When I first watched Scandal I knew that something epic was unfolding right before our eyes. Olivia Pope was tough, smart, boss inside out. Throughout the seasons she just got better. And better. And better. Which brings us to this season, where she has fully arrived. You see it in her walk. You see it in her facial expressions. You see it in her eyes, eliminating the need for words. And if you display any doubt, she’ll find the words, the right words, the only words that matter to let you know who the hell she is: “I’m the boss.”
A moment of silence for the real boss. The realest boss we have EVER seen. EVER. Let me break down just 5 ways in which Ms. Olivia Pope is the role model for your girls, for you, for your sons, and your men:
1. Boss Words
Eloquence is an understatement. When Olivia hits the scene she is armed with a vocabulary artillery equivalent to no other, far superseding any other. She is thoroughly educated on the topic and ready with a comeback to anything uttered from the weak lips of her opponent, her partner, anybody really. In the season premier of Scandal last week she was a guest on a television program pushing her party’s Education bill. Try as he might the host could not knock her off of her game. Not only did she always have the perfect response, but she did one better and called him out on his lame attempts to confuse the issues and therewith the audience. Just as she was about to hit him with facts and stats, he resorted to the lowest play and called time up, although there were 30 seconds left. Thirty seconds in which she would have obliterated him.
Olivia makes us want to get smarter, read more, become the expert in any area we decide to dabble. When I see and hear her speak I will accept nothing less than the best from myself. Average never! Be the best ever! Girls, we must educate ourselves, practice and execute. There is no substitute for thorough education and preparation. Whether it is an interview, a meeting or a contentious ambush situation, read up, play out the options from every angle, and kill.
2. In Whose World? – My World!
“In whose world do you think…?”, was the question uttered from a misguided opponent as Olivia told him what he was about to do to push her agenda through. He protested, he rejected, he objected. “Mine! In my world.” That’s the answer. No more questions.
Remember that no one is here to give you anything. We have to work, bleed and sweat to create the lives that we want, the careers that we want. But one essential element in this mix on the road to victory is the absolute conviction that this is your world. Just as you’ve designed it.
3. Dig up the Dirt – Bring on the Scandal
This is not for the faint of heart, and let’s face it, it’s not adviseable to use blackmail for many reason including it being illegal and all. But what if you replaced blackmail with some milder form of pressure to let a person know that they would be ill-advised to cross you. Find their Achilles heels and use it. With the right mixture of charm and cunning, you can remind anyone of your worth, why they need you, and how seeing and doing things your way is a win for them. This is a delicate tactic but surely adviseable when you want to win. And that’s what we want.
4. She Rules the Men
It is so extreme how she rules them, that I almost got uncomfortable watching her bitch them up in this past episode. She told Jake where to go, that he had passed his place because he was sleeping with the boss and got so comfortable that he forgot who she was. So he had to go. And if that was a spoiler, owell, you should really keep up with the episodes instead of saving it all up for a weekend binge-watch. Anyhoos, I winced as he tucked his penis between his legs and got dismissed. And talk about scandal, she sent him back home to his wife! Bye Jake.
This dynamic is profound. Women’s power over men has traditionally been portrayed based upon overt sexuality or as the ball-busting she doesn’t really appear to like men Cruella type. But Ms. Pope clearly loves the D. I’m just saying. However, her vagina does not enter the room before she does, and she is definitely no Cruella. She is the boss. And if they forget, she reminds them. And they obey. So when she said meet me at a hotel, with all the details spelled out for new dude to follow including the key from a certain bellman, all I could say was “Yaaaaasssss!”.
5. I’m the boss
That’s what she will tell you should you display a shadow of doubt. If you cross her, if you ignore her, if you disobey her. If this isn’t the chant that women everywhere should strive to shout then there is none. I guaranty that we ignore the numerous ways in which we are the boss everyday. At home, in the office, in life. But this is not to be ignored my ladies, this is to be recongnized, especially by us, and repeated. And mostly, this is to be lived.
The boss walks differently. She talks differently. She breathes differently. She has no doubt. And neither do they. Olivia makes me want to jump into my boss suit, step into my Jimmy Choos, swing my Prada bag and strut to the front of the room and let them know who the hell I am. I am the boss.
Ms. Kerry Washington, you are one on the front lines. We salute you. You slay the role, the principle, the portrayal. Olivia Pope is a seed that needed to be planted in the collective minds, and it will grow and persist forever. Even for those of us born and nurtured with an abundance of delusional confidence, Ms. Pope gives us that extra monster lift which we need to take home the victory. Thank you for greatness.