WHAT IF WE STOPPED BELONGING TO SYSTEMS THAT DON’T BELONG TO US?

The Organizations We Join Teach Us What Matters

“Wow, you work for University of California San Diego. The UCSD.”

I always wanted to correct them.

No. Not that UCSD.

They were talking about the prestigious UCSD.

The research powerhouse.
The nationally ranked university.
The institution bringing in billions in research funding and philanthropic gifts.
The university known for world-changing discoveries in stroke treatment, green fluorescent protein, microbiome science, oceanography, and STEM.

That UCSD.

Photo: Research vs. people

I worked for a different one.

For more than three decades, I worked in community health focused on San Diego’s most diverse communities.

Our offices were once located in City Heights, one of the most multicultural communities in the country. It was the home to immigrants and refugees from around the world and dozens of languages and dialects.

Our work wasn’t happening primarily in laboratories.

It was happening with people.

Photo: Community garden

Families struggling to afford nutritious food.

Communities facing health inequities.

People who needed resources, education, advocacy, and systems that worked for them.

For years, I brought in millions of dollars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and foundations to support that work.

Until I couldn’t.

The Center functioned much like a nonprofit. We had to continually bring in funding to sustain our programs and ourselves.

Eventually, most of the funding I secured went through the County rather than the university.

And without grant money to pay my salary, I was let go.

After more than three decades of service, I was dispensable.

No funding. No position.

I had brought in millions of dollars.

Just not the right kind of millions.

Systems Tell Us What They Value

This isn’t a post shaming UCSD.

UCSD is part of something much bigger.

Academia. Corporations. Nonprofits. Government agencies. Professional organizations.

Every system has a value structure.

Look at what gets funded.
Look at who gets promoted.
Look at who has decision-making power.
Look at whose work gets recognized.
Look at whose voice carries the most weight.

And you’ll discover what an organization values.

Not what it says in the mission statement.

What it rewards.

For a long time, I thought I was the problem.

Maybe I should have tried harder.

Maybe I should have secured different grants.

Maybe I should have gotten my PhD sooner.

Maybe I wasn't valuable enough.

That’s one of the most damaging things systems can do:

They turn systemic problems into personal failures.

When certain kinds of research are consistently rewarded more than community-based work, we begin to believe one kind of knowledge matters more than another.

When some people are more likely to be funded, promoted, tenured, heard, or placed in positions of power, the people outside those circles can believe they are the ones failing.

Sometimes we aren't the ones failing.

Often, we're playing inside systems whose rules were never designed for us to win.

Ignited Leadership Asks a Different Question

Photo: Belonging

Ignited Leadership isn't only about how we lead.

It's about becoming conscious of what we are participating in.

What systems are we supporting?

What behaviors are we rewarding?

Where are we giving our time, energy, talent, money, and belonging?

And perhaps most importantly:

Does this organization reflect who I am and what I value?

Because our dominant culture gives us plenty of messages about what matters:

More money.
More status.
More power.
More followers.
More credentials.
More recognition.

And when resources feel scarce, we're taught to compete for them.

But what if there is another way?

There is.

There are organizations deliberately causing Good Trouble by challenging the "rules."

Photo: Collaboration

Organizations choosing collaboration over competition.

Shared power over power-over.

Belonging over status.

Humanity over productivity.

Impact over prestige.

Organizations like Women Speakers Association.

Photo: WSA logo

MEET A GOOD TROUBLE ORGANIZATION: WOMEN SPEAKERS ASSOCIATION

As you know, this August LOUDER GIRL is highlighting Good Trouble Organizations which are those creating positive change by challenging the status quo.

This week's featured organization is Women Speakers Association (WSA).

Meet Gail Watson, CEO & Founder of Women Speakers Association

Photo: Gail Watson

In her 30s, Gail was a top-performing sales executive for a billion-dollar web-based learning company. She was a wife and mom of two young children. She traveled two weeks out of every month. She had a nanny helping care for her family while she balanced a demanding career.

She was driven, committed, and believed that if you worked hard, treated people with respect, and did the right thing, success would follow.

Like so many women, Gail put everyone else's needs before her own. She pushed through long hours, lived on adrenaline, and kept moving forward because that's what she believed was expected.

Four years into the job, she was on her way to close a multimillion-dollar deal she had spent months cultivating.

“I was always fifteen minutes early to every meeting,” Gail told me. “My philosophy was if you're not early, you're late.”

Then her cell phone rang.

“I almost didn't answer because I was on my way to such an important meeting. It was my dad, and my mom had been dealing with health issues.”

Gail picked up.

“Dad, can this wait?”

“Gail...it's your mom.”

Without hesitation, she turned the car around.

After helping her parents through the situation, she realized she had missed the appointment. She immediately called her CEO to apologize.

Before she could finish explaining what had happened, he told her the opportunity was gone.

For Gail, it wasn't just about losing a sale. It became one of the defining moments of her career.

“I realized that somewhere along the way, business had forgotten that people are human first.”

LESSON #1: Success means very little if we lose our humanity along the way.

Gail's next opportunity took her into an organization serving women entrepreneurs.

“I was excited,” she said. “These were women who wanted to make a difference in the world. They had incredible ideas, big dreams, and huge hearts.”

Yet behind the scenes, she discovered something she hadn't expected.

“Success doesn't automatically eliminate insecurity. Even in communities with great intentions, people can fall into comparison, competition, and protecting their own space.”

Rather than becoming discouraged, Gail became even more convinced there had to be another way.

LESSON #2: A mission only works when its culture reflects the values.

Later, Gail had the opportunity to tour with internationally recognized business leaders whose work had influenced entrepreneurs around the world.

Following one of the events, the speakers gathered to debrief. Gail offered thoughtful feedback based on her experience.

“It wasn't accepted or even acknowledged,” she said.

The moment stayed with her—not because she needed to be right, but because it reinforced something she would never forget.

“Leadership isn't about having all the answers. It's about creating space for every voice to be heard.”

LESSON #3: Never underestimate the value of your perspective. Your voice matters.

What If We Built the Organization We Were Looking For?

By 2011, Gail had experienced enough different leadership styles to know exactly what she wanted to create.

“I wasn't trying to build another networking organization,” she told me. “I wanted to build the community I had been looking for throughout my career.”

She envisioned a place where women felt seen before they felt evaluated.

Where collaboration mattered more than competition.

Where kindness wasn't mistaken for weakness.

And most importantly, where every woman—regardless of where she was in her journey—knew her story, experience, and message were valued.

That vision became Women Speakers Association.

Today, WSA is built on a simple belief:

Every voice matters.

Whether a member is preparing for her first speaking opportunity or has spoken on stages around the world, she deserves encouragement, visibility, and a community that wants to see her succeed.

Women Speakers Association challenges the status quo by believing:

1. Every story counts.
2. There is no message greater or less than another. Every person's life experience has the power to make a difference in someone else's life.
3. Collaboration creates greater impact than competition.
4. When women champion one another, everyone rises.
5. Success isn't measured by followers, revenue, or recognition. It's measured by the lives we touch and the legacy we leave.

Sounds a lot like Good Trouble to me.

YOU GET TO CHOOSE WHERE YOU BELONG

When we know who we are, what we value, and what we're no longer willing to tolerate, that's Ignited Leadership.

We don't have to keep accepting organizations built around values we no longer believe in.

We can choose communities where power is shared. Where women champion women. Where our stories matter. Where we can show up loud, messy, curious, brave, imperfect, joyful, and whole.

Maybe the question at this stage of our lives isn't:

Where do I belong?

Maybe it's:

What is worthy of my belonging?