Leading in Color with Sarah Morgan

This is a solo episode featuring host, Sarah Morgan, discussing the importance of defining microaggression and including policy and conduct standards forbidding it in your workplace.

MicroAggressions are the often foundation where discrimination, harassment and bullying are built. Having a policy to address occurrences is the best way to get started eradicating bias and increasing inclusion in your workplace.

Sarah also discusses Mizzou's failed diversity campaign and how the Always and McDonald's brands have shown progressive, inclusive and ethical leadership during Hot Topics.

Follow the show pages on Facebook and Instagram at "Leading in Color Podcast" and Twitter at "Leading in Color" -- and you can email the show at [email protected]

The episode guest is Anne Tomkinson.

Anne Tomkinson, SHRM-SCP, is an HR practitioner in Washington, DC. With over fifteen years in the field, Anne has experience overseeing all aspects of employment relations and employment law as well as strategic planning, policy development, program/project management, budgeting and contract negotiations.

She has provided human resources and operational consultation to a variety of DC area non-profit organizations and has served as a board member of Little Lights Urban Ministries, a non-profit providing resources for underserved students and families in DC. Anne holds a Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science in Management from The Catholic University of America.

Anne is a successful coach, trainer, mentor and public speaker, and thrives on creating positive teamwork and fostering a culture of engagement. Anne is passionate about equity and justice, and works to create spaces where everyone can bring their authentic selves to work.

Here are the takeaways from this interview with Anne:

• We are all racist … Because our society is built on supremacy, all of us are racist. We must accept this and actively work to be anti-racist.
• We must listen to the voices in the margins … Our society centers and normalizes Whiteness. We must actively seek marginalized voices to listen to and learn from.
• Anti-racism work is ongoing and never ending … You cannot attend one workshop or read one book and declare your anti-racism work complete. It takes ongoing, regular effort. Anne cited Layla Saad's Me & White Supremacy book as a great resource for this. You can pre-order the book here.

Thank you for listening to Episode 16 of the Leading in Color podcast. I hope you will connect with Anne on Twitter @annetomk and on LinkedIn at "Anne-Tomkinson"

I also hope you will connect with Leading in Color at @leadingincolorpodcast on FB and Instagram and @leadingincolor on Twitter. I'd love your feedback and questions at my email [email protected] -- and of course I want you to subscribe, rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and now iHeart Radio and Stitcher!

This is a solo episode featuring updates on the EEO1 Component 2, the repeal of the ACA Cadillac Tax and potential payroll issues caused by Leap Day in 2020.

Here's the link to the viral incident at NC State University discussed in the episode: https://abc11.com/5585611

Here's the link to my new website where you can connect with me for consulting and speaking opportunities: https://buzzarooneyllc.com

Follow the show pages on Facebook and Instagram at "Leading in Color Podcast" and Twitter at "Leading in Color" -- and you can email the show at [email protected]

In this episode, Sarah shares the story of a profiling incident with her children during the summer. She ties this to hot topic stories about body policing, body shaming and dress code.

Here are the stories referred to in the episode:

https://cbsaustin.com/news/local/east-texas-school-district-tells-boy-to-cut-hair-or-wear-a-dress

https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2019/09/11/victory-by-swimmer-disqualified-wedgie-is-reinstated-by-alaska-officials/

Also, here are the links to Sarah's guest appearances on other podcast shows:

Cavness HR show - Change Management

#SecureTheSeat with Minda Harts - The Warning Signs of Toxic Environments

#NoEgo with Cy Wakeman - Intersectional Allyship in Leadership

Today's Leading In Color episode guest is Katrina Jones.

Katrina Jones is the head of diversity and inclusion for a major tech company headquartered in the San Francisco Bay Area. Her area of expertise and passion is in developing workplace solutions that increase organizational effectiveness, boost employee engagement, and contribute to a more equitable and inclusive work environment.

Katrina previously served as the HR and diversity lead at Vimeo, creating the company's first-ever diversity strategy and plan to disrupt bias. She has also worked in a number of inclusion and diversity, and HR roles, with multinational companies, across industries.

Katrina holds an MA in Human Resource Management from The Catholic University of America.

Here are the takeaways from this interview with Katrina:

• HR vs DE&I … Organizations have to determine where diversity, equity and inclusion are best advocated for. Sometimes HR cannot be that place either because we're too transactional or because we are too rigid and risk averse to be the disruptors needed to make the shift. Ultimately, HR needs to see DE&I as a complementary area of our overall work and focus on ways to collaborate until we call all live under the same umbrella.

