Transcripts For CSPAN2 Cecilia Munoz More Than Ready 2024071

CSPAN2 Cecilia Munoz More Than Ready July 12, 2024

She would much rather talk about other people than herself. She would much rather promote and help other people then put herself forward. Given thats what we know about you and thats what so many of us love about you, why did you write a book about yourself . [laughter] thank you everybody for being here. This is amazing and thanks annemarie and tyra. I didnt set out to write a book, certainly not a book about myself. I left the white house i did what a lot of, certainly women, do. I found wonderful work at new america i hoped would be good for the world i kept my head down and focused on network. A number of people, women in particular, challenge me for some annemarie, you are one of them. To think about whether i had something to say that might be of value. I did what we do, i thought, what do i really have to say that would make any difference to anybody . I put it out of my mind. But i got pushed and that forced me to really think about it. Like, what do i have to say . Who might i have to say it to . Then i realize, i do a lot of public speaking on policies i speak to student groups, i speak to group of interns all the time and i tell stories from the course of my career all the time. I tell the same stories because they are the things that resonate. Invariably someone comes up to me when im done and hundred percent of the time that person is a woman and most of the time that woman is a woman of color. She says to me, that thing you said im so glad you said that because i thought i was only one. I put myself in the presence of those women and there have been a lot of them over the years and realize i do have something to say and i say all the time. The moment i gave myself permission to believe i had something to contribute. I immediately knew what was going to be in all 10 chapters of the book. I spoke to seven awesome women commit tyra as one of them, also women of color who we have stories to tell. I learned that some of the stuff i have struggled with over 30 years is the same stuff everybody else struggles with but we often dont talk about it we often think it shows sign of weakness rather than strengths. I learned i was just wrong. In fact, we are leaders already, women and certainly women of color. In the world needs us right now. The book is really an offering of stories from my own experience, stories from theexp of the women genera in ab generous enough to share their story. When we are aware that people around us, doubt us, we are afraid. The idea is to remind all of us weve got what it takes and the world is not only ready for what we bring but we are ready to bring it. For anyone who doesnt know, listening to us cecelia is now the Vice President for Public Interest in Technology Local initiatives here at new america. She came to us after being the head of the domestic colony counsel in the Obama White House, which is behind domestic policy position there is in the white house before that she spent 20 years she would never want me to say this but she was one of what we always talk about. Im certain there are people out there who think nobody with that kind of a blithering resume could ever have doubts. We all look at each other and we think, you are 100 secure it is i who are worried. So im going to invite you to join the conversation. And talk about cecelia who interviewed you and your also women of color who made their way. Dont talk about that dose ab talk about that for a minute. To show would ask me questions she talked about the things that we do to compensate for the underestimation or knowing that people are doubting that. I told the story of putting on makeup when i was in my 20s and went to work at Chicago Public schools. Lots of folks have been there for decades. I learned that i look younger then i actually am. At the time i really was young so i thought, underwear makeup to make myself look more mature. Cecelia and i, said what about heels . Its extremely affirming and i loved reading cecelias story but the other woman story as well. In sharing that, she and i really connected on a deeper level than we already shared as women of color. A story that part of the process. Some of the stories of the other women here outrageous like my eyes literally got big at some of the obstacles in the doubts they encountered. [inaudible] thats the story as you might want to tell it. Marvelous about elbowing your way. Is a section of the book called sharp elbows and other tools. When i first got to washington i was all of 26. I got thrown into a circle of people advocates on immigration policy pretty much all men. My immediate boss is a wonderful man there i was with the guy. I took up swearing on purpose was is not something i was raised to do to compensate. There was one point we were working on immigration bill and may be in the congressional markup which is where bills get amended and changed. I said im just never going to fit in with these guys he said, look, you are new, you are short, you just gotta elbow your way in and literally you and your elbow and say, come on, can you let me in the circle . Thats what it was like and the over and over again i find that still frequently the only woman in the room, the only hispanic person in that room were the only person of color in the room, i know tyra its true of you and the other woman i spoke to, hopefully like an elbow isnt a strategy but you need to use terribly often but we do need strategies and i think it helps that we talk about it because its not easy to be the one person speaking for everybody which in some ways is a new possibility. Tyra you had a story about someone who spoke to you and said they feel their blackness all the time. A High School Student actually in bergeson missouri. We went there as part of the administration to talk to the students of what was happening there. She described that, she said i feel my blackness all the time. Obviously that stuck with me its been several years ago and i thought, its true, both as what comes with that but also a athe joys that come with that but also the challenges of people doubting you have preconceptions about you. We carry that weight and that weight comes with responsibility. We have to own that that that is something thats unique to our experience. I want to ask you actually to talk a little bit more