University of Minnesota - UMN Executive Leadership Insights
Real Wins
Book

Real Wins

Race, Leadership and How to Define Success

Michelle Moore
Nicholas Brealey Publishing, 2022
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Editorial Rating

9

Qualities

  • Eye Opening
  • Concrete Examples
  • Engaging

Recommendation

Michelle Moore never fulfilled her dreams of becoming an international track star. But as an advocate for racial equality, workplace inclusivity and conscious leadership, she’s achieved championship status. Moore recounts her experiences with overt and covert prejudice as a Black mixed-race female growing up in England. She discovered that sports evened the playing field and offered lessons in resilience and a path toward success. Moore, now an acclaimed public speaker, addresses racism’s devastating effects on minority populations. But instead of being pessimistic, she eloquently shares deeply humane insights that capture the opportunity for an enhanced style of leadership and a better world where everyone wins.

Summary

From the track to the boardroom, Michelle Moore shares her experiences of leadership, oppression, and resilience.

One of the most influential women in sport today, Michelle Moore encountered racism at an early age growing up in the United Kingdom as the daughter of a white English mother and a Black father from Guyana. Some white family members shunned Moore and her twin sister because of their father’s heritage. She recalls that some neighbors abused her mother on the street because she had mixed-race children. Moore always identified as a Black woman. When asked, “Where are you from?”, she answers, “South London,” prompting the inevitable followup, “No, I mean where are you really from?” Moore interprets this as people wanting to know, “how Black are you?”

Moore discovered that sports was the great equalizer; her identity didn’t matter when she was competing. All that mattered was her speed, strength and willpower. She and her sister began running track when she was 10, training twice a week with a group of Black children and a few white kids. Sports taught her about resilience in the face of cultural, societal...

About the Author

Award-winning leadership coach, author, international speaker and educator, Michelle Moore has delivered keynote speeches and chaired events at the United Nations and at the United Kingdom’s House of Lords.

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