Intentional Conversations

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcome Abenaa Hayes to the Intentional Conversations co-host chair.

So, grab your headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation begin!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Even among the noise, there are people who still want to do this work of DEI.
• Communication is a discipline that helps us accomplish so many things. It helps to create communities and can drive and power movements.
• Communication has the power to unite people.
• You need to communicate in a truly inclusive way to reach and touch the people we want to engage.
• Words have the power to harm, but also uplift and empower. You have to be intentional around the words you use.
• DEI is in need of a reframe and a redefinition. The work of DEI is so much more than the sum of its parts.
• It is a pivot around servant leadership and truly collaborative approaches to helping people with their careers.
• DEI needs to be a part of the company and brand, it should be part of who you are… your vision, mission and values.
• We’ve lost the art of civil discourse, but we’re coming into a time where we are going to need to lean into this again. How are you supporting your people?
• Be ruthlessly focused on what your programs are… as much as BRG / ERG leaders carry the water on the work, the only way it’s impactful is if the executives are locking arms and supporting it. This helps to embed the work so that not a singular group of people is doing the work.
• If you want to amplify people, be sure you do it in an authentic way!

CONNECT WITH ABENAA:

On LinkedIn

Visit her website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

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Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcome Janice Omadeke, Founder of The Mentor Method and author of Mentorship Unlocked: The Science And Art Of Setting Yourself Up For Success, to the Intentional Conversations co-host chair.

So, grab your headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation begin!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Stats are real - you can advance your career 4 - 5x faster with mentors.

7 types of mentors everyone should have across their career - not all at once:

Company Insider

Skill Master Mentor

Money Minded Mentor

Industry Mentor

Network Mentor

Influential Ally

Peer Mentor

How do you navigate high stress situations in the world? Journal and write down all thoughts and feelings… The more you understand yourself and how to navigate high stress situations the better you are. And give yourself grace. The pressure to be perfect or align to what “Fast Company” says is a leader could be really hard to attain.

Mentors aren’t there to make decisions for you, they are there to inspire.

Why do people not ask people to mentor them? Fear of rejection / Not understanding what they’re asking for, but knowing they need it (ie. I’m sick, but I don’t know if I need a Tylenol or a flu shot?)

Diversify the mentors you work with - it reduces the anxiety, stress, fear of rejection that can blur the lines of mentor and emotional rejection.

Choice Driven Mentorship - allows mentees and mentors to take the pressure off

Having a fulfilling career is a fundamental right, don’t let anyone tell you you don’t deserve it!

CONNECT WITH JANICE:

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

Visit her website

Pre-Order Mentorship Unlocked: The Science And Art For Setting Yourself Up For Success

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

Be Facebook friends

Engage on X

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Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

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Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcome Kelly George, founder / CEO of Real Resilience, where she helps leaders and organizations create emotional ecosystems with the neurodiverse in mind, to the Intentional Conversations co-host chair.

So, grab your headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM KELLY:

• Isolation is what stifles us moving through difficult times. When you name it, you get power over your emotions and the steps you must take next.
• Bipolar is a hidden disability.
• Neurodiversity focuses on how your brain processes and takes in information.
• Making conversations normalized really starts with being able to take care of yourself well.
• For neurodivergents - give your employees space to create their plan if they’re not well.
• When someone is not at their best, they retreat into themselves. So make your wellness plan part of onboarding.
• Do we do heart, mind and body check-ins?
• Make space to witness yourself. Celebrate yourself and journal about it. Getting it on paper makes it feel real.
• How do I self regulate? Think about your legacy and what you want it to be.

CONNECT WITH KELLY:

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

Visit her website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

Be Facebook friends

Engage on X

Connect on Instagram

Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

Visit the NWC website

Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcomed Kamini Wood to the Intentional Conversations as our guest co-host.

So, grab your headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM KAMINI:

Kirsin Neff's 3 pillars of self-compassion:

• Self-Kindness
• Common Humanity
• Mindfulness

47% of our day we're either in the there or the then.

Self compassion says we’re coming back to this moment, where I am right here, right now. Allows us to shift from the place of judgment about ourselves. We can identify moments and say what can I learn from this or what can I take away from this?

When we get stuck in judgment, we shut down.

There is no weakness in sharing our vulnerabilities. Asking others what they’ve experienced and how they’ve gone through it themselves.

