‘Lead from the Outside’ by Stacey Abrams

As part of my studies in library leadership, I’ve been reading Lead from the Outside by Stacey Abrams, a book intended for people from minority backgrounds who may have concluded that “our inherent qualities render us less than others” (p. 108). Published in March 2019 by Picador, this is an updated paperback edition of Abrams’ Minority Leader, which was published in 2018 by Henry Holt and Company.

Abrams speaks candidly about her own lived experiences of self-doubt and inferiority as well as external prejudice, stating that “For every success — becoming deputy city attorney, running for office, and rising in less than four years to serve as the minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives — I have consistently confronted racism, sexism, ageism, and other phobias about my otherness” (2019, pp. 101-102). Ultimately, the book is as much about how a person can “get out of [their] own way” (Abrams, 2019, p. 109) as it is about how to succeed.

Abrams’ book appealed to me because, as an autistic person, I feel as though I fit “outside” traditional views of library leadership. Two librarians I particularly admire — Cindy Hohl and Mychal Threets — are autistic and have both achieved what I consider success in the field of librarianship but from past readings about autistic librarians’ experiences in the workplace, I am aware that we can face multiple challenges (Parkhill, 2024).

I related very personally to the “layers of anxiety” that Abrams said can hold minority leaders back (2019, p. 230). I sometimes all-too-easily succumb to feeling the way that Abrams described: as though “[my] inherent qualities render [me] less than others” (2019, p. 108) — especially when it feels as though I am being targeted or being subjected to bullying. Conversely, however, these feelings of inadequacy make it all the more meaningful when I receive external validation of my worth.

Author’s Note: Citations attributed to Abrams are taken from an eBook that was read via the Libby app using an OpenDyslexic book design set to the Libby app’s largest text scale. Page numbers may vary depending upon choice of book design and the scale of the font.

References:
Abrams, S. (2019). Lead from the outside. Picador.

Parkhill, C.M. (2024, Nov. 16). Autistic librarians ‘on the job’ in libraries. Cynthia Parkhill. https://cynthiaparkhill.blogspot.com/2024/11/autistic-librarians-on-job-in-libraries.html