Leading Consciously

jean interviews Alison Taylor and Brian Harward of the NYU Stern School of Business on the viability of operating ethically in business. Ethical behavior in corporations goes beyond compliance with laws to include anticorruption, sustainability, human rights, culture and behavior, and employee and stakeholder engagement. Can businesses thrive while operating ethically? Will shareholders accept red...

What is the relationship of Indigenous peoples to the land, and how does it differ from the Europeans who settled it? What really happened in the boarding schools? What would be lost if Indigenous people were completely assimilated into White society? And would they ever be accepted even then? In this week’s vlog, Jean gains answers to these questions from Dina Gilio-Whitaker, a lecturer of Americ...

In this week’s interview, Jean speaks with Virginie Ladisch, an expert in truth-seeking and civic engagement at the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ).  As initiators of change, the ICTJ works with victims and survivors of massive human rights violations to hold those responsible to account, reform and build democratic institutions, and prevent the recurrence of violence or...

Jean interviews Brian Lassiter about quality management, the need to hardwire equity and inclusion into business practices, and the skill of asking questions well. Brian talks about the Baldrige framework and how it has revolutionized American business. What is the process for understanding and formalizing successful processes? How do you fit diversity, inclusion, and equity into those processes?...

People ask: what is the point of reparations for past injustice? They don’t undo the past. People today were not slave owners. So what’s the rationale? Kamilah Moore is chair of the California Reparations Task Force. She and Jean talk about "standing in the shoes of…," racial terror, the wealth gap, cultural appropriation, and generational debt. How can the Task Force address reparations to cover...

What happens to a people’s identity when conquerors rename everything after themselves? How does the original owner’s history disappear? How does this renaming appeal to the descendants of the conquerors? If the subjugated people are invisible, why should anyone bother to preserve them? Dr. Bonnie McGill is on a mission to make indigenous people visible again. #Identity #DiversityandInclusion #Div...

Do you wonder to what extent our parents’ and grandparents’ history affects our mental health? How much of what we treat as mental illness is a result of the trauma they experienced? And whose fault is it? Or maybe it’s no one’s fault. This time Jean interviews Jasmin Joseph, a writer, researcher, and aspiring producer, on intergenerational trauma and how it impacts mental health. Jasmin&nbsp...

Dr. Kira Banks works to remove the emotional power of oppression from being internalized, using a form of therapy called Acceptance Commitment Therapy (ACT). "Internalized oppression," she believes, becomes a part of you. Better to conceptualize it as "appropriated," because then you can put it down. Through ACT, people learn to separate their feelings about their oppression from their actual selv...

When a White man teaches in a Black school, he sees things that others may not. Dave DeJohn has insights on the school-to-prison pipeline, equality vs equity, and how to discipline effectively. What has he been able to accomplish? What does his research show? Listen to Jean’s discussion with Dave. His novel approach to disrupting the school-to-prison pipeline and his ability to understand multiple...

André Marcel Harris is an advocate for people with sickle cell disease and for men who are survivors of sexual assault, having lived experience in both. In this interview, Jean asks André about his experience and his ability to thrive where others might have given up. They discuss how addressing social inequities that make it so much harder for people to access help requires awareness and sensitiv...

A barrier to racial understanding is the fear of being exposed as a racist. What if we could find a safe place to have these uncomfortable conversations? The purpose of this deep and revealing interview was to build trust, examine hard truths about the past and present, and share the lived experiences of those who participated. --------------------------------------------------------- Conversation...

What is it like for children to grow up in an atmosphere of caring and acceptance? Dr. Larry Brendtro has worked with Indigenous children and has written many books based on Indigenous principles of child-rearing. He founded Resilience Resources based on his work with troubled and Indigenous youth. In this interview, Jean and Larry navigate what can be learned from the Native American approach to...

