Own Your Purpose (with Thasunda Brown Duckett)

Once again, this week on Professional Troublemaker, we’re going back into our archives and re-sharing some of our interviews with epic professional troublemakers.

This week, we’re sharing a previous interview with one of my mentors, Thasunda Brown Duckett.

At the time of this interview, Thasunda was serving as the CEO of Chase Consumer Banking, but earlier this year she was named as the president and CEO of TIAA and is the first woman to serve in that role.

Thasunda is at the top of her game in her career and is a mother of four, proud wife, proud daughter, and just overall noir pixie dust carrier.

This is a candid conversation about Thasunda’s upbringing, showing up as your full self, even in corporate settings, rising through the ranks, and her clarity about her purpose.

We talk about showing up with excellence everywhere – especially when it comes to our different roles at work. Thasunda talks about how her primary aim is to make sure her role at work connects her to her purpose. That when things are truly aligned, she can use her title at work as a platform to fulfill her real purpose – to inspire others.

And in all of that hard work and showing up as our full selves, we must remember that people who see us out in the world winning don’t know the full story. They don’t know how hard we’ve worked to get where we are and what that success may have cost.

When you’ve had a chance to listen to this full episode (and make sure you do! There are so many brilliant moments!) please tag Thasunda and let her know how much you appreciate her wisdom on this episode. She’s @Thasunda on Instagram and on Twitter, so be sure to tag her when you share this episode and let her know you loved it.