Ripple Effect Leader Spotlight: Geronda Wollack-Spiller

To me, Geronda is heart, warmth, courage, kindness and play. Geronda has been a consistent presence in our QueeHR community the last couple of years, and models leading with vulnerability. She never shies away from asking hard questions, or sharing challenges she’s facing to support the learning of the group. I experience Geronda as incredibly humble; someone who genuinely elevates and supports others without seeking anything in return.

I’m thrilled to spotlight Geronda Wollack-Spiller, DEI Program Manager at thougthbot, and share her truly authentic wisdom with you all! Geronda was nominated for this spotlight by Andrew Meadows.

What would you like our readers to know about you?

I'll start with saying I'm adopted. I was adopted very young (two or three months old), and I'm one of seven children. So we're a pretty large family. My mother is Cuban. My father is Irish. And my father raised us for the majority of my life as a single father. But what's helpful to know is that my family is multicultural. So I am one of three who were adopted, where all three of us are Black. The rest of the family is biological to my adoptive mother and my adoptive father. So I grew up in a predominantly white society and a predominantly white upbringing. But I started reaching out to different people in grade school and in college. I was super curious and interested in different types of cultures, so I purposely chose to go outside my comfort zone for a study abroad program in South Korea. It was fantastic! 

Being adopted widened my scope. I think also being a lesbian and married to my wife, she and her family are white. I sometimes call myself a “trifecta” of being a Black woman who's lesbian. I've had a lot of different exposures and experiences that shifted my understanding of people and leadership, work and culture, and developed a lot of empathy and compassion for a lot of different groups. So I feel like that helps me a lot in the work that I do. 

Professionally, I don’t think you have to stay in a career forever if you don't want to. I was in HR my entire career, but was always interested in DEI. I was doing a lot of it already, but made the transition and found my place in a full time DEI position, which is where I am now.

What’s important and meaningful to you about your work?

Allowing people to feel like they have someone to go to that will advocate for them. It's so meaningful to me because there have been so many instances in the workplace where I wish I had an advocate. Someone who can put themselves in my position or try to understand a lot of the things that I was going through. So it's very meaningful for me to create those spaces for people, without judgment. 

I think a lot of times, especially with the landscape of everything that's happening with trans legislation and health care and abortion rights, people feel like I'm that kind of safe space for them to go to. People really feel like they have someone they can open up to and that's super meaningful to me.

Tell me what it means to you to bring your authentic self to work and have you practice that.

This has been a long journey. To be my authentic self means I feel like I can just be who I want, say what I want, dress the way I want and not be judged for it. It's also me incorporating humor in places where it's appropriate. I like to joke sometimes, it just makes the environment and experiences a bit better for me. Sometimes I'm in spaces where I may be the only Black person or I may be the only lesbian. It’s feeling like I don’t have to diminish myself, which has happened in other cases. It's really people accepting all of what I decide to bring because sometimes I don't bring my full authentic self. I may bring pieces. But to me, it's being able to do that and not get reprimanded for it that counts.

What’s your definition of leadership?

For me, leadership is about being an empowering, inspiring person that has a genuine care about others. Someone who guides you through different ways to get where you want to be in your career, or whatever the situation is for you. A good leader is a coach who can help you make decisions or decide how to take action on something. They take a stance that “I believe in you, and I know you can do this, and I'm here to guide, help and support you.” And there’s empowerment in that.

I know there are many different types of leaders: there are transformational leaders, situational leaders, but I really feel like the ability to make somebody feel that they can achieve something and being supportive is what a leader is for me. The biggest things for me are empowerment, guidance and motivation. 

That's what I've always seen as being most effective; genuinely trying to get to know you as a person so I can meet you where you are in a lot of different contexts.

How has your coming out journey or identity strengthened who you are as a leader?

I love this question. I’m 32 years old, and I didn't come out until I was 25. I was pretty early in my career when I decided to come out. It has strengthened my ability to be a leader because when I actually came out, I was the only person in the department that identified as LGBTQ. 

I was curious who else in the organization may also be part of the community, so I created a space for any LGBTQ folks to talk to each other. And from there, even though there were only three of us, it was the most impactful meeting because we could really relate to each other.

It really strengthened my leadership because I started feeling more like myself and although I have to come out for the rest of my life, and we all do, it's become easier. It also helped me develop crucial skills like empathy and compassion. My experience has given me more empowerment and motivation to tell other people they can do this. And your identity doesn't define you; really helping them to see their value, not even just for their career, but in themselves. 

