Janese Murray
Janese Murray

Inclusion Impact Consulting, the company founded by Janese Murray, reflects her years of expertise in strategy, leadership development, and equity-focused initiatives. Today, however, her work has expanded from organizational consulting to a broader audience, including deeply personal coaching, where her impact is most powerfully felt: helping women of color navigate the unseen barriers of corporate life.

For many women of color in professional spaces, the obstacles are not just structural; they are internalized. "So many of my clients believe that if they simply do excellent work, it will speak for itself," Murray explained. "But work alone is table stakes. What moves you forward is how you show up, how you are experienced by others, and the relationships you build." That mindset, rooted in the belief that diligence should naturally translate into recognition, often leaves talented professionals sidelined, struggling with self-doubt, or quietly battling imposter syndrome.

Murray knows these challenges intimately because she lived them herself. Early in her career in Human Resources, she was told bluntly by a supervisor: "I pay you to manage noise level. I don't pay you to come up with a strategic direction." The words stunned her. She realized she had spent years in a place of comfort, where being well-liked and dependable seemed enough, but where she was not being taken seriously as a strategic leader. "If that manager had never said that to me, I probably would still be there," she admitted. "I was playing it safe. I was not pushing myself to take risks."

That experience, coupled with what she saw later in her career, shaped her mission today. "Women often don't see their own potential; they don't see the power in the person in the mirror, sometimes, my own daughters included. I recognize the exact patterns I once had," Murray said. "It's why I can't help but step in. I know how much further they could go if they believed they could show up differently."

Her coaching approach is distinct from traditional executive coaching, which often follows a fixed formula of "success." For Murray, the starting point is always the client's own definition of success. "I'm coaching a person, not a problem," she said. "Some people want to be seen as strategic partners or influential leaders. Others just want to excel as technical experts. My role is to listen and help them reach what matters most to them."

That listening extends to the most personal parts of her clients' lives. Murray acknowledges that career growth for women, especially women of color, can't be separated from cultural and family dynamics. "Sometimes the very people who love you most are the ones telling you not to rock the boat, don't speak up, don't stand out, keep your head down," she said. "Meanwhile, the guy who knows half of what you know is talking endlessly in meetings. That silencing of ourselves is exactly what holds us back."

Her coaching encourages clients to practice speaking up, seek feedback not just on their work but on their presence, and take small but consistent steps to build influence. She frames it as creating a "personal brand," though she is quick to remind her clients that a brand is not self-defined; it belongs to the people who experience you. "If you want to be viewed as a strategic leader, you have to show up in ways that reinforce that perception, not just hope your results will do it for you," she explained.

At its heart, Murray's work is about creating brave spaces where women can be candid about what they really want. Too often, she noted, women of color are conditioned to be grateful for a seat at the table, rather than aspiring to lead the conversation. "If I can provide a place that inspires courage, where a woman can admit her true ambitions, often things she hasn't said out loud before, that's where the work begins," she said.

What follows is equal parts strategy and soul-work: unpacking imposter syndrome, rediscovering self-compassion, and practicing the courage to take risks. "I often tell my clients, if you could only see what I see," Murray reflected. "Some of the most accomplished women doubt themselves the most. My role is to help them claim the grace they give so freely to everyone else and finally hold a portion for themselves."

For Murray, every breakthrough moment, a client finally speaking up in a meeting, applying for a new role, or reframing rejection as growth, feels deeply personal. "When the light comes on for someone, when they realize they can take that step, that's a good day," she said.

Her legacy, then, is not only in the corporate leaders she helps shape but in the ripple effects that extend into families and future generations. By empowering women of color to see themselves as more than enough, Janese Murray is rewriting what leadership looks like and ensuring the next wave of voices in corporate America is bold, authentic, and unafraid.