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

This week we welcomed Tommi Paris to Intentional Conversations!

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

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KEY TAKEAWAYS FROM TOMMI:

• As referees, we are absorbing chaos and create calm.
• Try to create calm by underlining needs and values that are connected to what I’m seeing in someone else.
• Even when I’m 100% right and someone else is 100% wrong, I still want to understand what’s going on.
• I rarely look to agree, especially in this work, we’re not going to arrive at agreement. I generally look for closure.
• My goal and my motive isn’t going to be to change their mind, it’s impossible… but trying to achieve closure is the key.
• We’ve lost the art of nuance… and we’re atrophying our muscles around dialogue and really centering understanding, versus agreement.
• We don’t have the hard conversations becuase they aren’t safe, so as a leader what am I doing to create a safe space where taking a risk is ok?
• Your orientation to learning has to be humility.
• It really moves people when there is no difference in status, people who are seemingly untouchable, versus the people who are always getting ganged, when we reduce the strata, and someone is called in of a high status, how you show up in those moments will shift an organization overnight.
• You might be rocking it out on the spreadsheets, but you’re leaving dead bodies behind you.
• Inclusive leadership is our access to high performance. If we stay the course it will be a beautiful thing.

RESOURCES SHARED DURING EPISODE:

https://www.nikawhite.com/from-the-hardwood-to-history-dawn-staley-s-uncommon-favor-and-the-power-of-storytelling

CONNECT WITH TOMMI:

On LinkedIn

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