We’re Gonna Need Cake Author Shares Joy in Authentic Leadership
(Crystal A. Proxmire, May 15, 2025)
Lake Orion, MI – When Ernest Shackleton was recruiting crew members for his 1914 expedition across Antarctica, he didn’t pick people based on their sailing, hiking, or hunting skills. Instead he recruited the people he thought would be the most fun to hang out with since they’d be spending months on the journey together. His fellow adventurers were storytellers, musicians with instruments, and people who liked to sing.
The exhibition was essentially a failure. But author Valerie Garcia admired Shackleton and his crew nonetheless. “One ship sunk. One ship got crushed. They lived in lifeboats, and were stranded on an island… But no one died,” she said. Garcia believes that the spirit of joy that each member had helped to keep them all alive even in the hardest times.
She shared the Shackelton story as part of her presentation at a May 8 Orion Area Chamber of Commerce Women of Inspiration Luncheon. Garcia is the author of We’re Gonna Need Cake, a book that explores the value of being vulnerable, messy, emotional, and imperfect in the workplace.
The journey towards authenticity began when Garcia was working as a promoter for corporate events. A co-worker invited her out to lunch. “She looked me in the eye and said, my life is falling apart… and you seem to have it all figured out.”
Except that she didn’t. She too was struggling with a multitude of life’s stresses, made worse by the fact that she was able to just smile and fake her way through each day. She realized that by hiding her feelings she was part of a whole culture where people are closed off and less connected.
There are so many sayings that are supposed to guide us towards success, she said. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Keep it together in front of the team. Winners never quit. Fake it til you make it. Keep your emotions at the door.
But that kind of life was not rewarding for Garcia, and as she travels around the country giving presentations and sharing the wisdom of her book, she shows people a more rewarding path.
The Authenticity Map helps take people from a feeling of failure to one of confidence and joy. Along the way, even in the hard parts, there are things to celebrate.
For example, when something doesn’t go well, failure can feel person, pervasive, and permanent. However there are three other ‘p’s that one can employ. A failure can be a protection from something that is not meant to be. It can mean an opportunity to look at other possibilities. And it means that someone now has permission to try something else.
We’re Gonna Need Cake teaches readers to celebrate their failures, and to do it in a way that makes it a fun habit. “It’s great that didn’t work, because now everything else is possible,” Garcia said.
The path is not just about turning negative thoughts into positive ones. There are places where one can embrace fear and anger, not just masking them behind smiles but digging in to the discomfort and using it as motivation.
She talked about taking on a role as a Home Owners Association President, and how overwhelmed she became with a perpetual complainer who would call at all hours, email endlessly, and even would wait by her mailbox to complain. “I was deeply angry at all the complaints I was getting,” she said. “It was my fault because I never set any boundaries. I just took it on and let it fester.”
Finally her anger motivated her to lay down some rules. It wasn’t the most graceful conversation, but in the end she reclaimed her place of peace.
“Getting uncomfortable is how we grow,” she said.
With a presentation full of steps and celebrations, the luncheon left scores of women (and a few men) with things to think about in their own lives and businesses.
Jennifer Kangetter of Michigan United Credit Union introduced the speaker. She herself has the joy and challenges of juggling family and a career. She was recently named Orion Area Chamber of Commerce Ambassador of the Year, and recipient of one of the Auburn Hills Chamber’s Tomorrow’s 20 Awards.
Kangetter shared that her involvement in chambers have helped her to keep this balance. “The encouragement reminds me even when I felt unsure or overwhelmed, I had the strength to move forward,” she said. “We can keep pushing forward even when paths seem unclear. We have an incredible ability to lift each other up.”
In addition to the sweetness of Garcia’s stories, and the joy of networking among women professionals, the event included raffles and giveaways from sponsors. And of course in keeping with the theme of needing cake, Nothing Bundt Cakes provided the dessert.
Learn more about Valerie Garcia’s book at https://valeriegarcia.com/book
Learn more about Orion Area Chamber of Commerce at http://www.orionareachamber.com/