• DE&I-Q and EQ … Similar to what Dr Conrad said in Episode 11, Katrina talks about that need to increase your DE&I-Q and your EQ at the same time. She highlights the importance of recognizing this is something that is going to take a good amount of time and effort. Confronting and unlearning our bias is not an overnight process. We cannot expect views that we've developed over a lifetime to disappear after one seminar. Katrina highlighted the work of White Men as Full Diversity Partners as a worthwhile resource.

Please connect with Katrina on Twitter @Katrina_HRM and on LinkedIn at "Katrina Jones"

I also hope you will connect with Leading in Color at @leadingincolorpodcast on FB and Instagram and @leadingincolor on Twitter. I'd love your feedback and questions at my email [email protected] -- and of course I want you to subscribe, rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

This is a solo episode featuring updates on the EEO1 Component 2, ordinances for changes to gender neutral language in Berkeley, CA and lessons from a viral racist attack in Raleigh, NC.

Here's the link to the CNN article discussed in the episode: https://www.cnn.com/2019/07/18/us/berkeley-gendered-language-ban-trnd/index.html

Here's the link to the viral racist incident in Raleigh discussed in the episode: https://www.wral.com/i-would-say-it-again-says-woman-who-used-racial-slur-in-north-hills-restaurant-confrontation/18530118/

Here's the link to my new website where you can signup for my newsletter: https://buzzarooneyllc.com/

The lessons from this episode is about infusing your company values into your workforce. Sarah outlines 5 events and 4 spaces to consider in this.

The 5 events are onboarding, orientation, promotion/transfer, anniversary and exit.

The 4 spaces are workspaces, breakspaces, restrooms and bulletin boards.

Additionally, Sarah provided questions to consider when cultivating these events and spaces.

Questions for events are:

• What is important for the person to know about in this moment?
• What is important for the person to do?
• What is important for them to understand or for you to assess?
• What is important for the person to feel?

Questions for spaces are:

• What physical workspace does this person need?
• What equipment does this person need?
• What do we want people to feel in these spaces?
• What does the space need to look like? This ties to the last question.
• How often will we update our spaces?

Follow the show pages on Facebook and Instagram at "Leading in Color Podcast" and Twitter at "Leading in Color" -- and you can email the show at [email protected]

This is a solo episode featuring personal updates as well as legal updates on the EEO1 Component 2, the CROWN Act recently passed in California, and the new requirements for job postings in Washington state.

Here's the link to the Cary Magazine article discussed in the episode: https://www.carymagazine.com/features/meet-the-2019-movers-shakers/

Here's the link to the Buzz on HR post referenced in the episode: https://thebuzzonhr.com/2011/06/19/four-letter-hr-wisdom-from-my-dad/

Here are the links to the websites and books discussed in the episode:

• https://www.wintersgroup.com/
• https://www.blackspeakersnetwork.com/
• https://treneesmith.com/

Here's the link to my new website where you can signup for my newsletter: https://buzzarooneyllc.com/

This episode's interview is with Dr. Jarik Conrad.

Jarik Conrad, EdD, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, is a best-selling author and sought after keynote speaker. He has been recognized as a thought-leader in the areas of emotional intelligence, diversity and inclusion, and leadership.

Dr. Conrad is the Sr. Director of Human Capital Management (HCM) Innovation for Ultimate Software. Jarik has held significant human resources roles at Fortune 500 companies, including McDonnell Douglas (Boeing), Pillsbury (General Mills), Union Carbide (Dow), Citigroup, and CSX Technology. In addition, he directed the human resources department for the City of Jacksonville, Florida.

Dr. Conrad earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Illinois, two master's degrees from Cornell University, and a doctor of education degree from the University of North Florida. He is also a certified Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR), a SHRM Senior Certified Professional (SHRM-SCP), a certified intercultural sensitivity expert, and a certified emotional intelligence expert. He also holds a certification in Plant-Based Nutrition and is a certified personal trainer (CPT).

The primary takeaways from this interview are:

1. Understand the science of your brain. This is crucial to working to combat and overcome bias. Our mirror neuron system is the part of our brain that makes us naturally want to connect with people -- first thru shared appearance then thru shared experience. The only way to move beyond it is to understand it and actively work at being more mindful of how it creeps in so we can make fully aware choices.

1. EQ is the future of work. As leaders, what we have to work on is our ability to manage stress, to remain optimistic and keep our esteem high in the face of adversity, to control our impulses, to leverage our intellect in how we influence. That takes more EQ than IQ. If you want to lead in color, you have to actively work on your EQ -- both in terms of your own self awareness and self management as well as your awareness of others and how you manage relationships.

1. Total Wellness. Our health is interconnected. Stress from home and work, racial stress, financial stress, etc. all have an impact on our physical and mental health. This impacts our workplace from both a productivity and medical trend experience standpoint -- and from an innovation standpoint.

