What if the biggest barrier between you and the C-suite isn’t your talent, but one of seven myths you’ve been told to believe?
Former Procter & Gamble SVP Barron Witherspoon Sr. joins host Deneen L. Garrett on Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation to name them.
Barron spent 35 years at Procter & Gamble before founding The Black Exec LLC in 2024 to prepare the next generation of executives, especially those of color, for senior leadership. He is the author of The Black Exec: And the Seven Myths, a three-year Amazon bestseller and National Indie Excellence Award finalist, and The Fallacy of Affinity.
In this episode:
• Horses in his blood: how his family helped integrate the Tennessee walking horse industry
• What 35 years inside Procter & Gamble showed him, and why he wrote it all down
• The myths of belonging, valuation, and protection, and why one sponsor is never enough
• It’s who knows you: building a network that carries your stock
• What executive presence really is: walking in like you belong
• Why purpose simplifies everything, and why mastery travels with you
Chapters:
00:00 The 7 myths holding Black executives back
01:51 Horses in his blood
05:53 From P&G to The Black Exec
09:32 Which myth derails leaders the most
17:52 The Fallacy of Affinity
21:54 Leaving on his own terms: Take on Race
28:55 What he wishes he’d been told decades ago
41:51 Executive presence and the myth of protection
53:12 The one thing to do today: mastery
56:34 Final thought: know your purpose
Connect with Barron:
Website: theblackexec.com
Guest Profile: https://www.womenofcoloranintimateconversation.com/guests/barron-witherspoon/
Books: The Black Exec: And the Seven Myths https://amzn.to/4Aza9bL | The Fallacy of Affinity https://amzn.to/4ja5uad
Join the Movement:
Women of Color: An Intimate Conversation, a Top 5% of 4M+ Podcasts
Hosted by Deneen L. Garrett
Premieres Monday, Nov 16 on In The Black Network and AfroLandTV
Everything in one place: deneenlgarrett.com
Dream Lifestyle® Collective for Black women 50+
Subscribe to @deneenlgarrett
“Through story, we shift culture. Through sisterhood, we rise.”
#BlackExec #CSuite #Leadership #WomenOfColor #ReclamationSeries
