Dr. Kerry Mitchell Brown on Revolutionary Leadership for Black Women

Dr. Kerry Mitchell Brown joins The Authority Company Podcast to discuss her book Revolutionary Leadership: A Power Playbook for Black Women and the urgent need to rethink how leadership is recognized, developed, and supported.In this conversation, Dr. Brown explains why Black women remain underrepresented in top executive roles, how traditional leadership systems often miss the skills Black women already bring, and why organizations need to redesign advancement systems instead of relying on performative programs.Joe and Dr. Brown also explore the power of representation, the difference between networking and “friend-raising,” how caregiving builds real leadership capability, and what leaders should stop doing if they genuinely want to cultivate Black women leaders.This episode is a powerful conversation about equity, leadership, community, systems change, and the future of work.What You’ll LearnWhy Black women make up nearly 8% of the U.S. population but hold just over 1% of top executive leadership jobs.Why representation matters when people are trying to imagine themselves in positions of power.How leadership systems can be redesigned instead of patched with short-term programs.Why caregiving develops many of the same skills organizations claim to value in executives.How “friend-raising” creates deeper, longer-term relationships than traditional networking.Chapters00:00 Introduction to Dr. Kerry Mitchell Brown00:56 The leadership gap for Black women02:19 Why representation matters03:01 The pipeline problem in leadership04:04 Why systems need redesign05:23 Becoming a revolutionary pathmaker06:25 How to redesign broken systems07:31 What traditional leadership models get wrong09:46 Friend-raising vs. networking11:41 The transactional truth about networking13:00 Why thriving together creates power14:08 What has changed for Black women leaders15:05 Caregiving as leadership training17:48 How caregiving builds empathy18:58 Why community matters more than ever20:18 How mobility changed community22:43 Building community with intention24:26 How adults can practice friend-raising28:32 Friend-raising in business30:46 What leaders should stop doing32:05 Why leaders need to talk to people directly33:28 Why exit interviews come too late33:53 Why Dr. Brown dedicated the book to her daughters34:53 Closing thoughtsWhat leaders should stop doing if they want to support Black women’s advancement.