Dr. Conrad mentions these bodies of work during the interview which you may want to read more about:

• Daniel Goleman's work on Emotional Intelligence
• Dr. Conrad's book "The Fragile Mind"
• The Ultimate Software blog
• The Ultimate Software webinar on Mental Health in the workplace

Connect with Dr. Conrad on LinkedIn at @cornellians and on Twitter @DrJarikConrad.

Today's episode guest is Stephanie Ghoston-Paul.

Stephanie Ghoston-Paul is a recovering lawyer and an internationally recognized speaker, facilitator, and organizational development consultant. She brings over 15 years of experience in advancing equity, fostering inclusive leadership and sparking systems transformation using racial justice and healing frameworks.

Stephanie's unique approach skillfully and wholeheartedly combines her sharp legal mind, problem solving skills, and love of people to powerfully serve clients and challenge existing systems. She has worked with leaders and staff in the nonprofit, for-profit, education, foundation and public sectors to integrate equity and inclusion into the core identities of those organizations. She's well versed in assessing organizational culture, tool building, and strategic coaching for equity. Stephanie is also on the board for the Global Youth Leadership Institute, a program she completed in high school as a member of its founding cohort.

Stephanie mentions the following resources during the episode for you to check out in doing your own education surrounding equity and inclusion:

• "Emergent Strategy" book by Adrienne Maree Brown
• "Unapologetic: A Black, Queer, and Feminist Mandate for Radical Movements" book by Charlene Carruthers
• "How We Fight White Supremacy: A Field Guide to Black Resistance" book by Akiba Solomon
• "Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder" book by Nasim Nicholas Taleb
• "The Characteristics of White Supremacy Culture" article by Tema Okun

Stephanie also discusses some shifts organizations must make to "prime:" their workplace for inclusion and equity prior to hiring marginalized candidates to reduce the likelihood for harm and increase retention:

1. Mindset shift. This requires the organization to become open and aware of ways supremacist and patriarchal ideologies exist in the world and in the workplace. The organization must commit to dismantling the systems and addressing non-commitment by any and all individuals.
2. Cultural shift. This requires the organization to examine its cultural norms, affinity groups and existing diversity. The organization must examine its norms for communication, engagement and addressing differences and conflict in its current population to make sure it is healthy before adding additional diversity to the mix.
3. Policy shift. This requires the organization to look at its compensation, time off, leave and other employee-centered policies to ensure they are inclusive and minimize disparate impact. If the enforcement of these policies currently have disparate impact, the organization needs to address and resolve these issues before adding additional diversity to the mix.

Stephanie strongly believes that individuals, communities and organizations must be primed for a foundational identity shift in order for any anti-bias, inclusion and equity efforts to be long-lasting and sustainable. There also needs to be a clear understanding of the appropriate workplace relationship between interpersonal relationships and accountability for the heart, mind, belief and behavior which causes inclusion challenges to be overcome. Achieving this requires commitment to anti-fragility and consequences for those who fail to fully, sincerely commit.

Connect with Stephanie on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram @cultivatedsense and on LinkedIn at "Stephanie Ghoston Paul". Also be sure to go to her website stephanieghoston.com to sign up for her newsletter and stay up to date on both the live and web events she's involved in.

Click HERE to register for Stephanie's June 18, 2019 webinar, "Leading & Coaching for Equity."

I also hope you will connect with Leading in Color at @leadingincolorpodcast on FB and Instagram and @leadingincolor on Twitter. I'd love your feedback and questions at my email [email protected] -- and of course I want you to subscribe, rate and review the podcast on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts and Spotify.

In this episode, host Sarah Morgan talks about company values -- how to determine and define them, how to infuse them into your culture, AND how to make sure they are inclusive.

Back in Episode 3 when Sarah did a breakdown about what cultivating positive workplace experiences and environments with a focus on diversity, inclusion and social-consciousness truly means, as an action step, she talked about asking yourself what your organizational values are and what they look like in action. She dives deeper on the subject in this episode.

This process starts by identifying the difference between Mission, Vision and Values. Your mission is "why", your vision is "what" and your values are "how".

There are 2 recommended exercises to determine and define your company values:

• Brainstorm/Brain-dump of words which embody what the company is most proud of and how it wants to operate
• Role Modeling by examining the traits and behaviors of top performing and respected employees.

Once a list is made, group similar words together and refine the list until 3-7 words are selected. Continue the conversation about the behaviors of someone acting out and embodying these values as a guide for creating policies and procedures which infuse and embed your values across the organization.

Connect with the Leading in Color podcast:

• Instagram: @leadingincolorpodcast
• Twitter: @leadingincolor
• Email: [email protected]

Connect with our host, Sarah Morgan

• Instagram and Twitter: @thebuzzonhr
• Email: [email protected]