Give Your Most Important Gift this MLK Day
Skills-based volunteering is business’s way of giving back. Yet just as the pandemic has driven up the need for community and nonprofit services, volunteering in general has dropped off. This year’s observance of Martin Luther King Day and its designation as a national day of service comes at a time when the country needs it […]
Read MoreBelonging in the COVID Age: Gen Z Is Ready to Make a Difference
Although the global pandemic has taken a toll on different segments of the population, Gen Z workers may have borne the brunt of the economic fall-out of this crisis. Companies have slashed hiring and halted college recruitment efforts. Recent data shows that one in six Gen Zs have stopped working as a result of the […]
Read MoreA Corporate Lifeline for Domestic Violence Victims
As the coronavirus pandemic wears on, remote work and learning is intended to keep us safe. For victims of domestic violence, however, it does anything but. Instead, working from home often keeps victims close to their abusers. This dynamic makes employee assistance programs (EAP) more important than ever. But while EAPs offer referrals and counseling […]
Read MoreReal Diversity Starts When Assumptions End
I’m blond and fair-skinned—and I’m a proud Chickasaw Indian. You can imagine the collision of assumptions I’ve encountered throughout my life. And truth be told, I’ve also grappled with my own. At a time when unwarranted assumptions about others seem as ingrained in our culture as ever, the workplace is ground zero for having difficult […]
Read MoreThe Leadership We Need Today – And Tomorrow
In our divided and socially-distanced COVID age, leadership has never been more important. But effective leadership for these times is as difficult to find as it is to define. Is it an iron-fisted presence that commands respect? Deft negotiating to topple opposition? An irresistible influence to sway crowds? In our experience, the best leaders are […]
Read MoreCould a Black Man with Dreadlocks Become a Global CEO?
“Don’t judge a book by its cover” is one of the oldest idioms, yet we often assess our peers based on what we think and see of them, rather than what we know and learn about them. UK Black History Month gives us all a chance to get past that, to celebrate Black contributions. Here […]
Read MoreRacial Injustice: Supporting Our Children To Do the Right Thing
[This blog was written by the author and his 17-year-old daughter.] My priorities have always been my work and my family. This summer, my daughter’s entry in a drawing competition on racial injustice changed that perspective for me, maybe forever. I was inspired by what was going on around me. We live in the Twin […]
Read MoreBelonging in the Age of COVID-19
Intensified by the global pandemic, a sense of belonging has become a pressing organizational priority. Work routines have been upended for leaders and employees alike – office shutdowns, remote work, extended work hours, and furloughs and layoffs. Given the prolonged nature of the disruption, what does it mean to “belong at work” during a sustained […]
Read MoreWhy Black Hair Is a Workplace Issue
If Black hair could speak, it would tell a tale of comedy, romance and horror. Hair is an opportunity to express personality and style. Yet as Black women, we learn that our hair isn’t a matter of whimsical choice but of strategic management. While this issue also affects Black men, it’s a particular pain point […]
Read MoreRaising Isaac
On a cold and cloudy January day in Portland, Oregon, I gave birth at home to my first child, a boy. He was perfect, and perfectly healthy, with all fingers and all toes, just as we had wished. We named him Isaac, which means, “he laughs.” And so did the universe. By six months, it […]
Read More