Gerald's World or Tales of the Black Unicorn

The other day Facebook let me know it had been a year since I completed Walkabout 2017. A full year since I threw all the life cards in the air and tried to figure out what the hell I wanted to do next. I did the job search thing and still find it hard to put into words my experience with the search and the search firms that came calling and I signed up with. For me, it exposed some truths about the racism in the sector I have worked in for the last 20 or so years and its efforts to diversify leadership. I’ve been excited to see so many leaders of colour take the helm at nonprofit organisations in the last few months but about a year ago I was told by one consultant at a national search firm that I had an inflated sense of my accomplishments and experience. Possibly. But when they kept trying to push me towards a certain job I repeatedly said I had no interest in, I knew it wasn’t me. When I was told I made their applicant pool look good, I thought it was definitely time for a chang...

The other day Facebook let me know it had been a year since I completed Walkabout 2017. A full year since I threw all the life cards in the air and tried to figure out what the hell I wanted to do next. I did the job search thing and still find it hard to put into words my experience with the search and the search firms that came calling and I signed up with. For me, it exposed some truths about the racism in the sector I have worked in for the last 20 or so years and its efforts to diversify leadership. I've been excited to see so many leaders of colour take the helm at nonprofit organisations in the last few months but about a year ago I was told by one consultant at a national search firm that I had an inflated sense of my accomplishments and experience. Possibly. But when they kept trying to push me towards a certain job I repeatedly said I had no interest in, I knew it wasn't me. When I was told I made their applicant pool look good, I thought it was definitely time for ...