Honoring Personal and Professional Self-Worth Every Day

• Know your vision, value, and worth. 
• Utilize that self-worth in business deals and negotiation. 
• Give yourself grace and feel strength during recharging moments. 

View the panel recording below.

Honoring personal and professional well-being was the 2024 International Women’s Day event theme, hosted by the Detroit Regional Chamber and Wellness Works with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan. After individually taking the stage for inspirational keynotes, the following women dove further into developing and fostering that self-worth in all aspects of life: 

• Princess Castleberry, Chief Executive Officer of Castleberry Global  
• Nutrena Tate, President and Chief Executive Officer of Brand Nu Consulting, Inc. 
• Deirdre Young, Chief Diversity Officer and Assistant Dean of the Office for Institutional Equity and Inclusion at the College for Creative Studies  
• KimArie Yowell, Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer of Rocket Companies and Chief Learning Officer of Rocket Central 
• And moderating the conversation, Christy McDonald, Special Correspondent and Anchor at WDIV-TV 4, NBC 

See Vulnerability As a Strength 

McDonald kicked off the conversation by pointing out the admirable authenticity of the four panelists throughout their presentations. She asked the panel about their mindset when presenting these vulnerable moments, especially in the business world, where many perceive that as weakness. The panel agreed that with openness comes greater relatability, which ends up building positive relationships with business connections. 

“I’ve learned that you get even more respect [being vulnerable],” Tate said. “People are really able to see who you are. They know all the fancy, the thrills, the sharps, and the bad. They relate to you [when] they see that vulnerability and you get more followership. You get more people to believe in you.” 

Put a Business Spin on Self-Value 

Later in the conversation, the panel discussed finding and leveraging self-worth, no matter where one is in their personal or professional life. The panel encouraged the audience to look at themselves from a business perspective—calculate what is worthy of their time based on what they are bringing to the negotiation table. 

“Look at what companies value their people, their purpose, their profits [and] tie that directly to the projects that you’re asked to do,” Castleberry said. “I get people to tell me how much they value what they’re asking me to do, and if they don’t value it, then I don’t do it.” 

Further exploring the idea of a business perspective, Young encouraged leaders in the room to begin applying self-value, along with diversity, equity, and inclusion, into performance goals and salary, just as she has done within her organizations. 

“So if we are saying my goal is to move this business, this widget to make more of them at half the cost, that’s great. What’s your goal for [diversity, equity, and inclusion], and how do we tie it to your salary enhancements?” she said. “Inclusion gives us more business [and] successful business outcomes.”

Seek the “Joy” of Missing Out 

Considering the accomplishments of the collective panel, it can be hard to wonder how they appear to do it all. In between jokes about being tired, the audience was encouraged to keep hanging on and appreciate the downtime that does come about. 

“The storm doesn’t last always. It’s the ability to understand that you just got to get through it and lean into the goodness that you experience,” Yowell said. “I used to have “FOMO” – that fear of missing out. And a good friend of mine flipped it, and now it’s “JOMO” – the joy of missing out. When I just find that I didn’t need to be in that meeting or go to that event, I’m good watching my [TV shows].”