Narrator: Imagine being in a high-stakes meeting, a brilliant idea forming in your mind. You hesitate, questioning if it’s good enough, if you’re the right person to say it. In that moment of doubt, a male colleague voices the very same idea, and the room erupts in praise for his insight. You’re left invisible, your contribution erased before it was ever made. This exact scenario happened to Shelmina Babai Abji early in her career as a software developer. It was a painful but pivotal moment that crystallized a fundamental challenge many women face: the gap between their potential and their perceived worth.

This experience, and her subsequent journey from a young immigrant from Tanzania to one of the highest-ranking women of color at IBM, forms the basis of her book, Show Your Worth. Abji argues that overcoming the internal and external barriers that hold women back isn't a matter of luck or simply working harder. It requires a series of deliberate, conscious strategies designed to build a career and a life of authentic success.

Narrator: The book's foundational strategy is that one cannot achieve success without first defining what it means on their own terms. Abji argues that without a personal "internal compass," women risk chasing someone else's dream, leading to burnout and dissatisfaction. Her own story is a powerful example. Growing up in poverty in Tanzania, her initial definition of success was purely financial: to lift her family out of hardship. She achieved this, becoming a top salesperson at IBM and buying a house for her family. Yet, a conversation with a senior executive, Susan Whitney, forced her to look deeper. She realized her success was still defined by external metrics. This introspection led her to a new, more authentic vision that included not just professional achievement but personal fulfillment and impact.

This journey is echoed in the story of Vernā Myers. After graduating from Harvard Law, Myers landed a job at a prestigious law firm—the picture of external success. But she felt deeply unfulfilled. The work lacked meaning, and she saw a glaring lack of diversity. Inspired by the book Composing a Life, she realized she had the right to define her own path. She quit her job, explored her true passions, and eventually built a career as a leading authority on diversity and inclusion, ultimately becoming the VP of Inclusion Strategy at Netflix. Both stories illustrate a core principle: externally visible success will ring hollow unless it aligns with an internal, personal definition of a life well-lived.

Narrator: Once a vision for success is established, the next step is to focus attention on what truly matters. Abji contends that in our distraction-filled world, attention—not time—is the most valuable and limited resource. She learned this lesson the hard way. As a new sales representative at IBM, she was overwhelmed with over 50 potential deals. She worked tirelessly but made little progress, trapped in an endless cycle of being busy but not productive.

Her manager, Keith Elzia, gave her transformative advice. He told her, "Working more hours isn’t necessarily the answer; it’s about priorities." He coached her to qualify every deal, focusing only on the 15 "must-wins" with the highest probability of success. By narrowing her focus, she began to make meaningful progress, winning deals and achieving her goal of buying a house within six months. A critical part of this process was learning to say "no" to requests that didn't align with her priorities. This protected her attention and taught others to respect her time. The book stresses that moving from "busy" to "productive" happens only when you intentionally structure your days around your highest priorities.

Narrator: Showing your worth requires creating tangible value, but Abji explains that this is often blocked by invisible barriers. For many women, especially those from underrepresented backgrounds, the biggest obstacles are internal. She describes her own early feelings of being "undereducated, underprivileged, and underproficient," which caused her to undervalue her own opinions. The book shares the story of a young software engineer who was conditioned from childhood to believe "girls are to be seen and not heard." She was unable to speak up in meetings until Abji helped her see this as faulty "programming" that she could consciously "debug" and rewrite.

External barriers, like unconscious bias, are just as real. Abji recounts being assigned a critical deal where a senior colleague, Bob, openly questioned her capabilities. Instead of letting his bias intimidate her, she used it as fuel. Guided by a mentor, she confidently demonstrated her competence, won the deal, and changed Bob's perception. The lesson is twofold: we must first do the internal work to rewrite self-limiting beliefs, and then we must develop the resilience to prove our capabilities in the face of external bias, preventing it from impacting our performance.

Narrator: Abji makes a critical distinction between mentors, who offer advice, and sponsors, who use their influence to advocate for you. While mentorship is valuable, she argues that sponsorship is essential for reaching the highest levels of leadership. These relationships don't happen by accident; they are the result of long-term, intentional cultivation.

Her relationships with two key IBM executives, Susan Whitney and Rodney Adkins, illustrate this perfectly. She met them at different points in her career and intentionally kept them updated on her achievements through brief, quarterly emails. She sought their mentorship and, by consistently delivering exceptional results on challenging projects, she earned their trust and respect. Over nearly a decade, these relationships evolved. When it came time for promotions, it was Susan and Rodney who pounded the table for her in rooms she wasn't in. They had become her sponsors. The book emphasizes that you must earn sponsorship by demonstrating your worth, but you must also be strategic in building and nurturing the relationships that will one day open doors.

Narrator: Getting promoted isn't a passive reward for hard work; it's an active process that women must intentionally lead. This requires a clear game plan. The book highlights the journey of Erica Qualls-Battey, who rose through 16 promotions over 28 years at Marriott, starting as a part-time phone operator. Her success wasn't accidental. From the beginning, she openly shared her ambition to become a vice president. She relentlessly sought new skills, took on challenging roles to prove her value, and made sure her leadership knew what she wanted.

Abji’s own first promotion to sales leader followed a similar pattern. She took on a role everyone thought was impossible—selling to competitors' clients—and after five months of rejection, won a massive deal. This got her noticed by senior leadership. But she didn't stop there. She directly asked her boss what she needed to demonstrate to be considered for the next leadership opening. By mastering her role, building visibility, and clearly advocating for herself, she secured the promotion eight months later. The message is clear: you must not only be the best candidate but also ensure that the right people know you are the best candidate and that you want the job.

Narrator: The book concludes with a powerful call to action: true leadership isn't just about your own success, but about lifting others. Abji's perspective on this was profoundly shaped by her mother's final days. After reaching the pinnacle of her career at IBM, she realized her definition of success needed to evolve once more. Spending time with her dying mother, she understood that her legacy wouldn't be her title, but the impact she had on others.

This realization led her to leave her corporate career and dedicate herself to empowering other women. She shares a quote from Michelle Obama: "When you have worked hard, and done well, and walked through that doorway of opportunity, you do not slam it shut behind you. You reach back." This encapsulates the book's ultimate message. The eight intentional strategies are not just a roadmap for personal ambition; they are tools to gain the influence needed to create opportunities for others.

Narrator: At its heart, Show Your Worth is a powerful argument against passivity. It dismantles the myth that career advancement is a mysterious process and replaces it with a clear, actionable framework. The single most important takeaway is that for women to close the gender gap and emerge as leaders, they must approach their careers with unwavering intentionality—defining success, focusing attention, creating value, building relationships, and campaigning for promotion with purpose and a plan.

The book leaves us with a profound challenge. It’s not enough to simply climb the ladder. The real measure of success is whether you use your position to hold the ladder steady for the women coming up behind you. Are you willing to not only show your own worth, but to actively create a world where every woman has the chance to show hers?