Kerry Ann Rockquemore was being inundated with opportunities and needed a powerful decision filter.
Kerry Ann was at an inflection point in her career. As a successful business owner, she was inundated by opportunities, but lacking a clear filter for decision making. Through the Pillars of Genius™ process, she became very clear in her decision making, and released herself from the need to follow career paths that others wanted for her but that would make her miserable.
Kerry Ann Rockquemore
Founder, National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity
Kerry Ann Rockquemore, PhD, is Founder of the National Center for Faculty Development & Diversity. She launched the NCFDD in 2010 after quitting her job as a tenured professor. Fed up with campus politics and fighting the old boys club, she created a training company to help women and scholars of color navigate the brutal publish-or-perish world of academia. The NCFDD is a rapidly growing business serving over 90,000 professors at more than 450 colleges and universities in the U.S.. Kerry Ann holds a BA in Sociology from Michigan State University, as well as an MA and PhD in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame.
Why did you invest in the Pillars of Genius™ journey?
"I was at an inflection point in my career. I was experiencing extraordinary success in my business (beyond what I ever could have imagined) and was inundated by opportunities. I was lacking a clear filter for decision making and things were coming at me faster than I could process.
I was concerned that not having a decision filter would lead me to make commitments that were not in my long-term best interest.
I felt like a need a clear filter that I could pass any invitations, opportunities, and potential partnerships through that would lead me to make sound decisions and commitments."
What are the biggest outcomes the Pillars of Genius™ process helped you achieve?
"It may sound obvious, but the primary outcome was a deeper sense of self understanding. When you're clear who you are, you can better understand the choices you've made throughout your life and why some things worked well and others were a miserable failure.
Knowing better who I am creates a powerful filter for my current and future decision-making. I can see clearly what opportunities are (and are not) going to work for me.
I used to erroneously assume that my Pillars of Genius are not unique, but that everyone had these abilities. This caused me to be judgmental and lacking in empathy for people who are different than me.
Now that I know what's unique about me, I don't assume that everyone has these forms of genius. It's made me more patient, understanding, and open to people who work, think, and operate differently in the world than I do.
Being able to appreciate my unique genius and being open to (and looking for) other people's genius has made me a better employer, colleague, and friend."
"As a result of Pillars of Genius™, I embraced the wholeness of who I am and experienced tremendous peace in letting go of someone I was trying to be."
- Kerry Ann Rockquemore, Founder, National Center for Faculty Development and Diversity
What did you create or change because of the Pillars of Genius™ experience?
"I became very clear and decisive in my decision making.
I released myself from the need to follow career paths that others wanted for me but that would make me miserable (I stopped trying to fit into a mold that wasn't made for me).
I embraced the wholeness of who I am and experienced tremendous peace in letting go of someone I was trying to be."
What would you tell others about the benefits of knowing your Pillars of Genius™?
"I think the process is particularly powerful for people who have experience professional success but feel like something is still missing. You'll never find what's missing until you commit to the inner work necessary to answer the most important question: who am I?
Knowing the answer to that question powers everything you do moving forward."
