Leading Consciously

What does it take to get ahead in the corporate world? How much harder is it when you are female? Jean interviews Dr. Brad Johnson,  a White male clinical psychologist who has spent most of his professional life learning and teaching how to encourage female talent. His answers are straightforward; simple but not easy. These involve mentoring in the moment, seeking out those who are different, and...

Dr. Beth Kaplan, in her introduction to her new book Braving the Workplace: “I know what it's like to be unseen, unheard and unhappy. I know what it's like to feel so much and have so much to say, but you can't find the words to express what you're going through. I know what it's like to feel tired, a deep fatigue, preventing you from absorbing joy. It's lonely, but you are...

What if you could bring passion, joy, and meaning to your life? What if you feel stuck in a humdrum routine but have no time for anything else? What if someone could show you how to function with your whole heart even if you only have a few minutes? Jean interviews Suneel Gupta, who tells you how to find everyday dharma in the midst of a challenging life. It is not measured by outward success, nor...

What are the secrets of becoming a really great leader? Jean interviews Craig Dowden, author of A Time to Lead: Mastering Your Self… So You Can Master Your World and positive psychology coach. The most important qualities of leadership, he says, are trust and authenticity. Trust: your leaders will hear you, value you, consider your concerns, and be honest and transparent. Authenticity: their value...

How do you go from being a 19-year-old activist, meeting Harry Belafonte, to deconstructing power, to being a bank president getting CEOs on board with DEI? Where does wealth sit? How was it obtained? Along the way she discusses the “nonprofit industrial complex.” For answers, listen to the podcast. Then read her book, From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion....

Jean interviews Minal Bopaiah, author of Equity: How to Design Organizations Where Everyone Thrives. She has much to say about the long and complicated path for DEI. Key highlights: why equity is not the same as equality, how ableism is the most entrenched source of oppression, and three obstacles to discussing systemic racism: progress and personalization narrative, belief in rugged individualism...

This week Jean interviews Dr. Myrtle Bell, author of  Diversity in Organizations . Dr. Bell talks about the value of diversity, the resistance to it, and how to overcome the resistance without the use of quotas. She says, “I really believe that people don't know what they don't know,” and “sometimes empowerment is just being able to decide not to do something; that means you're strong...

Lisa Fain is the head of the Center for Mentoring Excellence. She spoke with Jean about the growth potential for mentors and mentees when they truly speak with, listen to, and respect each other’s personhood. Nobody owns difference. Everybody owns difference. Lisa says: "Relationships involve getting to know one another. It involves real curiosity. Seeing you as a human being with whom I want...

Hamza Khan’s book, Leadership Reinvented, offers a roadmap to productivity, resilience, and constant change. In this podcast, he and Jean Latting engage in an animated conversation about leadership, resilience, belonging, and burnout. He speaks of his own experience. He offers much to contemplate, including his own experience as a Muslim erroneously placed on the do-not-fly list. Ironically, as an...

This week Jean interviews Amri Johnson, CEO of Inclusion Wins, "a global cooperative of product and service providers focused on people-related solutions for organizations of all sizes." He is the author of Reconstructing Inclusion: Making DEI Accessible, Actionable, and Sustainable. Amri Johnson has a few provocative things to say about the current state of efforts toward diversity, equ...

Who are you? And how do you want to be known? One can be Black, male, heterosexual, cis-gendered, liberal, college graduate, athletic, married. Which matters to you? Which will cause you to be judged by others who don’t know you? What would your DNA test think you are? How do you self-identify? Our identities affect our allyship with those who are being marginalized because of one or more of their...

Speak up! But how? "You don’t know my boss." Daniel Oestreich knows the dilemma well: he coaches people and groups on how to speak their truth with dignity and curiosity. Dan says: "The word I like these days is dignity, that we should be treating each other in a way that reinforces dignity of whoever you are." What does dignity look like? And what are the temptations that take...

If you lived close to the equator, how might your skin color protect you from harmful radiation? And if you lived far from the equator, would this protection be as critical?  What about Vitamin D? How might your closeness to the equator and the lightness or darkness of your skin affect how much you are able to absorb? Nina Jablonski proposes these two factors – susceptibility to harmful radiation...

