I’ll never forget the day I learned about the impact unconscious bias has on behavior. It was 2012, and I was beginning my second year in a leadership position. My eyes were wide. On that day I also reflected on how systems of oppression are in the air that we breathe. It pained and confused […] Read more…
Rachel
Language Matters
Why We Must Resist & Reject Discriminatory Statements When I heard John Kelly’s recent statements on the radio, my heart started racing with rage. Hearing someone–in a position of authority in the White House–call an entire community “lazy” made my blood boil. Immediately I thought: How dare he talk about the undocumented community […] Read more…
The Key to Successful Communication
Why Internalizing What We Hear Is Important Between 70 and 80% of our day is engaging in some form of communication with about 55% of that time dedicated to listening. Even so, most people can only actually remember between 17-25% of what they hear. 93% of all communication is nonverbal. (recent report) I’ve […] Read more…
Are You A Catalyzer or Controller?
What Basketball Coaches Can Teach Us About Inspiring Communication The language we use matters. So does the delivery of it. As a basketball fan, I’ve come to realize there is a spectrum of two types of coaches: Catalytic champions and Controlling directors. Controllers <————————————————————————-> Catalyzers Controllers need order. They focus on […] Read more…
My SPARK Can’t Squeeze Into Someone Else’s Cookie-Cutter
Raw & Real Reflections On Business & Community There’s no rule book for leading with a S.P.A.R.K. There’s no “right way”. No silver bullet. To have a big vision, and to be on a mission to attain something that’s never been done before is complex to say the least. To dream […] Read more…
Shine On
S.P.A.R.K. Leaders Shine On Discover Our 3 Game-Changing Habits At the top of the list of what hurts my heart is women bringing one another down. At our core, we are nurturers. Yet, we are fierce, too. If our fierceness is driven by pain, it can be absolutely destructive. Maybe they post […] Read more…
Fail Forward
S.P.A.R.K. Leaders Fail Forward Why Failure Is Essential for Growth: 4 Lessons-Learned When a child is learning how to walk, they fall. A LOT. Most of the time the fall is inconsequential. Occasionally, it’s more painful. Even with painful experiences, however, there is nothing that can stand in the way of the child discovering the […] Read more…
Persevering With Brave Leadership
How To Stay Grounded And Recalibrate During Transitions “Change is something that happens to people, even if they don’t agree with it. Transition, on the other hand, is internal: it’s what happens in people’s minds as they go through change. Change can happen very quickly, while transition usually occurs more slowly.” -William Bridges […] Read more…
When Speakers Exclude
When Speakers Exclude, Emotions Come Up Putting It Back Together: The Aftermath of A Meltdown I experienced a massive trigger at a conference recently. The leader said she cared about inclusion and wanted the event to feel like a “family reunion,” a “special sisterhood.” One of the speakers who took her stage, however; though […] Read more…
Be An Inclusive Speaker
Five Tips For Public Speakers To Hold A Lens of Inclusion Language is so powerful, something you and I both know and yet something that bears repeating as a gentle and loving reminder for us all. This is very personal for me as a queer woman who both speaks on stages and sits in audiences […] Read more…