What Power Looks Like When You Don’t Look Like the Stereotype

Introduction: Power Isn’t Always Loud, and Leadership Doesn’t Always Look Like a CEO in a Suit

When you picture “power” in business, what comes to mind?

A sharp suit, a strong handshake, a deep voice, a fast decision.
Someone commanding the room. Someone who fits the mold.

But here’s the truth:
Power is often invisible, underestimated, and misunderstood—especially when it shows up in the “wrong” body, with the “wrong” accent, or through the “wrong” energy.

I’ve been in boardrooms, cross-cultural meetings, product strategy sprints, and academic panels where I was the only woman, the only foreigner, or the only person with a nonlinear career.

And time after time, I’ve learned that power isn’t about how you’re perceived.
It’s about how you choose to show up anyway.

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1️⃣ You Don’t Need to Perform Power to Have It

Too often, we equate power with performance.
We’re taught that to be “taken seriously,” we must:

• Lower our voice
• Stand taller
• Take up space
• Be more direct
• Be less “emotional”

And while communication is important, so is authentic presence.

Some of the most impactful professionals I’ve worked with didn’t dominate the room.
They shaped the conversation subtly, with calm confidence and strategic clarity.

📌 Real power doesn’t always interrupt.
Sometimes it listens—and still leads.

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2️⃣ Power Can Look Like Softness, Stillness, or Precision

Let’s redefine how power shows up.

It can look like:

• Holding your boundaries in a space that pushes past them
• Saying “I don’t have that answer yet” with confidence
• Designing a business model that centers equity
• Pausing before responding instead of rushing to prove yourself
• Bringing empathy into strategy conversations—and still being taken seriously

📌 Leadership isn’t about copying dominant traits.
It’s about embodying your own presence with intention.

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3️⃣ When You Don’t Fit the Stereotype, You Have to Build Your Own Playbook

If you don’t look or sound like the default leader, you’ll likely:

• Be interrupted more often
• Be underestimated
• Be asked to explain your credibility more than once
• Be seen as “less authoritative” and “more emotional”

I’ve experienced all of this.
And I’ve had to learn to:

• Redirect conversations without losing myself
• Let my track record speak louder than assumptions
• Choose when to educate—and when to move forward without needing to prove

📌 Power isn’t about being louder.
It’s about being so aligned with your impact that you don’t have to shout it.

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4️⃣ Your Difference Can Become Your Leverage

Over time, I stopped seeing my difference as something to explain away.
Instead, I started using it to reframe the conversation:

• Being the outsider helped me ask better questions
• Being multi-passionate helped me see more patterns
• Being underestimated gave me insight into how others lead
• Being calm in fast rooms made my voice carry further

📌 When you stop trying to look powerful and start acting with clarity,
your difference becomes your distinct advantage.

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Final Thought: Your Power Doesn’t Need to Be Justified—It Needs to Be Lived

You don’t have to lead like anyone else.
You don’t have to shrink to be respected.
You don’t have to explain your career, your accent, your body, or your tone.

What matters is this:
You know what you’re building.
You know what you bring.
And you choose to own it—on your own terms.

That is power.