Peter Michaelson has written eight books on depth psychology and inner conflict, how to surface your emotions, and how to accept responsibility for your reactions. Do you feel you have to sit on your feelings? Being passive or angry is not only counterproductive but reinforces your negative self-talk. Listen as Peter explains how to throw off self-doubt and self-sabotage so you can realistically n...

Danielle Murphy, LCSW SEP, is a Somatic Experiencing Practitioner who understands the body language of stress and how to bypass the spoken narrative to address it. Is it possible to move beyond anguished hypervigilance or suppression so we can face our obstacles and enjoy our lives? Danielle says yes, and she can help us learn how. --------------------------------------------------------- Conversa...

What is internalized oppression? What is it like for a member of a marginalized group to be rejected by their own people? How does activism foster a sense of liberation and negate internalized oppression? Activists Brandon Mack and Jean answer all these questions. --------------------------------------------------------- Conversations with forward-thinking leaders about patterns that keep us stuck...

Do you know what the difference is between “I’m hungry” and “I haven’t eaten since 8 am”? How do you interpret Simone Biles’s decision to withdraw from the competition? Was she hurting the team? Supporting them by not holding them back? And how much of the criticism can be attributed to her being a Black woman? Dr. Barry Regan discusses high context vs low context communication. Understanding high...

How do visionaries convince funding sources to support organizational infrastructure so services may be sustained? Jean interviews Angela Blanchard, who helped take Neighborhood Centers Inc. (now BakerRipley) from a small neighborhood settlement house to a multi-location service provider. How? By building on the community’s strengths instead of seeing only its problems. Find more about Angela's st...

This time, Jean interviews Carol Stewart, who has a Masters in Counseling Psychology; her specialty is introverted leadership. What do you do if you’re an introvert who has to speak in public? What do you do if you don’t speak up for fear of saying the wrong thing? How do you change your thinking so you can be more confident about being heard? Learn more about it. ---------------------------------...

Jean interviews Dr. Thomas Keith. His recent book,  The Bro Code, identifies ways in which men are raised that impede their development and relationships with others. He says: “Men in American culture have intersectional identities, all of which play a role in the way some boys are raised to be men. The common denominator is that girls and women are less important and should be subordinate to...

Being a different thinker, inclusive culture, pride month, and Juneteenth are some of the topics you can hear about in this week's blog post. In this conversation, Jean talks with Charles Shaw, global director for diversity and inclusion at Facebook. Charles’s dissertation was about exploring the generational identity and professional lives of African American women. His research uncovered a surpr...

After one year of posting, Jean interviews four amazing members of the Pathfinders and DEI survey communities. Each is a well-respected leader in their organization.  Each is committed to fostering racial and social justice in their spheres of influence.  We salute all who participated in this vlog and hope you enjoy and benefit from what they offer. -------------------------------------...

Dr. Jean Kantambu Latting interviews Sunita Sehmi about her new book, The Power of Belonging. She talks about her childhood, her experience of not belonging, and the importance of finding a home in the workplace. --------------------------------------------------------- Conversations with forward-thinking leaders about patterns that keep us stuck and how the leaders are breaking the mold. Personal...

How much do you know about your own culture? Dr. Jean Kantambu Latting speaks with Barry Regan, an intercultural communications educator. You can learn more about it in this interview. --------------------------------------------------------- Conversations with forward-thinking leaders about patterns that keep us stuck and how the leaders are breaking the mold. Personal reflections on provocative...

This is a story of community, commitment, and perseverance. It illustrates what happens when a small band of committed people is able to mobilize hundreds of volunteers for a cause they deeply believe in. --------------------------------------------------------- Conversations with forward-thinking leaders about patterns that keep us stuck and how the leaders are breaking the mold. Personal reflect...

How much do you know about bullying? How can it be prevented? Dr. Jean Kantambu Latting interviews Wendy Harpur, who has written on LinkedIn about bullying. Find the answer to these questions in this interview. See all the graphics mentioned here . --------------------------------------------------------- Conversations with forward-thinking leaders about patterns that keep us stuck and how the lea...