. I grew weary of advocating and translating, but I leveraged my light-skinned privilege to challenge individuals, systems and structures toward equity and accountability. When I was walked all over, tokenized, gaslit, overlooked and underpaid, I considered it a cost I was willing to pay for the benefit of those who might come after me.

The cost became more than I could pay when my mental and physical health began to pay the toll in anxiety attacks, depression, migraines and fractured teeth from stress clenching. Through therapy, I began a healing journey from racial trauma which was a liberating experience in itself. When my mental and physical wellness outsized the job I was in, I liberated myself and created a job that would not only support my own mental and physical health but support other women of color to cultivate personal and workplace wellness.

As a leadership coach and organizational consultant, I support BIPOC changemakers and White changemakers serving BIPOC communities to cultivate individual and workplace wellness. I coach women of color in leadership to defy burnout and lead liberated. I do this because I believe we all need the revolutionary dreams that are smoldering inside burned out leaders. It is my joy and pleasure to bear witness to the revelation of liberated leaders within.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
I was not planning or prepared to launch my business when I did. I coached myself and leaned on my organizational development training to hire an entrepreneur business coach, put a launch support team in place, and raise some capital to buy me time to build a runway for the business. The launch was wildly successful and has continued to grow and expand beyond my dreams.

Internally, the biggest challenge has been my own internalized oppression which feeds on fear, control and scarcity. My business values hold me accountable to stay grounded in my own liberated leadership practices.

In my own business, it is a challenge to unlearn the oppressive practices that desensitized me to my own burnout. I battle feeling guilty when I rest or do not over-function. I have to be very intentional to enjoy success and address the “not enough” mindset. It is still a challenge, as I have shifted to working from home, to build and maintain like-minded supportive relationships.

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
I specialize in coaching and consulting with women of color to defy burnout and lead liberated. Burnout is defined as a workplace phenomenon but is often incorrectly addressed as an individual problem. Burnout is an organizational problem that requires organizational solutions. I am known for saying: you can not yoga your way out of burnout. Burnout is a slow burn in 6 well-researched workplace dynamics which fertilize the ground for 6 fruits of wellness. My job is to help leaders create practices that cultivate the fruits of wellness both individually and collectively in the organizations they lead.

We’d love to hear about how you think about risk taking?
In my experience, a risk is a movement toward something vulnerable, which is different from being reckless or un-calculated. Risk, as I coach my clients, means “doing it scared”. Risk is not without fear, but honors the wisdom in fear while pursuing that which is more meaningful.

My greatest fears came true when I took a major risk to voice my mental and physical health needs and was suspended and threatened with termination. Thankfully I had grown to believe that my own wellness was more meaningful and necessary than the fear of losing a paycheck. I realize this risk is not available to everyone, risk is not one size fits all. That first step was the biggest risk for me because it was the step of letting go of the proverbial trapeze bar. The next risk was taking steps to create my dream business, which felt like catching the next trapeze bar.

Pricing:

• 6 Week Defy Burnout Plan $900
• 12 Week Individual Coaching $1,800
• 6 Month Individual Coaching $3,000
• Customized Organizational Development Consulting Packages starting at $3000

Contact Info:

• Website: jacianderson.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jacicoaches/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jaci.anderson.50
• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaci-anderson-854b7786?lipi=urn%3Ali%3Apage%3Ad_flagship3_profile_view_base_contact_details%3BsURSP3jyQDGpapjIqLJ4TA%3D%3D