Driven by Intention: Own Your Purpose, Gain Power, and Pursue Your Passion as a Woman at Work

A game-changing guide for women who want to transform the way they work and create their own success―from an award-winning global diversity expert.

Ambition alone will only take you but so far. Without a plan, however, you're left with blind ambition and that won't necessarily take you where you want to go.

In this groundbreaking book by diversity, workplace culture, and career building expert Michelle Gadsden-Williams, you’ll discover how much more useful―and rewarding―it is to cultivate an intentional mindset.

Deeply inspiring and eminently practical, Driven by Intention shows how intention is about so much more than simply setting goals: it’s figuring out why we choose what we want to do and how we get this done in order to seamlessly execute and achieve our passions. Simply put, intention is the “secret sauce” of realizing your vision―at home, at work, or wherever you have passions worth pursuing.

Gadsden-Williams combines years of professional experience with research-based insights, proven strategies, and effective exercises to provide the tools you need to get started, in chapters that include:

• Setting Intentions vs Setting Goals
• Strengthening Your Squad
• Defining Your Meaning by Impact
• Transforming Company Culture
• Leveraging Your Prized Assets
• Managing Your Financial Life
• Men as Allies for Female Leaders

Filled with practical steps to take now and how to reimagine what comes next, Driven by Intention is an effective blueprint for success and the profiles of twelve highly accomplished women (and one executive chairman who is a male ally) that drive the lessons home. You’ll find relatable strategies and tactics embedded in their stories―from women who had to forge their own paths, faced uncertainty or incredible odds and still managed to rise above it all, and establish uber successful careers for themselves. Women such as Mellody Hobson, president and co-CEO of the largest black-owned asset management firm, Ariel Investments; Fairygodboss co-founders Georgene Huang and Romy Newman; Sheri Salata, who had extraordinary success over more than 20 years as executive producer of The Oprah Winfrey Show and president of Harpo Studios; and more share how they rose to the top because they were driven by their intentions.

Driven by Intention is a book for impact seekers who want to make a material difference at work, in the world, and in their own lives―on their own terms.

About the Author

Michelle Gadsden-Williams is an award-winning global diversity expert, activist, author, and philanthropist. She currently serves as Managing Director and Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at BlackRock, where she is responsible for strengthening and accelerating the company’s efforts to foster an inclusive culture. Previously, she served as the Managing Director and Inclusion & Diversity Lead―North America at Accenture. A highly sought-after diversity practitioner with more than 25 years of experience working in the consumer goods, pharmaceutical, professional and financial services industries, Gadsden-Williams has held positions of global responsibility in diversity management and staffing functions for multi-national corporations such as Credit Suisse, Novartis, and Merck & Co, Inc. Her work has been cited in a number of research periodicals and trade publications.

Erika Roman Saint-Pierre is editor-in-chief of Culturatti Ink, an indie publishing house that works to create a platform for new, unheard authors. She has ghostwritten dozens of bestselling books on a wide variety of topics including business, finance, corporate culture, leadership, and insurance. Her ghostwritten work has appeared in such magazines as Forbes, Black Enterprise, and Money. She is the recipient of three Detroit Free Press awards.

About the Author

Michelle Gadsden-Williams is an award-winning global diversity expert, activist, author, and philanthropist. She currently serves as Managing Director and Global Head of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at BlackRock, where she is responsible for strengthening and accelerating the company’s efforts to foster an inclusive culture. Previously, she served as the Managing Director and Inclusion & Diversity Lead―North America at Accenture. A highly sought-after diversity practitioner with more than 25 years of experience working in the consumer goods, pharmaceutical, professional and financial services industries, Gadsden-Williams has held positions of global responsibility in diversity management and staffing functions for multi-national corporations such as Credit Suisse, Novartis, and Merck & Co, Inc. Her work has been cited in a number of research periodicals and trade publications.

Erika Roman Saint-Pierre is editor-in-chief of Culturatti Ink, an indie publishing house that works to create a platform for new, unheard authors. She has ghostwritten dozens of bestselling books on a wide variety of topics including business, finance, corporate culture, leadership, and insurance. Her ghostwritten work has appeared in such magazines as Forbes, Black Enterprise, and Money. She is the recipient of three Detroit Free Press awards.