If I Could Have Dinner With One Historical Leader – Why I Would Choose Marcus Garvey
- Jan 5
- 5 min read
Updated: Jan 6
Paulette J. Sterling is a transformational leadership advisor and founder of Sterling Business Management. With 25+ years of international experience, she guides organizations through succession, governance renewal, and cultural transformation. Her expertise blends strategic rigor with soulful, legacy-driven impact.
Recently, during an interview, someone asked me a question that made me pause longer than expected, “If you could have dinner with any historical figure, who would it be and what would you ask them?”
It’s the kind of question that pulls you back into your roots, into the stories, sacrifices, and legacies that shaped the person you’ve become. And without hesitation, my mind went straight to Marcus Mosiah Garvey, a global symbol of leadership, identity, and empowerment.
Not simply because he is a Jamaican national hero. Not because he is a worldwide icon of Black pride. But because choosing Garvey feels like choosing the man who shaped my earliest understanding of leadership, my father.
Two men from different eras, different circumstances, and different platforms. Yet their spirits, their grit, their courage, their belief in community feel deeply connected.
And as I prepare to host Transform to Lead, my virtual leadership training event on January 27, I realize that both Garvey’s legacy and my father’s influence are woven into the very foundation of this movement.
My father: The first leader I ever studied
Before I ever stepped into corporate leadership or founded Sterling Business Management, I learned leadership in the hum of my father’s shoe factory in inner‑city Jamaica.
I learned it in the scent of leather.
I learned it in the rhythm of hammers.
I learned it in the late nights.
I learned it in the small brown envelopes of wages.
I learned it in the quiet sacrifices.
I learned it in the generosity that sometimes exceeded logic.
My father employed up to 30 people, not because he had excess, but because he believed in giving people a chance. He helped community members who weren’t even on the payroll. He adapted when imported shoes flooded the Jamaican market and forced him to downsize. He reinvented himself again and again.
He didn’t have formal education, but he had wisdom.
He didn’t have wealth, but he had vision.
He didn’t have a platform, but he had an impact.
And that is why Marcus Garvey feels so familiar to me.
Why Marcus Garvey? Because he mirrors the leadership I grew up watching
Garvey believed in the brilliance of ordinary people. He believed in economic independence, community upliftment, and the dignity of honest work, values that my father lived every single day.
Garvey built movements. My father built livelihoods. Garvey inspired nations. My father inspired a community. Garvey spoke boldly about identity and self‑reliance. My father embodied those principles quietly, faithfully, and consistently.
Choosing Garvey is, in many ways, choosing the man whose leadership shaped my life before I even understood the word “leadership.”
What I would ask Garvey through the eyes of my father’s daughter
If I could sit across from Marcus Garvey for one evening, I would ask questions that come from the little girl who watched her father build a business with his hands, his heart, and his hope.
How did you protect your vision when the world doubted you? Because I saw my father hold onto his dreams during the 1990s, even as imported shoes flooded the Jamaican market.
What does authentic leadership look like when resources are limited? My father led with integrity even when money was tight, and the factory moved to our backyard.
How do you build a legacy that outlives your circumstances? Garvey built a global movement. My father built a legacy of resilience that still guides me today.
What advice would you give Caribbean leaders navigating global spaces? Because our identity is our strength, not something to shrink.
How do you stay grounded when the work feels heavy? Watched my father carry the weight of a business, a family, and a community, and still show up every day.
How Garvey’s wisdom and my father’s legacy shape Transform to Lead
As I prepare for Transform to Lead, I feel both Garvey’s influence and my father’s presence guiding me.
Garvey taught us to believe in ourselves. My father taught me to believe in people. Garvey taught us to dream boldly. My father taught me to work faithfully. Garvey built movements. My father built character.
Together, they shaped the leader I am today, one who values authenticity, service, and transformation.
And that is exactly what Transform to Lead is built upon.
Transform to Lead is not just a leadership training event. It is a continuation of a legacy of empowerment, identity, courage, and community.
It is for the emerging leader who wants clarity. It is for the manager who wants confidence. It is for the entrepreneur who wants direction. It is for the professional who wants to lead with authenticity. It is for Caribbean and diaspora leaders who want to rise without losing themselves.
It is for people like my father, people who lead with heart. It is for people like Garvey, who lead with vision. It is for people like you, who are ready to step into their next level.
If I could tell Garvey one thing, and my father too
I would say, "Your courage made room for mine. Your resilience shaped my path. Your legacy lives in the work I do today."
Because it does. Because it always will.
My closing reflection
We often think of historical figures as distant, unreachable, larger than life. But sometimes, their stories mirror the quiet heroes we grew up with, the ones who shaped us without ever making headlines.
If I could have dinner with Marcus Garvey, I know I would leave with wisdom. But I also know I would leave with a deeper understanding of my father, the man who taught me leadership long before I ever knew the word.
And through my work, my community, and Transform to Lead, I hope to honour both of them by helping others rise with authenticity, courage, and purpose.
To learn more about Transform to Lead or join the January 27 experience, visit here.
Read more from Paulette Josephine Sterling
Paulette Josephine Sterling, Founder of Sterling Business Management
Paulette J. Sterling is a transformational leadership advisor and founder of Sterling Business Management. With 25+ years of international leadership experience, she specializes in succession planning, governance renewal, and cultural transformation. Her career includes senior roles at JN across Jamaica, the UK, and Canada, where she expanded diaspora engagement and launched Road to Homeownership. Paulette is known for designing performance systems, leading organizational renewal, and directing branded events, including Transform to Lead: The Sterling Edge. Author of The Power of Influence and The Manager's Playbook for Influence, she blends strategic rigor and soulful leadership to inspire resilience, authenticity, and legacy-driven impact.
