When faced with a challenge, are you running towards possibility creating as opposed to running away from problems?
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Activate your Diversity and Inclusion Program When Needed Most (Live Conversation Today)
Activating your D&I Program When it’s Needed Most
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At 7 pm Eastern tonight (June 24), my friend and colleague Margaret-Ellen Christensen and I will be holding a candid coaching and consulting conversation with leaders in organizations who are looking to activate their Diversity and Inclusion Program When it’s Needed Most.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/leading-diversity-and-inclusion-during-crisis-tickets-110264203200
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The Question IS the Invitation
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In the midst of a global pandemic, we are also taking systemic racism and inequality head on across the globe.
Similar calls to action are being made of companies and leaders by employees and customers alike.
So the question becomes:
How do you answer the call and activate the resources in your organization to rise up to the occasion?
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Challenges to answering (or even hearing) the call
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It can feel quite daunting especially during times of
a) great uncertainty.
It’s hard to make the right decision during stable times, let alone now.
b) great social unrest.
It’s hard to address difficult topics and systemic racism in all its forms within your organization in stable times, let alone now.
c) great fear for doing the wrong thing – or not getting it EXACTLY right.
it’s hard to say or do something related to identity without offending someone or being called out in stable times, let alone now)
d) great accountability in recognizing just how much work may be needed
It’s hard to be confronted with how much injustice others around you face simply to be in the same conference room as you in stable times, let alone now.
We get it. We’re navigating it ourselves. And have navigated it in through our experiences as People Experience Consultants.
So we’re creating a space for you to bring your real-time, real-world challenges and opportunities to the surface for consulting, coaching, community today at 7 pm Eastern.
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/leading-diversity-and-inclusion-during-crisis-tickets-110264203200
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Answering the Call for Justice with your Employees and Customers
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Margaret-Ellen and I led a presentation to a global audience of leaders earlier this month where we laid out the foundation of overcomes the challenges and obstacles leaders face in being meaningfully responsive during times of crisis.
Whether your D&I program is fully robust and persistent or just getting off the ground and ad-hoc, we have experience helping leaders activate their people, programs, and projects in a way that meets the needs of those they serve.
During today’s conversation, we’re going to work with a handful of leaders on their real-time and real-world challenges to help them activate what’s needed for their organization in a tailored fashion.
Join us tonight at 7 pm Eastern
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/leading-diversity-and-inclusion-during-crisis-tickets-110264203200
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One more thing…
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Niiamah here – and I need to say that I’m incredibly excited for tonight’s experience.
Margaret-Ellen and I worked together in at tech company in NYC where were served as People Experience consultants.
It was literally our job to look after the experience of the employees of a global organization -> from cultivating our culture, to championing our values, to supporting leaders within our diversity and inclusion ecosystem.
And now we’re able to come back together to serve you in the most powerful and meaningful way that we can.
If you or someone you know is looking to really activate your organization’s D&I program, come join us today at 7 pm. It’s free but you will need to invest your energy and trade in your comfort for a transformative experience.
Join us tonight at 7 pm Eastern
Register here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/leading-diversity-and-inclusion-during-crisis-tickets-110264203200
“I am an angry black man” – Confessions of my guilty secret
I am an angry black man.
(This one’s for me)
This is the guilty secret that I’m been afraid people will find out.
This is the secret that I’ve been afraid of ejecting me from being an accepted Outlier to a rejected Outcast.
This is the secret that informs my actions as an entreprenuer and a leader.
This is the secret that I have to make public now, so that I can be free of the burden and energetic drain it takes to hide it from others.
For what’s coming next, I need to allow myself to step into that which has been uncomfortable and frankly unsafe for me in the past.
And now trust that I have built the tools to navigate the wilderness of the frontier of change.
This one’s for me.
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I published this in June 2020 to express and share my lived experience as a black man and the fears I had around being labeled as a black man as well. Sharing it publicly is a part of my process – In owning and declaring the things I felt most vulnerable about, I removed the power it had over me.
I share it now because many people have reached out to tell me personally how it has impacted them. A part of me wants to bury this in the corner of the internet. The other part of me, the part that longs to be free , knows that it has already served its purpose for me. Now, I share it in case it’s of service to you.
I welcome a conversation about this at any time. You can reach out to me directly (niiamah@niiamahashong.com) .
