Intentional Conversations

We were thrilled to welcome Maikel Groenewoud to the Intentional Conversations guest microphone and hope you will enjoy this encore presentation of his vodcast!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM MAIKEL:

1. Ethical AI requires Ethical People!

2. Anti-racism work is global. This is not just an issue centered in the US.

3. AI in of itself cannot create an inclusive and equitable workplace; those can only be achieved thru the trust earned in lived experiences

4. Bias in technology can happen when applying for a loan to recruiting to oxygen meters. People think if you have a lot of data you're ok, but you have to wonder, is the data balanced?

5. Pan African Mindset- black people all over the world have connections because we have similar histories. We need to change our mindset and the way we look at each other.

CONNECT WITH MAIKEL:

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

We were honored to welcome Dante King to the Intentional Conversations vodcast and hope you learn something new, are challenged and encouraged by this encore presentation.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM DANTE:

How we unlearn anti-blackness depends on where you sit in the racial hierarchy. The higher your seat you have the most at risk.

The notion of implicit bias is not so implicit. There are many layers to where our bias’s come from.

Macro aggression is acknowledging there’s nothing micro about something that takes away someone’s self-worth and value.

We all have value whether we achieve white measures of success or not.

We must be willing to dedicate the time, money, energy, and patience to the process that is required of this work. 

CONNECT WITH DANTE:

Website

Facebook

Twitter

TikTok

Podcast

Youtube

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

Intentional Conversations welcomed Rico Jacob Chace to the guest co-host microphone and what an amazing conversation we had.

We hope you enjoy this encore presentation of the original vodcast!

Prefer to watch? Check out the full vodcast here!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM RICO JACOB CHACE:

Your diet is not just what you eat, but the people you surround yourself with.

Your identity should not be based on your job title and its stereotypes.

Gender fluidity has always existed, and colonialism created a hierarchy of marginalized communities.

There needs to be ramifications for those who discriminate in the workplace, especially from positions of leadership.

CONNECT WITH RICO JACOB CHACE:

Instagram

Twitter

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

We were so honored to welcome Cosette Strong to Intentional Conversations to discuss DEI and how it intersects with leadership development.

Listen now to this encore presentation of our weekly vodcast!

Let the conversation begin...

CONNECT WITH COSETTE:

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

We were honored to have Dr. Christen Behzadi as a guest on Intentional Conversations and excited to share her encore episode with you here!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM DR. BEHZADI:

Institutional accountability is not just the individuals that are going to make your space responsive and inclusive. As an organization you have a responsibility to model that in your practices and procedures.

We must assist others to train up and skill up. Acknowledgment is step one, and then we must be skilled to act.

The two main things we face in the healthcare industry is extreme power imbalances and the idea of decision makers. Physicians and mid-level providers are not making (Should there be a word here?) decisions but critical life changing decisions. So, when you come in with DEI conversations you must change your approach.

Agency is key, let them decide what communities they want to support, the key is to practice equity skills.

We cannot assume training alone can get the job done. It is only a piece that must be paralleled with ideas that impact systems.

You can still deliver the impact without mentioning specifics. The key is to get the work done when considering institutional limitations on what you can and cannot say.

Activism, specifically in the anti-racism realm, is a high level of equity work that requires specialized knowledge and equity skills.

DEI organizations are not the conduit for activism work because we are working with organizations deeply rooted in the capitalistic mantra.

Push your clients to look at the qualitative data and to close that loop by providing specifics. Focus on the action you are able to take from it.

CONNECT WITH DR. BEHZADI

LinkedIn

Website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

It was so much fun to have Shalynne Jackson & Joe Gerstandt on the Intentional Conversations vodcast! They not only are fellow DEI practitioners, but the two of them have a fantastic friendship that has spanned years.

We hope this conversation encourages you!

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

When you’re together with a team of people that you work with, do you feel safe taking risks? Do you feel safe being vulnerable? That is psychological safety.

It doesn’t matter how different our perspectives and identities are if we can’t share them with those around us.

As DEI practitioners, we need space to not have it all together, the world is happening around us as well.

If you’re the leader then you must prove insistently that telling the truth is encouraged, even if it’s a disagreement from leadership. Reward people for disagreeing with you, bad news is valuable information.

Psychological safety is different from safe spaces. Safe spaces are preventing people from injury or harm, whereas psychological safety is having those uncomfortable conversations.

Leaders often don’t realize the impact of their power. There are real and perceived consequences on your actions.

CONNECT WITH SHALYNNE:

Linkedin

CONNECT WITH JOE:

Website

Twitter

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

It was an honor to welcome Melissa Smith to the Intentional Conversations vodcast. We hope you enjoy the encore presentation of her live vodcast.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM MELISSA:

1. In order for DEI change to be made, it takes all of us - not just the person with "the title".

2. Passion only carries us so far... what are the ways you are equipping yourself to do the work?

3. Many feel pressured to fit into the existing narrative in order to get ahead, but it can take a toll on your self-esteem and self-concept.