This is a remarkable podcast with a remarkable woman. Dr. Menah Pratt-Clarke is Vice President for Strategic Affairs and Diversity at Virginia Tech. Her parents earned PhDs in the 1960s and had to navigate racism and sexism in academia. Dr. Pratt learned how to follow the whisper of the spirit, work within and without the system, address racism and sexism head-on, and promote impactful diversity i...

In today’s world, leadership is not about telling people what to do. Moral leadership is required. But how does one learn moral leadership? Can it be taught? And more important, can it be learned? Follow this week’s podcast with a conversation between Jean Latting and Rod McCowan, who trains leaders to consider moral principles when making decisions. -----------------------------------------------...

Health disparities between Black and Whites, ethnic groups, and socioeconomic groups are not news. Sherra Aguirre speaks with Jean about the leadership role she took on in her community to promote changing the typical African American diet. In concert with other community leaders, the goal was to stave off common health issues such as heart disease, even without medical intervention. In the proces...

This week Jean interviews Victor Varnado. Born with albinism, he didn’t know he was any different from his Black family until around age 4. Bullied at school for his light skin and poor eyesight, he learned to use his humor as a weapon. From there he worked in entertainment, became a cartoonist for The New Yorker, and wrote The Anti-Racism Activity Book for kids (available through antiracism.onlin...

Moral dilemma: Suppose you completely disagree with someone on a principle that you are morally sure of. What next? One person will find it easy to listen to their point of view even while disagreeing. Another person will try to pinpoint exactly what they are disagreeing about A third person will break off the relationship and stop talking. In this conversation, Jean questions Ilana Redstone about...

What does leadership look like when the mission is fighting against sex trafficking? What does it look like when a woman with a corporate background, masters in clinical psychology, and megachurch pastor takes on sex traffickers? Elizabeth Melendez Fisher Good was burned out. She moved away from Chicago to get away from the pressure, take a breather, sit on the beach… and ended up with a mission t...

Joanna Cea and Jess Rimington wrote Beloved Economies: Transforming How We Work, which invites us to reimagine work and reimagine capitalism. They believe it is possible for organizations and communities to set up structures where decision-making is shared, and the well-being of people is considered, along with profits and efficiencies. What are beloved economies? What are loveless economies? What...

Dr. Melissa Ochoa has a few things to say about the word Latinx; mainly, she doesn’t like it. For one thing, it doesn’t work in Spanish. Hear what she proposes instead. #Leading Consciously #Latin #Hispanic #Latinamerica #Latino #Latinos --------------------------------------------------------- Conversations with forward-thinking leaders about patterns that keep us stuck and how the leaders are br...

After George Floyd’s murder, nonprofits across the country realized they needed to address diversity, equity, and inclusion. Some actually meant it. Ronald McDonald House Houston was determined to make a difference, not just for their staff but for their families across the world who needed a safe space. What does it mean to truly commit to DEI practices? What are the alternatives? How does a nonp...

Today Jean speaks with Helen Stagg, CEO of Change Happens in Houston. Helen’s well-honed yet intuitive leadership style is to lead with love and connection. What is the leadership style of your team? How can you improve on it? How have your childhood and experience shaped the leader that you are? #leadingconsciously #leadership #leaders --------------------------------------------------------- Con...

You’re living a good life: working at a meaningful job, paying your bills, contributing to your community. When disaster strikes – as it inevitably does – what is your response? Do you wait for someone to fix it? Do you dwell on the unfairness of it all? What do you need to move ahead? Angela Blanchard is an expert in disaster recovery, having cut her teeth on the response to Hurricane Katrina in...

This week Jean interviews Peter Michaelson, whose most recent book is "Our Deadly Flaw: Healing the Inner Conflict that Cripples Us and Subverts Society." His website is WhyWeSuffer.com . What if you had no inner critic telling you you’re just not good enough? What if you learned to silence your inner critic? What if your inner passivity didn’t allow your inner critic to rule? What could you accom...