Let’s Meet Tirrany Thurmond M.Ed., NCC, LGPC!
I met Tirrany many moons ago. We were both living in Georgia and working in student affairs at the same university. Upon meeting and interacting with her, I immediately noticed how intelligent, eloquent and poised she was in a variety of environments. I watched her navigate the shared work environment and make marked strides in her academic work as well. I wanted to know more about her, learn from her and create a friendship with another Black woman around my age (which were few and far in between at the time in our area).
We both left Georgia around the same time, her moving on to a leadership position at another institution, and myself returning to North Carolina to begin my journey in academic leadership. Thankfully, we created a friendship which has endured 5+ years with many moves and career transitions in between. Since moving on, she has not only made a name for herself in the work of diversity and inclusion, she is also a licensed counselor who owns and operates Idaltu Counseling & Consulting, providing a variety of services to corporate and educational entities across the country (check her out!). In addition to all of this, she still makes time to live an amazing life full of family, friends and internal fulfillment. I was so happy to speak with Tirrany concerning this concept of millennial leadership. Her answers, like many of the other participants, were nothing like what I expected….but at the same time…so Tirrany! Let’s get into the interview.
The Interview
You know the drill. The interview consisted of three ‘stems’ to which each participant provided open-ended responses. As always, there are no right or wrong answers and participants were able to provide as much or as little information as desired. Here we go!
Talk to me about your journey to your current leadership position(s).
“I’m the oldest of four children. My parents were fairly young when they had me, and so I grew up with this great sense of responsibility. Not only to my siblings, but also to the greater good. which is obviously the family and community in which I grew up. So I think that in turn provided me with some insight and a great sense of maturity that a lot of people my age would not have embodied at 10—12 years old.”
Tirrany goes on to describe how she noticed that her personality and temparament reflected a very unique skillset. One that she would use later in life to navigate her educational experiences as well as career development [we’ll get into the skillset and skills a little later]. Tirrany describes herself as an ‘engaged college student’; one who was mentored, HBCU royalty (graduate and a reigning Queen of Savannah State University) and one who has taken great care to craft her skillset as it relates to her leadership ability and diversity and inclusion work. At the heart of it all, it appears that Tirrany’s inquisitive nature relative to the study of human behavior and psychology, led her to this work.
“…what’s the most intriguing to me and the most challenging, is that I am both the subject and the object of this work…”
“…I’m sure I had the beliefs that if my students didn’t have an advocate, then who was gonna be their advocate. If I was gonna step away from the advocacy role, who was gonna advocate for them…..we [Black people] have a cultural expectation of building and protecting our community, and therefore when we get into a position of some power and some influence, we continue to reside in that space…”
“…this passion and this responsibility that you have ends up being this job that you’re assigned to…its almost like the labor of your identity…”
Issues surrounding access, equity, inclusion and quality of experiences among students and their peers, became more prevalent as she explored how faulty and staff of color also communicated very similar experiences as it related to stranger making and othering—thus effecting the upward mobility of faculty and staff of color, women and women of color in higher education. Tirrany also makes note of the distinction among the praxis of diversity work versus that of inclusion work. Diversity, concerns the numerical, data-driven, quantifiable explanation of who is or is not occupying positions of leadership and/or holds decision-making power within an organization. Inclusion, is a more deliberate action towards equity work. Inclusion, is concerned with providing and ensuring access to those who would not usually have a seat at the table: a chair, a plate and a glass of water. It’s not enough to make sure that someone who represents a minoritized group is present to check a box; but instead, their presence should be purposeful and that these groups are afforded opportunities…and I mean REAL SHOTS at competing for and occupying administrive leadership roles within various organizations. Prior to her current role as Coordinator of Inclusive Excellence, she was the director of a center for student diversity and before that a director of a multicultural student center. Tirrany noticed a change in herself as it related to her work with students and realized, that in order for her to be more impactful in her work, she needed to do more.
“…I began to be[come] exhausted by the amount of work that I was doing to empower students in systems that were disempowering. So my work had move from the micro- to at least minimally being introduced to the macro- to create some systemic changes…minimally some cultural institutional changes, and there fore create some systemic changes…”
What I learned most about Tirrany from her responses to this probe, is that her ascend to leadership within the realm of diversity and inclusion was purposeful. Not so much purposeful as it relates to her degree programs and education, but purposeful as it relates to her skillset: she’s an expert communicator, problem solver, organizer, analyst and networker/team-builder. Skills that she no-doubt developed as a result of being the first-born, but also those which she sharpened along the way as a result of her various leadership roles and professional experiences. As it relates to the quote from earlier about the labor of identity, Tirrany had this to say:
“…I don’t operate within that space much now though. I guess because I’ve matured in this work so I don’t take on that responsibility as much anymore….As I’ve matured through the work, I’ve learned that the burden is heavy and it is not for me to carry alone. As much as I felt it was my responsibility to carry alone earlier in my career.”
When you hear the term ‘millennial leadership’ or ‘millennial leader’, what do you think? DO you consider yourself a millennial leader?
