Good Vibes Leadership with Bernadette Smith

This Week's Good Vibes: To Celebrate Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month, Mattel Is Introducing a Doll Based on Hollywood Pioneer Anna May Wong Ben & Jerry’s Co-founder Starts Cannabis Nonprofit to Support Social Causes MrBeast Calls Out Transphobic Backlash to Chris Tyson’s Hormone Therapy Smartsheet Is Now Giving Logo Space to Various Nonprofit Organizations in F1 Racing Democrat Angie Craig H...

This Week's Good Vibes: The Owners of Butter & Gave Their Employees Stock Options Barbie Doll With Down’s Syndrome Launched by Mattel Linkedin’s New Commitments Tool Lets Users Screen Prospective Employers by What They Stand For Taraji P. Henson and Kate Spade Are Teaming Up With HBCUs USA Today Highlights Some of the Incredible Accessible Products They’ve Seen and the Impact They’re Making in Peo...

This Week's Good Vibes: A Navy Ship Named for a Confederate Victory Now Honors a Black Union Hero Alaska Airlines’ First Class Gets Upgrade With Black Sisters’ Wine Disability Activists Grace Cover Of British Vogue Nasdaq Board Diversity Rule Boosted LGBTQ Policies Beaches Resorts Grows Program For Guests On The Spectrum This Week’s Call to Action: If you don’t already get Karen Catlin’s fantastic...

This week I was in a series of meetings with a client, leading them through our Inclusive 360 assessment process. Our assessment is extremely granular, breaking down DEI into a series of small tactics, across all functions. As part of the process, we put employees in small group meetings and go through the assessment questions. One leader repeatedly used the phrase “not yet” when answering my ques...

This Week's Good Vibes: Transgender Woman Inducted Into The National Women's Hall of Fame March Madness Finals Ratings Set A Record High For Women Historically Black University Created Its Own Tech Intern Pipeline Goldman Sachs Invests $2 Billion in Black Women-Owned Businesses — The First Chapter of a Bigger Plan Bud Light Doesn't Care That You're Mad About Its Dylan Mulvaney Collab Call to actio...

In this week's Good Vibes, in honor of yesterday's Transgender Day of Visibility, I’d like to introduce you to some amazing transgender business owners, many of whom are authors. I hope you’ll consider following and supporting them: Celia Daniels (she/her) I am an Asian Indian trans woman of color who is an entrepreneur, public speaker, activist, motivator, musician, artist, photographer, and film...

Here are the good vibes I found this week: Maryland Just Made It Easier for Its Residents to Access Gender-Affirming Care Wetzel’s Pretzels Is Giving Female Entrepreneurs a Boost With New Franchisee Equity Program Disability Rights Advocates Speak Out Against Candace Owens Harmful Comments on Disability Representation Chip Makers Will Have to Provide Child Care to Tap Joe Biden’s Huge $39 Billion...

Here are the good vibes I found this week: Critical Care Physician Creates Curly Hair Kits for Patients Allstate Is Listening to Employees Walmart Has Designed Inclusive Uniforms for Workers Gov. Whitmer Signs Bill Expanding Michigan Civil Rights Law to Include LGBTQ Protections New VA Mission Statement Recognizes Sacred Commitment to All Veterans, Their Families, Caregivers, and Survivors Call to...

Here are the good vibes I found this week: New Lego Sets Feature Characters With A Range Of Disabilities Minnesota Governor Signs Order Protecting Access to Gender-Affirming Health Care How IKEA Retail Reached Gender Balance Globally For Leadership Roles QVC Boosts Adaptive, Accessible Product Offerings Biden’s Dei Executive Order Mandates That Each Government Agency Create an “Equity Team” and Al...

Here are the good vibes I found this week: Rei Co-op Asks Suppliers to up their Inclusivity Game Major Companies Are Using AI to Avoid Bias and Cliches in Advertising Supporters Rally Around Trans Activist in Hershey’s Women’s Day Campaign Nordstrom Teams With The Folklore Group to Grow Black-owned Brands Gabrielle Union-Wade, Dwyane Wade Call for Black LGBTQ Community Support at Naacp Image Award...

Here are the good vibes I found this week: The South Korean high court ruled that same-sex couples in the country are entitled to the same national health benefits as their opposite-sex counterparts. Emmy Award-winning costume designer and Beyonce’s former stylist Zerina Akers partnered with Barbie to create a collection of dolls that are icons of Black culture Home Depot became the latest company...