Mindful work is a continual work. It isn’t about shaming ourselves.

Nexting - thinking about what comes next

Mindfulness shifts us from human doings, into human beings.

It’s very difficult to hold space for others if you can’t do it for yourself. Utilize self compassion to hold space for yourself. Self acceptance is I love all parts of myself.

Shame fits in on many levels, because most often we don’t know we’re shaming ourselves. It needs to be called out or it will continue.

Understanding allows room for possibility!

Reminding people it is about agency and autonomy and how important that is. Paying attention to your values and needs and taking actions based off of that.

CONNECT WITH KAMINI:

On Instagram

On Pinterest

Visit her website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

Be Facebook friends

Engage on X

Connect on Instagram

Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

Visit the NWC website

Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcomed Dr. Julia Wiener to the Intentional Conversations as our guest co-host and she shared so much wisdom and grace in our time together.

So, grab your headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM DR. JULIA:

There’s magic in our experiences and in living out the unfair things. Magic in saying I’m gonna use this to my advantage. 

Own your stuff! 

6 things leaders should ask:

• What are they looking at?
• How do they respond to critical events?
• How do they allocate resources?
• How leaders allocate rewards and status? 
• How do recruit, select, promote and fire? 
• Deliberate Role modeling 

It’s not just what you do, it’s what you DON’T do.

Be honest, check yourself, how will this sound? When you as a leader ask for feedback, when the person of color or marginalized individual says, that made me feel bad. That’s the time to be quiet and ask “Tell me more about that.” Not the time to defend.

Language matters.

There is strength in vulnerability. There is strength in being who you are. Whatever it is that you’ve been through, talk about it… You never know who will want to connect with you because of that.

RESOURCES FROM THIS EPISODE:

Nitara Osbourne

Chad Sanders, Black Magic And What Black Leaders Learned From Trauma and Triumph

CONNECT WITH DR. JULIA:

On LinkedIn

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Visit her website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

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Engage on X

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Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

Visit the NWC website

Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcomed Amira Barger to Intentional Conversations. And here is what one of our attendees had to say... "Wow, what a powerful segment today. It was amazing!"

We agree Shelia!

 So, grab those headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• DEI and communications have more in common than people realize.
• Her mantra - Be inconvenient today.
• Words matter, but keen on ensuring the work continues to happen. Even if the advancement has to be quiet, as they work on the words to use.
• Misogyonoir effects Black women's career advancement, sense of belonging and overall well being.
• The lack of representation in the workplace for BIPOC women is a huge barrier.
• We shouldn’t assume people know and understand the process of voting, we need to educate them.
• She believes in calling in and calling out.
• Design thinking is a problem-solving approach that prioritizes empathy, collaboration and iterative process to address issues. To get to solutions that are built by the people who are impacted and for the communities they belong to. It is a powerful process that helps you to think very meaningfully - helps to go slow, to go fast.
• I believe there is enough sunshine for all of us and we can all live under the sun.
• Find others who are doing this work and partner with them to be apart of something more than predictable allyship.
• True allyship costs you something.

Favorite Articles Amira's Written:

1 - https://www.msnbc.com/know-your-value/out-of-office/black-history-month-amira-barger-hopes-her-daughter-n1302786

2 - https://www.fastcompany.com/90911029/the-head-of-dei-should-not-report-to-hr

RESOURCES FROM THE SHOW:

https://www.thc.texas.gov/public/upload/preserve/museums/files/White_Supremacy_Culture.pdf

CONNECT WITH AMIRA:

On LinkedIn

On Twitter

On Instagram

Visit her Website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

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Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

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Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Tammy Darmel Moore, founder of Footprints In Africa joined NWC and team for Intentional Conversations this past week!

We discussed purpose-driven work, the importance of it and how to sustain that type of work.

Tammy shared so much about her "third baby", Footprints In Africa! An organization she started in after visiting Africa and seeing more footprints, than shoeprints, she came home and went to work. And to say she hasn't slowed down since would really be an understatement. Today, Footprints In Africa is helping to feed over 5000 children daily, donating shoes so children are able to attend school, and helping in so many ways.

Tammy inspired us all!

So, grab those headphones 🎧, press play, and listen to the conversation! And be sure to check out Tammy's links below for Footprints In Africa's shop, website, and more.

** Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing. **

KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TAMMY:

Purpose driven work - If it’s tugging at you, take the steps to make it happen.

Don’t wait for others to support you, you will find your village along the way.

Don’t do it for awards and accolades. It has to be bigger than you for it to be sustained. If you’re doing it for selfish reasons, it won’t be.

All of her background has prepared her for such a time as this.

Never demise showing up in small ways, it can be life changing for someone else.

• The Marketplace Presented by Footprints in Africa Tickets, Sat, Mar 30, 2024 at 10:00 AM | Eventbrite

CONNECT WITH TAMMY AND FOOTPRINTS IN AFRICA:

On Facebook

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On X

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CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

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Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

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Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Engage on X

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcomed Mareisha Reese, President & COO of The Winters Group, to Intentional Conversations as our guest co-host.

Humble and wise, Mareisha shared the important lessons and wisdom she has learned in her own journey.

So, grab those headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

• Being the only Black woman in professional places has helped her to empathize.
• DEI is alive and well!
• The importance of leaders knowing their individual employees is so important.
• Organizations don’t talk about polarizing topics because it is hard, but you can’t just not say anything. Silence is not the answer.

RESOURCES FROM EPISODE:

Racial Justice At Work: Practical Solutions For Systemic Change

We Can't Talk About That At Work! (2nd Edition)

Racial Justice At Work Summit (April 23 - 25) - Learn more & register!

CONNECT WITH MAREISHA:

On LinkedIn

On Instagram

Visit The Winters Group website

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

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Engage on X

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Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

Visit the NWC website

Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

This week we welcomed Tomi Fadeyi-Jones to Intentional Conversation as our guest co-host.

We talked about the importance of talking about DEI with your children, how DEI is very misunderstood, and Tomi shared her simple definition of what DEI means to her.

So, grab those headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

DEI is not always to fix a problem, sometimes it's to take you from good to better to best.

You are never done getting better.

DEI impacts every, single person and is very misunderstood!

Try not to say “BUT”, use “AND” instead.

You want DEI to be included in the by-laws because it takes lots of steps for it to change. It doesn’t need to be easy to change.

If we keep trying to focus on the ones who are not on board with us, we won’t make any progress.

The focus of DEI is we are all human, we are all people and the idea is creating environments where we can all be our best! It is not any more complicated than that.

CONNECT WITH TOMI:

Via LinkedIn

Website: www.myhrconsultantllc.com

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

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Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated

Welcome to Intentional Conversations, where we intersect diversity, equity, and inclusion with leadership and business.

It was an honor to welcome a dear friend and fellow author, Ritu Bhasin, to the Intentional Conversations mic this past week.

What a rich conversation we had, full of much learned wisdom. You're going to need paper and pen or your Notes app open for this one.

So, grab those headphones 🎧, press play, and let the conversation go!

Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to our channel because we're all about keeping the great conversations flowing.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

Belonging - the profound feeling that we hold inside of ourselves of being honored and accepted for who we are, first and foremost by our own selves, and this is what empowers us to claim belonging with others

Belonging is about being who we are - it is about authenticity.

Belonging is the OUTCOME of cultivating authenticity.

Core wisdom - the inner knowing that we hold that enables us to understand what we feel inside of us

Helps us to clock what is going on in my mind and what is going on in my body

It is important to understand that when we do our personal healing and growth work, even through the systems is entrenched in inquiries and is designed to hate on us, we still belong to ourselves and there is no greater feeling.

As human beings, we are created and wired for belonging.

Surrender goes hand in hand with our healing work around woundedness and trauma.

We are all on a journey and doing our best!

Authenticity is contagious.

Live a life that is more still and rooted in ease and peace. Chaos is around me, but it doesn’t need to be inside me.

RITU'S BOOKS:

You Got This

The Authenticity Principle: Resist Conformity, Embrace Differences, And Transform How You Live, Work, and Lead

CONNECT WITH RITU:

On Instagram

On X

On LinkedIn

On YouTube

Learn More on her Websites: Ritu Bhasin & Bhasin Consulting

CONNECT WITH NIKA WHITE CONSULTING:

Connect on LinkedIn

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Engage on X

Connect on Instagram

Subscribe to the NWC YouTube channel (and never miss new content! Coming weekly!)

Visit the NWC website

Get your copy of Inclusion Uncomplicated