Are you looking to share your story with the world unapologetically and constructively? Join our Trailblazer Tribe, so we can support you with all that comes along with being the leader who does.
https://niiamahashong.com/tribe
I also organize experiences for my community of socially and globally concious leaders who are stepping up to shape the next era of humanity by taking on the complex problems of the world.
Powerless vs Empowered vs Powerful
As an individual, do you feel powerless, powerful or might you be in the neutral space of waiting to be empowered?
Whatever space you are in, what action are you taking to ensure it serves you right?
Racism-20 During Covid-19: Questions, Doubts, and Debates
Join us on Monday, June 1st at 8pm Eastern for “Racism-20 during Covid-19”: An Open Forum
RSVP here : https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
If you’re questioning, doubting, or debating whether you are welcome / should participate in today’s experience, you are not alone.
Over the past few days, a number questions came up surfacing doubts about whether an individual should participate in a conversation around racism at this time.
If you’re debating joining today’s Racism-20 during Covid-19: An Open Forum…
1) You are not alone
2) That is one of the reasons you should come.
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re debating if you should invite your friends/communities because you’re not Black or not American..
1) You are not alone
2) That is one of the reasons you should invite them
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re thinking “It’s not my place / It’s not my issue to talk about”…
1) You are not alone
2) Your voice is important; your viewpoint is important; your visibility is important; your presence is important. Racism is all of our issue – and if we’re being silenced around it, then who does that serve?
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re thinking “Is it even helpful to talk about it? Will conversation actually change anything?”
1) You are not alone
2) We are all on our individual journey of taking on injustice, though we choose to do it together.
For some, this will be the first time they are hearing new perspectives.
For others, the first time they are sharing their lived experiences.
And for others, they’ll realize they’re done talking and want to take their own aligned action.
Even if this helps only 1 person activate their impact even just .0001%, it will be worth it.
Come for what you want. Leave with what you need.
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re thinking “does my experience even matter / are my thoughts/feelings even relevant”?…
1) You are not alone
2) While I have an answer for this, this is something that only you can discover by taking the risk to find out.
(hint: you wouldn’t be asking yourself this question if there wasn’t something you had to offer)
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re debating , “It would seem like I’m being insensitive or ignoring the issue if I participated / shared my thoughts”…
1) You are not alone
2) We live in a socially connected, globally-connected world. What affects one of us, affects all of us.
Trust that you’ll be in a space where we will hear our story through your story.
Trust that you being you and being real is something universal that can impact 1 person during that conversation – even and especially if that person is you.
Join the Open Forum: https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
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If you’re questioning, “Am I the only one who feels this way/ sees things this way/ ______”….
1) You are not alone.
2) I know this for a fact, because each of these questions are questions I’ve been wrestling through myself.
I question whether my experience matters – living as a black man in Singapore, safely away (actually both safe and away) from the daily latent fear of being a Black person in America
I question whether a conversation will even change anything. And I’m resolute in knowing that for me, at this time, creating space for difficult conversations amongst strangers and community is my vehicle of change.
I question whether I’m being insensitive to the pains / creating a “safe enough space”, by making the topic about Racism and not just inviting, but welcoming global particpants and non-black participants.
(What I don’t want you to know about me is that I question whether I even know enough black people for this and whether I am the person to hold space us all.
I don’t enjoy writing this, but I cannot let these insecurities hold me back from serving in the world.)
I question, I doubt, and I debate myself throughout all this.
That’s one of the reasons that I feel so passionately about being in this space with you.
Because I know that I am not alone. What I feel, You feel. And together, we can make a change – even if it’s just by .0001% for just one person.
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Join us on Monday, June 1st at 8pm Eastern for “Racism-20 during Covid-19”: An Open Forum
RSVP here : https://niiamahashong.com/racism20
Please share this experience with ANYONE else you feel will be served by sharing, voicing, and/or witnessing lived experiences together.
I love you all
~Niiamah
The power of your story.
Have you ever questioned whether your story is important, impactful or influential enough to share with the world? Perhaps you’ve asked yourself, who am I to share my story? Or maybe you’ve simply compared your story with others and thought it was not powerful enough.
But what if your story was meant to change the life of one person in our world?
Today we get a chance to spend time with Theran Washington, a Trailblazer who has had multiple chapters in his life, time and time again. He has embodied the unconventional success of an underdog.
As Your Journey Continues
Listen to Theran’s inspiring story. As you’re listening, see how his story mirrors your own and imagine the impact of getting your story out for everyone out there who doesn’t feel like their story has room to exist in the world or someone who feels alone because they have never told their story.