4. Healing, hope and liberation should be the goal.

5. Data shows Black women have a disproportionate rate of mental and physical illness and a lot of that stems from stress - you have to set boundaries and decide to "take a break" for self care.

6. Self-development means prioritizing boundaries, resting, advocating, practicing, and creating psychologically-safe space for yourself and others.

7. Be aware of the "emotional tax" you can impose on yourself in an effort to assimilate.

8. Resting is a form of resistance - usually power is associated with busyness. Women of color have to work twice as hard to get ahead, which can weigh on your mental health.

9. Set a path to become authentically grounded.

10. Get real with YOURSELF and THEN you can talk about disrupting the systems of oppression.

11. Have transparent conversations at the forefront and have them facilitated with thought leaders if needed.

12. A work/life blend is important so you can intentionally support, and show up, for both your colleagues at work and your family.

13. You don't have to feel alone in the work - there are SO MANY DEI practitioners, forums, counselors and organizations available to nourish you and help you do the work!

CONNECT WITH MELISSA:

Twitter

LinkedIn

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

We were honored to welcome Olanike to Intentional Conversations! We hope you enjoy the encore presentation of her live vodcast!

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM OLANIKE:

Start paying attention to your surroundings, inequity and injustice is at work wherever you are and is a part of the global story. Figure out where you have influence even if you don’t have authority or power to make your starting point.

The work of DEI belongs to everyone despite of having DEI titles, we all can make incremental changes.

We should show up with a curious nature to always learn in the spaces we are in.

We need leaders to hear and respond to the issues of DEI. Feedback needs to be given to people of color in all issues affecting DEI because it coincides with what leadership looks like.

Live at the intersection of difference.

A belonging survey can be useful to consultants and DEI professionals alike to gauge how individuals truly feel in their workplace.

Regardless on where an organization is on their DEI work, that does not always mean some individuals are in a good place for retention. We cannot dilute the work but bring truth to power.

Whiteness is a construct with a PR team created for power and wealth building. It is not factual, but the impact of the construct is what we often live with now.

We need to acknowledge the history and intention of whiteness, so we can really tackle the injustice it inflicts today.

CONNECT WITH OLANIKE:

Mosaic Consulting

TEDxTalk | The Big Lie

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

It was an honor to welcome Vince Pierson to Intentional Conversations. We learned so much and hope you will enjoy this encore presentation of his live vodcast!

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

1. It is easy to see why powerful figures, in sports for example, are seen as inspirational.

2. You can experience peace when you go to work and go home, but when you voice your advocacy and use your agency it is often at the sacrifice of your own peace.

3. We all have something to gain by paying attention to what’s happening in the sports space.

4. If sports is not your forte, then leave it on the bench! However, if it does make sense it can be a unique way to lean into the conversation around DEI with unifying topics, but it has to be organic.

5. The new decision on student athletes receiving compensation is a step in the right direction for equity for all.

6. As practitioners we struggle with having clients at the expense of negative news, but our goal is to be intentional about what changes can be brought forth, so we condition ourselves to be supportive.

7. If we’re not careful as entrepreneurs, we can find ourselves losing sight of the cause. It is important to redefine our purpose and how we can challenge the ways our leaders in this space are thinking about the work.

8. It is important to be mindful of how we define good and how we define impact. There is a difference between activity and impact.

9. As DEI practitioners it's beneficial to think about how you can create things that are not reliant on partners who don’t show up to the table.

CONNECT WITH VINCE:

LinkedIn

Instagram

Website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn

Nika White Consulting welcomed Sarah Noll Wilson to the Intentional Conversations vodcast and we learned so much!

Check out the encore replay of the episode and see Sarah's key takeaways below.

Key Takeaways From Sarah:

1. Avoidance can come from a place of conscious or unconscious protection, and it could be for a variety of reasons, including culture, upbringing, trauma etc.
2. Curiosity can feel simple or benign, but to get curious when its uncomfortable or when its hard is the intersection of bridging connections.
3. Notice and name when avoidance is happening because when we can see our conversations differently that is when we can start to show up.
4. The goal isn’t to not have discomfort, but how do we not let the discomfort stop us.
5. Acting for feedback is one of the most powerful ways to build trust. You should know if you’re someone that it’s okay to disagree with.
6. The experimenter’s mindset is the willingness to connect the dots of what we want to know and what we know now. One of the ways we can build our muscle on tackling complex situations is going through the good and uncomfortable conversations.
7. Assuming good intent is not always applied to everyone.

CONNECT WITH SARAH NOLL WILSON:

LinkedIn

Twitter

Sarah's Book: Don't Feed The Elephants: Overcoming The Art Of Avoidance To Build Powerful Partnerships

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Facebook

Twitter

Instagram

YouTube

LinkedIn