Strong Women. Stronger World.

Deepa is an author, speaker and the cofounder of nFormation. She is also a WAPPP Leader in Practice at the Harvard Kennedy School where her primary focus area of research is systemic racism and the advancement of women of color in corporate America. She speaks extensively about diversity, equity and inclusion and has been featured at national conferences and in publications like Bloomberg and Harvard Business Review. Extending this focus to her community, Deepa is devoted to helping Indian girls realize their potential, and has helped found Avasara, the first leadership academy targeting young women in India.

Key Takeaways:

- 0:00 Intro

- 3:08 Deepa shares her story and what lead her to focusing on empowering and elevating women of color

- 5:36 Deepa discusses the obstacles that may be holding women of color back from rising and how they overcome these challenges

- 9:34 Deepa talks about the importance of diversity, inclusion, innovation and authentic leadership style in a company 

- 11:57 Deepa talks about glass ceiling for women and if there’s a different ceiling for women of color

- 13:54 Deepa speaks of what the new normal for women, especially women of color looks like now that things won’t be the same after COVID

- 17:35 Deepa talks about why the culture on not giving equal opportunities to women of color in a business needs to change  

- 20:07 Deepa talks about how COVID has helped bring up these issues of women of color being denied equal opportunities to the table for discussion 

- 23:19 Deepa shares why they decided to create a space where women of color could be vulnerable and share their stories and why that was important

- 25:05 Deepa also elaborates on what it means to be ‘A First A Few and The Only’ as the title of her book

- 30:14 Deepa encourages women of color that it is okay to fail because that is how people get to learn

- 32:27 Deepa talks about how everyone can get involved and support women of color at this important pivotal moment

- 36:03 Deepa elaborates on what nFormation is about and how it’s creating a safe space where women of color can have discussions of any kind

- 39:51 Deepa hints on when her book is coming out

- 40:20 Deepa talks about what makes her strong especially as a leader 

- 41:14 Deepa talks about how having the first vice president as a woman of color is going to help solve the problem of women of color getting equal opportunities

 

Books Mentioned:


The firsts, The fews and the Onlys; Why Women of Color Need to Redefine Power in Corporate America by Deepa Purushothaman with Harper Collins
Shows Mentioned:
https://hbr.org/  
https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/all-research 

Quotes Mentioned:


“Figure out who you are, what's important to you and what your truth is.”


“You need to know where your lines are.”


“We need people to not conform; we need people to bring their full voice and their ideas.”


“Showing up is about bringing more than who you are; it's also bringing those ideas.”


“We’re in this together and together, we are strong as women.”


“There’s not really a reward for being different all the time.”


“You’re going to get your biggest learning from your failures, sometimes more than your success.”


“Leaders take risks.”


“It's not about scarcity, it's about the fact that if we have more of us, we're going to change it for all of us.”


“Always dream big.”

 

Guests Social Media Links:
Website: https://www.n2formation.com/ 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/deepa-purushothaman-81764116/ 
Twitter: https://twitter.com/n2formation 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/n2formation 
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/n2formation/

Arnold Sanow is a certified professional speaker that, quite frankly, helps people get along. Through emotional intelligence, communication, and building interpersonal relationships, Arnold helps companies and organizations grow their workplace engagement and employee relationships. As the saying goes, team work makes the dream work, and Arnold is an expert in helping your company achieve their dreams by helping grow the bond in your team. He's also published six books, his most recent being "Get Along with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere" Join us for an amazing conversation on the in's and out's of teamwork and employee relationships in this opening episode of Strong Women. Stronger World. 

 

Key Takeaways:
0:00 Intro
2:29 Arnold gives a little background of his life and how he got into Get Along Coaching
4:59 Arnold talks about the importance of getting along with other people as a leader
9:03 Arnold explains why he thinks that getting along with people depends on where you are coming from
9:50 Arnolds also talks about communication breakdowns as what causes problems in organizations
13:29 Arnold shares the importance of body language, how it can be helpful if you S-O-F-T-E-N your image and it’s applicability to both men and women – Smile, openness, forward lean or focus, territory, eye contact and nod
21:06 Arnold talks about the language to use and some words that you need to avoid so as to get along with people
27:56 Arnold speaks of how to strategically say no effectively as a leader and the kind of tone you should use by using the USA technique
36:50 Arnold discus in details the six things to do to have people sing your praises - Attitude, appreciation, be reliable and responsive, be credible, appearance and empathy
49:19 Arnold and Joni shares what makes them strong in their leadership

Books Mentioned:
Get Along with Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere by Arnold Sanow
Emotional Intelligence by Daniel Goleman
Good to Great by James C. Collins

Shows Mentioned:
So You Think You Can Dance

Quotes Mentioned:
“It’s nice to be great, but it's greater to be nice.”
“It’s better to give than to receive.”
“The single most important ingredient, the formula of success is getting along and connecting with others.”
“The softer skills are going to be more important moving forward than technical skills.”
“Words do hurt.”
“Sticks and stones can break my bones, but words can never.”
“Be sure to taste your words before you spit them out.”
“Don’t assume everybody agrees with you.”
“If the punishment fits the crime don't jump on.”
“It's not the situation that happens in our lives, but it's how we react to them.”
“I was upset that I had no shoes until I saw someone who had no feet.”
“Don’t judge a book by its cover.”
“My perception is your reality.”
“You need to take a deeper look before you make your judgment.”
“Before you walk a mile in my shoes, you need to take off yours first.”
“Do unto others as you would want others to do unto yourself.”

Guests Social Media Links:
https://arnoldsanow.com/ 
[email protected]
https://www.facebook.com/arnold.sanow 
https://twitter.com/getalongcoach

Get ready to accelerate your leadership learning. This podcast is for women who are ready to step into their leadership and change the world. Strong Women. Stronger World.