Going 'Above and Beyonce' to achieve (Lu)perfection: Women of Colour and 'Power Potential'
This month has been a good one for women of colour.
This week, black girls and women everywhere saw Beyonce on the cover of TIMES 100 Most Influential People and Lupita Nyong'o named by PEOPLE Magazine as the 'World's Most Beautiful". When I say it has been a 'good' month for women of colour, what I really mean is that it has been a 'POWERFUL' month for women of colour.
The distinction is crucial. 'Good' on its own is not enough; 'power' is the ingredient that moves, shakes and shifts those tectonic plates to achieve eye-opening change. There is no doubt that these two women, and other game-changing women of colour, are high up on the power-metrics. The lesson we can all learn from these powerful women is how to harness our 'power potential.'
Let us start with Beyonce. Sheryl Sandberg said these incredible words about Beyonce:
"Beyoncé doesn’t just sit at the table. She builds a better one. Today she sits at the head of the boardroom table at Parkwood Entertainment.
In December, she took the world by surprise when she released a new album, complete with videos, and announced it on Facebook and Instagram. Beyoncé shattered music-industry rules — and sales records"
In these circumstances, insane talent is necessary, but not sufficient, particularly for women of colour. To make such a game changing move, you need to be powerful, effective and prepared to go the extra mile even though this involves taking risks.
What struck me about Sheryl Sandberg's quote is what she did not say about Beyonce's game-changing visual album. When the album came out, the thing that made my brain explode was the fact that she had created a 17-song visual album in SECRET, whilst on a SOLD OUT TOUR, with a TWO YEAR OLD baby in tow. If that is not effectiveness, then I do not know what is.
How does power fit into the equation? Power was the thing that meant that no one would consider leaking a single note of any tune in Beyonce's album. Power was the force that enabled Beyonce to tell the music-machine to take a hike and do things her own way. Beyonce was powerful enough to bear the risks and the responsibility of this new approach to releasing music albums. And boy, did she reap the rewards.
Ps: For all those who take issue with Beyonce appearing on the cover of TIME Magazine in her underpants, remember what she said in her album. She is a grown woman. She can do whatever she wants.
Lupita Nyong'o (aka Luperfect)
Having Lupita Nyong'o at the top of the 'World's Most Beautiful' is a huge deal, particularly for women of colour. That said, Lupita is much more than an incredibly beautiful face. Lupita's epic journey to the Academy Awards has given us a chance to experience her immense inner beauty, remarkable talent, eloquence and poise. This package of substance and style that 'comprises' Lupita is incredibly powerful because it reveals her potential to influence change.
I dare you to stay dry eyed after reading this acceptance speech Lupita made at the 7th Annual Black Women in Hollywood Awards. An exerpt of this is below:
"...When I saw Alek I inadvertently saw a reflection of myself that I could not deny. Now, I had a spring in my step because I felt more seen, more appreciated by the far away gatekeepers of beauty, but around me the preference for light skin prevailed. To the beholders that I thought mattered, I was still unbeautiful. And my mother again would say to me, "You can’t eat beauty. It doesn’t feed you." And these words plagued and bothered me; I didn’t really understand them until finally I realized that beauty was not a thing that I could acquire or consume, it was something that I just had to be..."
Lupita's power potential is evidenced by the sheer number of magazine covers she has accrued and the waves she creates on social media. When Ellen Degeneres ordered pizza at the Oscars and collected money from celebrities, Lupita dropped her lip balm in to Pharell's hat. The lip balm more or less sold out overnight. As expected, the big beauty brands took notice of Lupita's power potential. In April 2014, Lancome named Lupita as a new face of the brand ('ambassadress') making her the first black person to do so.
For women of colour, achieving such power potential requires not just incredible talent, but the ability to take risks and an inherent capacity to go the extra mile. All this has to be served to perfection, on demand. Lupita's performance as Patsey was nothing short of perfect, which is notable for such a challenging role. By joining forces with Micaela Erlanger Lupita found the stylist who could translate her personality into beautiful clothes; together they lit up the red carpet. Lupita surrounded herself with a good team to maximise her power potential.
