Episode 89 : Building Partnerships & Collective Action

Tiffani Daniels (TD) 0:02
I think the first thing is you have to increase your proximity to the community you want to impact. So if you want to invest in or you want to support black communities, you got to spend time in black communities. And I’m not just saying spend time when you’re, you know, hosting or bringing organizations or nonprofits into your corporate headquarters, right? No, I’m talking about going out and actually spending time spending your own personal time in and around the communities that you want to serve. Like you kind of you really had to build your empathy. And it’s hard to build empathy in a three hour workshop, right? Or in a two hour service project. The second thing I’d say is listening. Listening is so important because communities already know what they need. And so often, we want to measure you want to survey and we feel like, you know, as a corporate community, that there is a knowledge gap, right? When the knowledge gap is really yours, that communities are very well aware of their challenges and opportunities, and their asset, and are really hungry for ways that their assets can be leveraged and accelerated.

Jolene Mei (JM) 1:27
Hello, everyone. This is JOLENE MEI, your host for the DIVERSEEK podcast, where we talk with real people doing real work in the diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging space. If you want to explore what people are doing right, what positive impacts are happening or even how positive changes can be done. You’re in the right place. We welcome you to join us.

Today we have Tiffani Daniels with us. Tiffani is the Managing Director of the Minnesota Business Coalition for racial equity, Tiffani believes in living a life of service. She has spent over a decade in the Twin Cities building brands, and is a fierce advocate for underrepresented groups excelling at building consumer centric strategies to achieve impressive growth. Tiffani volunteers in her community in her church, and was even a Girl Scout troop leader. She has been described as inspiring to work with and as the fitting definition of a strategic thinker. She is inquisitive, disciplined and thorough. Also, she tap dances for fun. So that’s pretty cool. And also disclaimer, please note, all statements made by Tiffani during the podcast are solely her own and do not express the views or opinions of her employer. And so thank you, Tiffani, for being here. I’m excited to talk to you today.

TD 2:41
Thank you so much for having me. I too am excited for our conversation.

JM 2:46
Yes. So let’s go ahead and dive in. I kind of talked a little bit about your background. But obviously I want to give you space for that. So tell us more about your background. And also like, What is your motivation that drives you in your work today.

TD 2:59
My background is primarily as a business leader, I now have the pleasure of working in the racial equity space and kind of being counted in the right number of folks that work in diversity, equity inclusion. That has not been my full career experience. I started my career in advertising on the agency side, I did that for a few years. I then went to get my MBA and then started work at General Mills in brand management. So primarily serving as a general manager. For a number of really cool brands, right? I think about Wheaties and Fiber One and Larabar and all these great brands. And while I was busy running businesses, I was really, really engaged in the DEI work of the organization, whether that was going out to recruit diverse talent to come to work at General Mills, whether it was leading in our black employee resource group, planning large summits for the organization to participate in that was really centered on the black experience or history. All of those things were things that I was starting to spend a lot of time doing, and really discovered that I loved it. And it was really a vehicle for me to have a different sort of impact than I was having in driving the business. And then like a lot of people in May 2020. I was really just wracked to my core. The murder of George Floyd, the subsequent racial uprising really left me questioning how I was spending my time and how I was spending my talent. And I decided that in that particular moment, I needed to do something different that I needed to serve my community. And that was exacerbated by The fact that on the day that the world is all finding out about the murder of George Floyd, and we are some of us are watching that horrific video, I found out that I was pregnant, and had to share that news with my husband, we were kind of taking a break from the news. And I said, Well, I want to talk about something a little different, and told him that I was pregnant that day. And for the rest of my pregnancy, I really carried this duality of both joy and grief, and knew that once my son was born, I needed to find an outlet and I needed to find a channel. And for me, that outlet or that channel for release, and for my creativity and for impact has always been through my professional life. Right. Like, I think I was past the point of saying, This is too serious to volunteer, right, the moment in time, the moment in history that we’re in, I don’t want to be a volunteer, I need to be working in this area working towards impact and set out to find a new opportunity discovered the Minnesota Business Coalition for racial equity. My employer at the time, General Mills was one of the founding member companies of this coalition. So I was somewhat aware. And they were looking for their first leader, and they need to alat of what I really liked to do. I love to build strategy, I love to bring structure and clarity to highly ambiguous and highly kind of abstract situations. And that was a lot of what they need it. And the work of MBCRE is squarely focused on supporting Black Minnesotans and the black residents in our state. And I knew that that was where I needed to be, I needed to be in that epicenter, if you will, and had the opportunity to occupy the inaugural managing director position, I’m the first person to leave the coalition. And I am so grateful that General Mills agreed to sponsor me in this role. So I am still an employee of General Mills, and I lead the coalition full time, that’s awesome.