about being underestimated because part of this book is how we underestimate ourselves. How we think we are imposters. How we are constantly worried Everybody Knows what they are doing and we dont. I have to point out the intersection malady here, most of the time im aware that im a woman. Not always. As ive gotten higher up walk into a new america meeting i dont feel like im a gautama woman in a mans world but i certainly felt it often but ive never had i also abive never had that double in the sense of im a woman im a woman of color and people dont. Tyra come you might want to talk about what you do when you feel like people are underestimating you. When you can feel that i think george w. Bush called it the bigotry of low expectations . For one, i wear a shirt. I love it, if you cant see it use it says underrepresented, overestimated. [laughter] i think theres something in the explicit of things. We cant attune that for everyone but even just wearing this shirt. It was an all staff meeting we are talking about our diversity. I wanted to make that point without saying it and wearing it and i could tell i saw i remember seeing some of the women of color in their faces lit up i could tell when they read my shirt. It was my way of saying, this is what i think people think about me and this is what i know people think about us and whatever the other and the only is. Whether every american, latinos, women of color, women in general to say this is this lived experience and i see you and i want to create space for you to show up in the workplace as who you are. I do that in part to my clothing that i wear, African Clothing sometimes i will wear mud cloth person and ab patterns of color you dont see a lot in things. Cecelia and i remember sharing about this as well that you know that your competent and your skill but you want to make sure that you take out any margin of error of having a bad day by being prepared. We tend to over prepare to say i am so you and i been invited to spaces and places and conversations and i show up saying you mightve invited me for this reason in some ways im looking to over perform to prove the what i know is in underestimation. Cecelia, why did you call your book more than ready . Its a wonderful title, i had help from my editor in picking it up. It refers to that but it refers to multiple things. I think the world is more than ready for what we bring and we are more than ready to bring it but also it refers to exactly what tyra said. All seven of the women i spoke to landed on the steam strategy which is that when we are concerned about when were not quite sure we got what it takes what we do is we over prepare. We do the work, we show up knowing our stuff and that is what kinda leaned back into that that gives us the strength to compensate for whatever doubts we have our whatever doubts we think other people have. In the stories i tell in the book has to do with a time when one of the chief of staff i served under told a couple folks writing books that when i was promoted to domestic policy director that you describe it as the last draw leading to his departure in the white house. I dont think he said it in so many words but the impression that the two people wrote books that said that to the impression they got was that namibia was less qualified maybe i was in affirmative action and because i saw those books, it cost me probably about two years i was in that job for five years but i did think if even that person the very prominent person felt, thats not what everybody in the world is thinking. How do i know if im having a bad day or boned up on this set of stopped but the thing that blew up that day was this set of stuff that i wasnt quite ready for. I dont want there impression of that to be we need to surround this person with other people who could carry the water because were not sure she can. When folks sense youre not quite on your game you dont get feedback unless you ask for it and maybe even not them. They just kind of organize meetings without you. Its constantly going for is their reading happening about in . You really do a number on your cell. I learned and i learned from talking to other people its not just me this happens to. The way you compensate for that is you make sure youre doing a really good job. Make that ensure you doing your homework. You make good and sure youre prepared and then when you invariably have to answer a question you dont know the answer to sometimes you own it up and you go find out. I think thats very much part of the strategy that we adopt. Kathy coutu and who i think i can see on the chat i think shes participating shes one woman i spoke to she called being ultrarepaired. She was somebody who was thought oshi was a special secretary its an incredibly High Pressure job she was viewed as an unconventional choice for that job because the people get picked for that jobs kind of have like the emily post pedigree shes amazing. But the press was watching her because she is somebody who didnt fit their image of spa who supposed to operate in that job and thats what people happens to people of color and women all the time. In the way we deal with it as we show up with some extra. Its interesting. I think every woman has had that experience of worrying or feeling like or just not heard so often. A fair number of us probably also develop like men around us who think we are in affirmative action hire. [inaudible] when i look at women of color its become almost reflective of somebody who hires people, i immediately assume they have something extra because how else would they have made it this far. Its flipping the script, looking at people and saying i know how the cards are stacked against you. If you even got to the point that you could be considered to be promoted, thats because you had the grit and the determination and the preparation and the sheer smarts to make it. I often wish i could give people different lenses to understand what it takes to battle not only your own selfdoubt but also that pressure on you as coming at you from society all the time. abwrote a wonderful book called my beloved world. She talks about how she know shes got the prince and through affirmative action which he describes as, that may got to the starting line of the race i didnt even know i was running. You get to the starting line but then you have to run the race. Nobodys gonna let you take