This week I attended the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer Executive Insights event. The Trust Barometer is an annual global trust and credibility study that measures trust across society . I’ve used their data in my work over the years so I was surprised to learn this year that the business was named as the most trusted institution. Business is trusted more than non-governmental organizations, the med...

This week I spoke with a few clients to discuss the workshop series for 2023. What impressed me most was the care to ensure a variety of diverse identities were represented in the content and presenters . In fact, on one call, I was joined by leaders from the LGBTQ+, Women’s, and Black Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to discuss a series of workshops that thoughtfully included all identities. The H...

I originally started this newsletter with a story about a mistaken assumption I made but my editor told me, “It comes across to me like you are downplaying biases… and I think this also shows your privilege that you don't have to deal with biased situations as others do.” I’m here for accountability. It’s my job to keep my team both diverse and psychologically safe where each person feels comforta...

Earlier this week I was at the law firm Jenner & Block for an event. As I was attaching my lavalier mic, the tech said, referring to me, “ she’s a pro [with the mic].” Seconds later, the tech came back and said, “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to assume your gender.” I responded with, “No worries! You guessed right. Thank you.” I found this whole exchange startling in a good way. I even told the stor...

This week I delivered a keynote and I had a question from a manager who was struggling with an employee who was disrupting the team with negativity and hate. I believe it always comes back to empathy, in this case, the manager having empathy for that employee. Whether we’re talking about conversations about politics or race, or whatever, inclusion always comes back to empathy . After all, I only k...

Happy new year! I hope this year is a wonderful one for you, personally and professionally. As always, I’m optimistic that we’re all on the right side of history. I’ll keep sharing the good vibes with you every week and cheer you on along on this DEI journey. Lately, I’ve had some conversations with people who’ve shared with me how they’ve been using 5 Things. You’re a creative bunch! I can’t tell...

This week I received a message from a former client: "Yippee for our marriages being codified into law!" Some of you may know that I spent years as a wedding planner with an LGBTQ+ specialty and a speaker on inclusion in that industry. I started that business in 2004. I was so young! It's been nearly 19 years since the first legal same-sex marriage licenses were issued in Massachusetts -- and only...

I had a conversation this week with a very kind senior DEI leader who wanted to help me help the company. They gave me some words to say that they thought might help get buy-in from the boss. This person encouraged me to pitch our Inclusive 360 Assessment as an “organizational improvement methodology” , not DEI. Our future work together as “change management”, not DEI. All of this is true because...

Recently, I’ve been thinking about the topic of vulnerability. We’ve been told that vulnerability in teams and in groups can unlock greatness. That it creates connection, establishes trust, and can lead to everyone doing their best work. Here’s the thing about vulnerability that I think gets forgotten: somebody has to go first. That's what's on my mind these days. Life can be intense. And it can b...

Today our Senior Consultant Patti Flynn is joining me as a guest writer.  This week was (and still is through today) Trans Awareness Week. This week culminates in the Trans Day of Remembrance (TDOR) tomorrow, on November 20th. TDOR was started in 1999 by a transgender advocate as a vigil to the memory of Rita Hester who was killed in anti-transgender violence. The somber nature of the end of the w...

A new study from Boston College and the Society of Human Resources Management tells us that 65% of organizations believe DEI is important, yet 63% give little to no resources to DEI . This doesn’t surprise me. In my conversations with organizations, I find many who see DEI as an HR or L&D initiative. In other words, recruitment, and training. There are many DEI actions that can be taken that cost...

When I’m prepping for a keynote, I love to spend time talking to the client about their DEI goals and current state. Between all these conversations, research for 5 Things, and research for my book, Inclusive 360 , I think I figured out the winning formula for meaningful DEI progress: Purpose + Strategy + Accountability (PSA).  It sounds simple but we all know it’s not easy. Let me break it down:...

This week my partner and I went to see U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor talk in Chicago . She answered most of her questions while walking through the audience, shaking hands, and signing books. The Justice approaches her work with an amazing amount of grace and gentleness and sees her greatest work as being a trailblazer for others. She’s written three children’s books and dedicates an...

This week, I spent three days (and joyful evenings) with other thought leaders, each working to bring our new keynotes to life with the brilliant team at Heroic Public Speaking. I had a great week and did some fantastic work, but I started to feel a little down on myself once I left. I didn’t feel like writing this morning. Spending three days with other thought leaders can trigger comparisonitis...