What's something you still struggle with as a leader who identifies as LGBTQ plus?

I still struggle a little bit with coming out, especially in spaces where I'm meeting people for the first time. At a conference, for example, I may choose my words carefully as I talk about my partner so I don’t out myself. I have to really take some time before I come out. Fortunately, I do work for an organization, a DEI Program Manager and with peers who have made me feel super comfortable. So I was out pretty quickly at my current job. 

I also sometimes struggle to where I can still get overly passionate about the LGBTQ+ community. If I’m being honest, I may sometimes have too much of a narrow focus on the LGBTQ+ community where other identities I may neglect. But I know this about myself, which helps me maintain a wider focus.

What resources do you tap into for support for community for any of these things?

I love the Human Rights Campaign. I use the Human Rights Campaign quite a bit for education, learning and community. PFLAG is another one that I use quite a bit. I support the Trevor Project and local communities. I use Meetup.com to find local communities of LGBTQ people. Sometimes depending on where you live, it's a little bit harder than others, but I know Seattle, in particular, has a huge LGBTQ presence so I can find a lot of community there. 

And I'm part of a bunch of different Facebook groups as well. For example, I’m part of a Married Lesbians group and we talk about relationships. You know, being a same sex couple, what it's like being lesbian, married and all the different things that come with that. So I have my personal networks that I go to and then my work stuff, like Human Rights Campaign. Your QueeHR group, as well. I think having those conversations with QueeHR on a monthly basis is helpful to get perspective from other people who are facing similar challenges at work.

What are you especially proud of work or non work related?

Non-work related, I'm very proud of a couple of things. I'm very excited and proud that I bought my first house. This was such a long journey for my wife and I. We started talking about it since we started dating in 2015. We've been through a lot of different financial challenges and we finally got things together, but we’ve been patient and now we have this house that we love. I can't wait to move in! 

I'm also very proud of my wife, who is a person with autism. A lot of things that deal with finances or checklists can be overwhelming for her, but she has been handling this process like a boss. 

I'm also very proud to have started “Leading in the Moment” which is a bi-weekly series where I talk about different topics as it relates to building self-awareness and psychological safety as a leader. I had been waiting on launching it for a while and finally said I'm just gonna do it, get feedback, work through it and see how it goes. It’s a mix of education, resources, tactics and my own experiences as a leader, and it’s a lot of fun! 

Work related, I'm very proud of starting to develop employee resource groups. There's a lot of traction that's been going on and people are stepping up to help manage them.

What excites you about the future of work/leadership?

I’m really excited to see what happens with leadership as new generations come into the workplace. Gen Z doesn't take a lot of crap, and I know that there's a lot of reports on Millennials, too. I don't remember growing up, being super passionate and comfortable to go out and speak for things that I know are right. I see the younger generations being really brave, taking a stance on issues that are important to them, challenging authorities and pushing legislators. So I'm really excited to see how that comes. 

I also know that many people are nervous about AI, but I'm excited about how it's going to be used in a way to streamline a lot of people's processes and save time. I don't foresee AI fully taking over because you do need the human element to still be there, but I think it's gonna save so much time.

Anything else you'd like to share?

I said this once in one of our QueeHR meetings, and you corrected me, and it was beautiful. Because I was like, I don't know if I'm really a leader. And you said, “no, you are a leader.” Honestly, anyone is a leader. It just may be a different context. I don't think that we should only think about leaders in the context of corporate. My friend who's a social worker is like, I'm just a social worker. But they are a leader for all these youth that they support on a daily basis. And so every single person, I think, is a leader in some capacity, and as cliche as that sounds, I genuinely believe it's true. 

One piece of advice I’d like to share is to take some time to check in on your values once in a while. I found that once I understood my values, it helped me make better decisions for all aspects of my life. I’ve learned there are certain non-negotiables for how I work best, and I’ve learned to set boundaries and ask for those things. For example, joking, humor and laughter are important to me. I'm not asking people to be comedians but, I like to remind people not to take themselves too seriously. So take time to figure that out for yourself. And if you don't know what that is, feel free to reach out to me and I can help. But really getting clear on that is going to make your life so much easier.

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For more information about the QueeHR community we’re building, you can visit my community page and request to join our LinkedIn group. Each spotlight recipient nominates the next person; someone who embodies the core Ripple Effect Leadership values of vulnerability, kindness, empathy, curiosity and humility.