Lupita's propensity to stand out, go the extra mile and to aim for perfection did not happen overnight. It is simply the way she is. While at Hampshire College students were asked to submit two films for an assignment. Lupita submitted five films. Lupita is the person who gives out gifts on her birthday instead of merely receiving them like us mere mortals. Striving for excellence is normal practice for Lupita Nyong'o. Through systematically approaching things in this way, Lupita Nyong'o has raised her power potential to stratospheric heights.
Kerry Washington also made the Times 100 list and Valerie Jarrett had this to say about her:
"...In a world that too often tells little girls to choose between womanhood and success, between femininity and a seat at the head of the table, both onscreen and off Kerry Washington embodies the promise that lives in all our young people to shape their own destinies and succeed as “gladiators” for the causes in which they believe..."
In her role as Scandal's Olivia Pope, Kerry Washington shows us that femininity does not have to succumb to power. The two elements can work in tandem; women can be powerful AND stylish.
The one aspect of power potential that Kerry Washington embodies is calculated risk taking. In her role as Olivia Pope, Kerry was the first African-American female lead in a network drama for almost 40 years. The stakes were high and Kerry Washington brought superb acting and elegance to this role. One only has to look at Kerry Washington's acting portfolio to recognise that she has the talent and going the extra mile thing down.
Adding to the recent gains by women of colour, Kerry Washington was appointed creative consultant and face of Neutrogena Skin and Beauty Products.
Completing the home run of achievements by women of colour is Jourdan Dunn, recently unveiled as the latest face of Maybelline Cosmetics.
In addition to being an award winning model and mother to a four year old son, Jourdan is not afraid to venture into uncharted territory by diving head first into interesting projects. She has an easy confidence about her whether she is hosting a cookery show on Jay'Z's You Tube Channel or appearing on Beyonce's music video 'Yonce'.
Harness your 'Power Potential'
So what lessons can we learn from these amazing women about improving our own power potential?
Aim for perfection by nurturing and refining your talent: Always strive for excellence in your body of work, whether this is in the professional context, in creative pursuits or in the sporting arena. This is the foundation of building your power potential, as portrayed by all the women featured in this article.
Going the extra mile should be the norm, not the exception: Lupita gave the performance of a lifetime in '12 Years A Slave'; she did not allow the fact that she had recently graduated from Yale to hold her back. Beyonce silenced the naysayers by breaking records with her secret visual album. Make it a habit to do more than you need to.
Be effective: This is the heart of raising your power potential. Look at all your internal and external resources and try to find ways to maximise your output. In every situation think about the patterns, the links, the distinguishing factors and always trying to achieve more than one goal with each undertaking you pursue.
You have to be in the game to change the game: Timing is everything. Beyonce did not attempt to release a secret 17-song visual album in the early stages of her career. Beyonce waited until she had built up and leveraged her power potential before releasing her game changing album. Lupita had a manager before she graduated from Yale; when the opportunity of a lifetime came up for her, she had the right set up in place to go out and get it.
Do not be afraid to take calculated risks: It is possible to do more than one thing brilliantly. Say yes to every opportunity chimes with your inner values and takes you out of your comfort zone, like Kerry Washington taking on the role of Olivia Pope. Closer to home, I attended a brilliant event hosted by The Fold where the keynote speaker, Barbara Cassani, said "..I do not know why people need role models in business. Just go and do it. Be the first one..."
Work with people who enhance and inspire you: Beyonce sampled Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her song '***Flawless.' Not only did she succeed in blowing minds everywhere, she converted an author into a rockstar. It is important to acknowledge and recognise the people who have bolstered and supported you.
Now go out there and harness your power potential!
PS2: A special thank you to Sasha Charnin Morrison (@SashaCharnin)- UsWeekly's Fashion Director- from whom I first heard the divine words 'Above and Beyonce.' Please follow her on twitter.
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