shortcuts. Thats what we have to do. I love the metaphor because in our conversation i describe i had this incident where my confidence was abexcessive that i had after that i thought were more about luck then about my preparedness or my competency and skills that i brought. I thought any moment now my luck is gonna run out. Then i came to realize its not that i had the wrong mitch. Its about opportunity. You need to have opportunity to get to the starting line but its as much about im here because of my confidence because i have prepared as part of that. But when you get those knocks in your career it can be tempting or those doubts and not wanting to prove anyone write about those doubts to get the narrative wrong in your head. To allow you to show up as fully and with as much power as you bring to the table. Do you feel like you are also carrying other expectations on your shoulders . Like you are the very high position in the white house as a latina. Do you feel like youre also carrying the expectations and reputation of other people on your shoulders all the latinos will come after you . All the people of color period . Is that a burden you feel . Several people i spoke to describe it as like a weight that you carry. Im the first hispanic person in this role, i better not screwed up because it can be that much harder for whoever comes after me. I was the senior most person in the white house. Thats also my expertise. I know the community fairly well. I know a lot about it. I was carrying the communities water along with lots of other people on the team i described in the book called team alvino which is Amazing Group of people. There were a lot of us. Theres this tension i feel all the time i never understood why i got the balance right or not that sometimes your job is to push their folks you dont necessarily know what you know and in order to do the job well your piece of knowledge has to be part of the equation you have to push and insert it. Sometimes your job is to actually hold back a little bit because your job isnt to be an advocate 100 of the time. Your job is to make sure the team serves the whole country well and if you are only understood as commit shes a latina. We have to let her have her five minutes of talking and then were to go on and do our thing. Being if it doesnt be effective that way either. You have to represent. You have to calibrate rights of people can hear you you have to figure out which of the times when they just theres a thing they just dont know and its going to be uncomfortable for them to know it but ive got to say it and which of the times when you push too far. Its like a constant calibration but there is a sense if you screwed up its going to be harder for the next person who comes after you. The other thing which i to do, this is really an example that was sent by the president himself but also by people like Valerie Jared is really amazing about this is to try to create safe space for people to ask for feedback, to up their game and kind of do that calibration so this is one of the strategies one of the things outlined in the book is to find, i had a conversation just this weekend with another latina who is looking for advice this is the advice i gave her was to find people who see you at it and who are safe enough you can go in and flip the door and say how did that go . Or that didnt go well, help me see where i got off course. Valerie was one of those safe places for me. There arent a lot in that kind of environment. I could go in and shut the door and say im not being understood in this point im trying to make or i cant tell how others are receiving me. And she was both committed to her colleagues but also committed to making sure theyre doing the job well and getting feedback even if it was hard to hear. Thats one of the strategies i recommended is the relentless asking for feedback. But find people who you can trust to give it honestly and wont hold it against you that youre asking. For some people see as a sign of weakness i actually think its a sign of strength youre saying, im trying to up my game give me the information i need to do it. But its not always safe to do so its important to figure out who you are team is and it was important to me, valerie was my boss the first three years but i didnt just ask for feedback from the people that i reported to i also asked her feedback for the people who reported to me and that was really really important in making sure that i did a good job. Tyra, youre nodding. Tyra was the deputy chief of staff for the department of education. abyou were chief of staff. You were pretty high up there. Are there people you asked for feedback from . Yes. The three of us do that. Thats what makes it so special. For good and for bad. Cecelia and i will talk and see how tobacco. Thats the beauty of working at new america is the opportunity to work with abbecause it never ever stops. Theres a saying the higher you go the less you hear the less you hear whats going on within the organization so its critical at all phases in the career but even more critical within the Senior Leadership role. So yes, jim still asked me for feedback today because he knows him to give it to him straight. You have to look for those people because people will tell you what they think you want to hear but it doesnt make you better to hear what they think you want to hear. In fact, im skeptical of a person whos unable to come with anything like you can up with anything . Its not possible were humans. There is a point that i was kind of a feedback junkie because i was always looking for the feedback and i had to wrestle with my own sense of self and how i was doing but to find that Close Network of people that you know will be an agent to help you calibrate and knowing sometimes you have to push you want to push and you can make people uncomfortable and maybe go too far or maybe not far enough but all in your own calibration with ultimately rests with peace within himself whether or not you did that and using others around you to that end. I think tyra has taught me more about feedback. We Work Together many different ways but youve taught me more about asking for feedback and giving it. You normally report to me but ive heard learned far more about how to improve myself from the way that you provided. I think the thing that we forg

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