#WomenCrushingWednesday with Tasha Jones

Our #WomenCrushingWednesday series continues with a conversation with Tasha Jones, President & Founder of LV Jones Consulting a diversity marketing consulting firm.
Thanks to MSUDenver for sponsoring this inspirational series!

The Why: why do you do what you do? Why are you passionate about your work in our community?
My greatest discovery in my humble, yet tenacious, journey has been learning that I have a responsibility and a calling to be of service – of service to others who are aspiring to grow in their career; of service to the individuals I lead on my team who want to be valued, and to my community who is looking to come together to achieve social and economic equity. For me, it’s always thinking about how can I help support someone in getting to the next step or closer to a desired achievement. The legacy I want to leave is that I helped people get that much closer to their dreams.

What is one of the biggest challenges that you have overcome, and how did you overcome it?
Early in my career I was told, “You need to work on your communication skills.”, “You need to improve your style of professional dress.”, and “You’re not ready for leadership.” That was the feedback I received without any offering of mentorship or a ready mark to achieve the arbitrary expectation of what leadership looked like. At times, it was demoralizing without the professional sponsorship to improve. But above all else it ignited in me a commitment to myself – where I vowed to exceed every professional development goal that I believed I could.

I chose to eviscerate self-doubt by choosing personal accountability in mapping out my desired career growth, and then selecting professional mentors and sponsors who I would empower with the details of my professional goals – with a request that they would help provide me the guidance to execute a game plan that I could follow at my own pace. I would check in with my chosen advocates quarterly and annually to ask questions about where I might need to slightly adjust my approach to the plan. I would also give them updates on my achievements each year.

What would prove most fulfilling is the way my tenacious spirit would lead me to a passion for civic engagement. Whenever I questioned whether I was being fully utilized in my work, being of service to community boards and mentorship organizations would always rejuvenate me. I would essentially carve out time to apply my value through my community engagement roles. The result was always a heightened confidence in my value contribution, which would be a confidence I would carry in my role at work. Leadership at my job began to take notice; and my mentors were encouraging me to stand tall in my known value. This inspired me to continue planning out my desired career trajectory and believing in my growth in thought leadership, inspiring teams, and public speaking. And in my periodic moments of self-doubt (those moments continue to creep in), I choose to recall a trajectory-shifting quote by Maya Angelou, “If you don’t like your situation change it. And if you can’t change it, then change your attitude.” It’s that personal accountability that fuels my tenacity through challenging times.

What is your personal motto?
Honor your voice. Know your value. Stand tall in your worth.

Advice for others in business based on what you have learned on your journey?
You have a choice. Don’t wait for how to engage. Know your value and align it with your passion area where you want to be of service to your community. You will be surprised how it bears potential to evolve into your life’s purpose. Aligning your value, passion, and purpose as a way to direct how you choose to show up in the world. The payoff is that you create a reciprocal connection between yourself, your work, and your community. Ultimately, defining the way the work you do, and the value you bring, can have a greater impact.

What are you most proud of from the last year?
I found the courage to follow through on a dream goal of launching my diversity marketing consulting business. It was part of a Tasha Vision 2020 plan that I was fine-tuning in 2019, following two years of intense planning and development.  In spite of the massively disruptive nature of the pandemic, I managed to re-calibrate and keep my eyes on the prize of fulfilling the dream to launch LV Jones Consulting, LLC as a side hustle in January 2021, which quickly grew to become my full-time joy in July 2021. I can proudly say I’m living in my must of building strategic direction and team synergy to authentically represent Black and Indigenous people of color (BIPOC) in marketing campaigns for inclusive brands.