“When I think about millennial leadership, there’s this duality. Because I think there’s what society is saying about who we are and how we show up: that we’re selfish—self-centered, not thoughtful, don’t value hard work, not committed—so there’s negative connotations associated with ‘millennial’. But as a millennial and particularly as a diversity practitioner, I think about it in a space where—and I’m biased because I am a millennial— I think that we are entrepreneurially minded. So that means even if we are working within the confines of an organization, we need the autonomy to explore what it is that fulfills us and that is purposeful for us. But also provides us with the compensation we need to live a life that is valuable internally and externally…”
OK! This seems to be a common thread among the millennial leaders with whom I spoke. We need our coins and we need to be able to do things that are intrinsically fulfilling and necessary for our life. Our lives consist of more than work and who or what we are responsible for, day in and day out. We enjoy our free time, hobbies, spa days, Netflix and chill and let’s not forget our naps!
“…social relationships outside of work. It is important for us to travel. It is important for us to explore. And we don’t need to travel maybe internationally but maybe domestically, but it is important for us to explore. Explore what is purposeful for us, what is fulfilling for us and then what provides us with connection.”
She also mentions some additional work that she is doing on a hospital board as it relates to millennial giving. She notes that her identity as a Black and female citizen impacts her philanthropic giving. She gives to organizations and causes that are meaningful and purposeful to her based on her identity and experiences (e.g. women’s health organizations, HBCU alma mater, civil rights organizations, etc.).
“…so when I think about millennial leadership, I think we are a culture that is hungry. And we also are a culture that works extremely hard. And we will pick up five and six tasks. Where sometimes there’s an assumption that we’re not focused, and we have too many things going on. But I think for millennials, we realize now, that for purpose, vocation, compensation and wholeness to be met, we have to be able to explore the various realms of who we are so that we can live wholly. And you cannot expect your one job to provide you with that….that’s my assumption.”
I have noticed that there isn’t much I’m willing to give up for my wholeness to be met. If that means taking a day off for mental health reasons, passing up on an event in order to enjoy a staycation with the girls or just being home enjoying a glass of wine alone, I have to engage in fulfilling activities that contribute to my wholeness. Even though this blog is connected to my larger business, the interviews and experiences gained from extending my network to speak with other millennial leaders contributes to creating spaces of wholeness for me [I think I mention that in the intro….].
“…we are the ones who are willing to call people to the carpet and hold them accountable for what they say they were going to do…or promise to do. We are the movers and shakers and I think that we are somewhat the generation that has become more anxious, but also more self-loving. We. Show. Up…technology savvy, mentors, leaders…that’s all of my friends! They’re all of my friends, they’re doing great work. And yes, that also describes myself…”
Tirrany closes by emphasizing the importance of using one’s voice to make things happen, also contributing to the millennial leader’s temperament. Millennial leaders don’t wait for others to start things for us or to write the wrongs for us, we step up and out and lead movements that redirect how we [all] show up in our lives and in our work.
What are some of the lessons you’ve learned that you’d like to share with other millennial leaders or aspiring millennial leaders?
“…having a solid mentor and also having solid mentors…”
Tirrany emphasizes that multiple mentors with diversity in skillsets, backgrounds and expertise benefits the emerging and established millennial leader. Personally, I have more than one mentor for this reason exactly!
“…negotiating your worth is paramount…We are valuable assets to these organizations [our jobs]. Finding ways to negotiate a way in which you can be fiscally postured in your organization, is going to be a necessity…maybe they can’t give you more money, but can they pay your membership for a national organization? Are they going to sponsor your participation in two to three conferences a year? Will they provide you with a book stipend so that you can continue to read new material as you grow in the profession? There are other ways to negotiate your worth in a job.”
I’d also like to add here: don’t be afraid to negotiate your worth. Don’t be afraid of a ‘No’. In my work and experience, I’ve found that posturing one’s professional development as a benefit to the organization and department has been successful. I’ll also add: make sure that when you are professionally developing, that you engage in trainings and activities that travel well (i.e. CSSP, CompTiA, Qualtrics, Python, AWS, Six Sigma, nationally recognized certifications, etc.). If there’s a conference you’re interested in attending, submit a proposal—the possibility of presenting at the conference would benefit you and your vitae, as well as the organization and department. Certifications that are fee only or one to two day local conferences/trainings are another way to negotiate your worth in an organization. Most of the time, the cost of a one to two day local conference/training or certification is substantially lower than the financial investment of sending you to a national conference two or more times per year (especially if you are not presenting etc.).
“…once you get into your job, finding a community. You may find a community within your organizational space, but eventually you’re going to have to find one outside of your organizational space. Because many times, they can be a conflict of interest as to how you show up at work and what you talk about. Versus what you can provide to other people and what insight you can provide to people outside of your job…”
Some other gems included:
“Be hungry to learn.”
“Find a therapist.”
“Find ways to affirm and validate yourself.”
“Have a friend group that is pushing you to excel and also holding you accountable for what it is you need to do.”
“Be mindful of who you engage in intimate relationships with…your romantic partnership has the ability to build or deplete you and it may impact your career movement.”
I’ll leave you all with this final gem and insight from my interview with Tirrany. As it relates to your millennial leadership development, personal/spiritual development:
“Trust the process. It took a lot of hard work to get here. You are exercising a muscle [leadership] now, so that you can strengthen yourself. Every now and again, you have to thank your past self for preparing you for your future and now self.”
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