In a recent workshop I gave, a White CEO told the group that reports of Tyre Nichols’ death barely hit his radar...
Cultural Intelligence is the Cure for Cultural Blindness
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Latest News from Empowering Partners
Effective Leaders Use Connection Not Correction
“What did we do wrong this time?” Ralph wondered when he saw the email. Ralph (not his real name), who is White, is VP...
The Great Attrition or The Great Appreciation?
“It wasn’t an easy decision to leave,” said Diana, a manager who’d been a client of mine. We met for coffee, and she...
Should I Stay or Should I Go?
Jessica (not her real name) is an African American woman who called to ask me whether or not she should take a job....
Feeling Invisible?
Story After teaching a breakout session at the annual conference of the National Association of Women in Construction,...
Mutual Respect Makes for Meaningful Conversation
“What do I do about the sexist remarks our CEO made toward the marketing staff in our senior leadership meeting?” my...
Resistance to Acceptance: How to Affirm Another’s Identity
A decade ago, I definitely felt resistance – I didn’t want to have the conversation at all, at least not initially....
The Five Keys to Unlocking Cultural Intelligence
“I feel ashamed I had to take a course to be able to slow down and have an intentional conversation with someone who...
Cultural Intelligence Takes Head, Heart AND Hands
One of the executives on the leadership team I was training in cultural intelligence quietly mentioned his Native...
The Four Essential Skills of Cultural Intelligence
Cultural blindness, or the belief that color, class and culture make no difference, is often well-intentioned but...
How to Stop Tokenizing People
“How do you avoid tokenism?” I asked. Because clients regularly ask me this question, I wanted to learn from experts...
Workplace with Headspace
“I’ve been wracking my brain trying to figure out a good professional goal for my engineering manager. Do you have any...
How Cultural Self-Awareness Leads to Self-Confidence
Based on each of the five stages of Cultural Intelligence, I’m doing a series of blogs about how to promote mental...
Reality Isn’t Harsh
“I’m just being realistic,” said the VP of marketing and sales. “Not really,” I said. He looked confused. “What I mean...
How to Deal with an Ignorant Remark in Five Steps
“I struggle with people who make ignorant remarks,” Larry explained. Larry has his own internationally renowned HR...
Unions or Unity: A CEO’s Dilemma
CEO: “The workers withdrew the petition!” AMY: “What does that mean for the company?” CEO: “There’s not going to be an...
A Hire Power: How to Really Get to Know a Candidate
“Almost everything about interviews, as they are now, reinforces a hiring manager’s bias and conceals the real...
Leadership Enlightened: How to Upend the Status Quo
He thought he was doing everything right. The General Manager, James and his organization were… Hiring people of color...
Lesson Learned the Hard Way
“I thought we were doing everything right,” James told me. “Now I’m afraid I won’t be able to get another job because...
Talking Turkey
The phrase “talking turkey” usually refers to speaking frankly, discussing hard facts, or getting down to business....
How to Hire People on the Spectrum
A CEO asked me, “What do my employees and I need to know to hire and retain people who are on the spectrum?” He has a...
A Case of Sexual Harassment
The Women in Safety & Health (WISH) organization held a panel discussion on “Avoiding, Combatting & Overcoming...
How Middle Managers Can Make a Difference
“When I was first hired as Production Manager, I got a pretty negative impression of one of my Leads,” said José, even...
How to Connect with Your Kid About Tricky Topics
“I don’t know if I did it right,“ Louisa told me. She said she’d overheard her son calling it the “Chinese virus” to a...