I was recently asked,

"My boss seems distant and cold since I asked for a pay raise. Have I shot myself in the foot?" 

Here’s my answer.

Did you get passed over for a promotion?

If your sexist and racist employer doesn’t acknowledge your contributions or your potential, CHANNEL your well-founded anger to TAKE ACTION. 

HERE are three options that you can take.

Money is simply a bonus byproduct of having honored the limitless capacity of the human mind and soul, of having cultivated courage and conviction in the face of difficult circumstances. 

Honoring your humanity and taking courageous action enable you to be gainfully employed, to be present and available to those you love when you're not working, so you can experience the joy of a well-lived life.

Who I am and what I do today would've been impossible, if my mother didn't earn her own money as a professional. 

This lights a FIRE in my soul to help women help themselves do and provide better. Because the impact of women's financial empowerment ripples out and enhances the lives of people generations out. 

At first when the instructor taught me the ins and outs of a sewing machine, I felt a tinge of anxiety.

“Oh, I’m gonna mess this up.

“I need all this detail written down on a Google Doc so I can study it, then maybe I’d feel competent enough to use a sewing machine for the first time.” 😂

Then I had a flash of insight.

When I graduated college nearly twenty years ago, I had no idea what I was doing.

I worked in sales, in finance, in procurement, and later at tech startups…

not because I had a passion for any of those things, but simply because my employers gave me a paying job.

Though I was competent enough to get hired, get promoted, and grow a team…

I had very little confidence in myself, and it showed.

Read more to learn how I turned this around.

In this replay, you’ll see me teach the core principles that help me and my clients bounce back from being thwarted, getting disappointed, and feeling doubtful in our careers.

You’ll also see me coach attendees, one at a time.

If you know anyone else who could benefit from this replay, please be kind and share.

Interrupt the interrupter.
Show respect to YOU.

Read more for both my personal story and three sample scripts.

My client came up with a brilliant strategy to overcome the “I gotta look into it” objection AHEAD of time. (And generously gave me permission to share it with you)

Read more for how you too can secure your raise with zero objections.

A client of mine, a marketing expert, wanted to get promoted to Director of Global Marketing for a new product line that had recently been launched at her company.

She was already dedicating 90% of her time to do the work of a Global Director for this product, but didn't have the title yet.

There were two barriers…

Read more for the full story.

You soul knows you're meant for EXPANSION, and that's why you want to grow personally and professionally.
But your brain tells a different story when it thinks about actually engaging in negotiation. 

Here are three things to remember when you’re in the grips of negotiation anxiety.

Dr. Tenisha shares:

• How to deal with feeling intimidated being around other smart people who have more experience than you...and how to answer imposter syndrome with self-confidence

• How coaching is different from doing self-discoveries, reading books, listening to podcasts, and watching Youtube...especially when things get hard and you don't know what to do

• How to become more bold in your workplace communication without worrying about what other people think, and where to place your focus for maximum impact instead

As an executive coach for women, I’m here to point out how familiar or “right” it can feel:

👉🏼 To say yes to redundant tasks to "take one for the team" that lead to burnout

👉🏼 To try to be friends with colleagues, at the expense of becoming a decisive leader

👉🏼 To give up on your negotiating power by assuming a passive voice instead of an engaged and active one in career conversations

Read more to find out why.

Just because Sam or Steve got promoted grinding and hustling for approval, it doesn’t mean you have to do it like them.

Everything is negotiable. Including HOW you get promoted.

For example:

My client Amy is a senior software engineer — the first woman to lead a project in a nearly all male team.

Recently, her boss told her, "I’m relying on you to be a top producer for feature work. This will help you get to the next level."

Read more to find out how she’s going to negotiate her promotion.

Seven years ago, I was scared sh*tless when I decided to ask for a raise and promotion in my former life as an Operations Director at a startup.

I was making ok money and doing well enough to become indispensable, but the lack of agency in my career had my soul feeling suffocated.

Until that decision to ask, I’d let other people decide the value of my potential.

Read more to find out what happened.

The other week, a sh*tty thing — HR oversight— happened to my client.

Because my client is smart and savvy and self-composed, she did not react to her anger in the moment.

But later when she revisited the event, her anger and frustration grew when she thought, "I’m not allowed to be angry, because then people will call me an Angry Black Woman and my career will end."

Read more to find out how I coached her.

I’ve seen countless smart women managers white-knuckle through work beyond the point of exhaustion, while under-communicating their wants and wins.

This is because as women and minorities in male-dominated workplaces, we’ve been socialized to de-prioritize ourselves.

These looping thoughts feel like an imperative rather than internalized oppression…