Ever been told your communication skills need work, but you’re already leading projects, managing teams, and getting things done?

They say immigrants lack soft skills — but who decides what good communication even looks like?

If you’re an immigrant or part of the diaspora, this might sound familiar. You speak more than one language, but somehow your accent, grammar, or “tone” becomes the reason you’re rated lower in performance reviews. Soft skills? You’ve got plenty. But they don’t seem to count the same.

In this episode, I unpack how communication and soft skills are often used as coded feedback—a quiet form of bias that holds many immigrants back from promotions, raises, and recognition. I share my own lived experiences with white and South Asian bosses, including:

• Getting my emails proofread after I was already managing people

• Being asked “Who helped you?” after creating a training guide

• Watching my grammar get fixed, my credit erased, and my confidence shaken

• And later, finally being rated the highest by a director who saw my real value

This episode is for anyone who’s ever been made to feel like their voice doesn’t fit the corporate mold. Because communication isn’t grammar—it’s how we lead, handle chaos, and move things forward.

If you’re tired of being told to “speak or write better” just to be heard, this episode is for you.

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