JM 7:18
Firstly, like just hearing your story, I could relate to, you know, at the beginning, when you’re sharing about just being engaged in a lot of the DI related, you know, initiatives, and then also just hearing your story, you know, finding out you’re pregnant, and throughout all of the racial uprising and, and to where you are now, while it just explains so much more about you and your journey and who you are and why you’re here. So, yeah, just thank you for giving such a detailed story and background for yourself. And with that, I’m excited to see with that background, what I’m going to learn from you today and how you do your work. So before we get into the nitty gritty, let’s start with the definitions. For anyone. I just think it’s always good to start with definitions, because we always get lost from them sometimes. So firstly, can you define what equity and racial equity mean? In your mind, equity

TD 8:11
to me means that we are giving people what they need in order to live a full life. When I think about attaching race to that or thinking about racial equity, it is the recognition of our nation’s history, the systemic oppression that has existed and has purposely limited the dreams and the wealth creation and sustainability of communities of color. And so racial equity is really thinking purposefully, about getting those communities to what they need to achieve their fullest potential and whenever that means for them,

JM 9:04
love it. And with that, where do you see those concepts intersect with success for businesses, I know you’ve kind of mentioned a little bit but to give it more of a broader space.

TD 9:16
And I’ll start with just talking a little bit more about the Minnesota Business Coalition for racial equity, and the work that we do and why it is, I think, really important on our state’s journey and quest towards racial equity. The Minnesota Business Coalition for racial equity is a consortium of large corporations and organizations that are either headquartered in the state of Minnesota, or have large operations here that work together to advance racial equity specifically for black Minnesotans. And the work that we do we are really harnessing and leveraging the power and resources of the state’s corporate community and erecting it at a few focus areas, where the business community is really positioned for outsize impact. And for us, those focus areas our employment opportunity, thinking about our members are some of the largest employers of the state, collectively and BCRA members employ hundreds of 1000s of Minnesotans until we have a lot of power to drive greater opportunity in the employment space, especially for black residents. The second area of focus for us is black business development, where we really think about how the corporate community can invest in a thriving ecosystem for black entrepreneurs in the state of Minnesota, with the ultimate goal of building a procurement pipeline into our member companies. Yet we recognize that there are so many barriers that exist before a small business, especially a small black owned business can serve as a supplier to a global enterprise, just so many hurdles that you have to clear. And we want to recognize those hurdles, and invest in resources that can help break down or mitigate some of those barriers. And then the last area of focus for us is community wellbeing. And we defined community wellbeing as advancing just practices and housing, safety and policing. And I always love talking about the community wellbeing work, because of our continued focus on public safety and policing. Our members do not want to lose sight of the fact that NBC care was formed as a result of a public safety tragedy. And now that we are almost four years removed from that tragedy, it can be easy to shift focus for different priorities to come up. And for the work to evolve, as it has. And as it should. However, we still must be really honest about the fact that there’s a lot of work to be done in the areas of safety and policing, to build safe and thriving communities that can prevent more black and brown people being murdered in our streets. And so we lift our voice as a corporate community, especially at the state legislature to support measures that advance greater law enforcement accountability and things like that.

JM 12:33
That was great. Appreciate you bringing that down. And I could see, you know, just focusing the efforts in those areas and the impacts that can be made and what picture that can make envision that can make. So that was great to hear about how that was broken down. You did mention legislature. So I wanted to make sure to add this in here. I know you’ve mentioned your involvement involving the crown act. So like, what was that like for you feel free to share for those who don’t know about your involvement as well?

TD 12:57
Well, I have to say that before I started this role a couple years ago, I mean, the extent of my political and civic engagement was voting, that was really all that I knew to do as a citizen. And this role and having an opportunity to partner with lobbyists, or even to meet with legislators has really opened my eyes to not only just how the government works, but also the power of raising your voice, the power of storytelling, the power or personalizing a lot of the issues that our governments and states are grappling with. And so for anyone listening, I implore you to get involved right and to, to pick a cause that you care a lot about and tell your story. And I didn’t recognize that our advocacy for the Crown Act would allow me to do that. The Crown act, Crown is an acronym for creating a respectful and open world for natural hair. And it is legislation that works to ban race based hair discrimination in the workplace in schools. And there’s really just make our States safer, more inclusive places. Last year, Minnesota became the 20th state to pass the crown act. So it’s less than half of the United States has banned race based hair discrimination. And in that process, I was able to do a couple of things, one to really create a clear narrative about why support or the crown Act has an impact in the business community or in the workplace. And it’s really the story of inclusion and the business case for inclusion. We know that black women especially are one and a half times more likely to be dismissed from the workplace because of a situation surrounding their hair. And we know from anecdotal evidence and even my own personal experience that your hair can be a distraction in the workplace. And it can cause you to feel less than comfortable. And when you’re not feeling comfortable in the workplace, you are not contributing fully to driving the business, which impacts the levels of innovation and ultimately, the financial performance of the organization. Right. And so we want more inclusive environments. And I was also able to then tell my own personal story of wearing braids, and the workplace for the first time, and the impact that that experience had on me how ashamed I felt of my hair, wearing braids, and how a hairstyle that is so well regarded and so beautiful in my community almost became a distraction and a sideshow at work, and so much so that it forced me to take them out. And I never thought that I would be in a position to tell that story to state senators and testify in the Senate Judiciary Committee, and that my personal experience could be influential in any way. And through our advocacy for the Crown act, and I’m so happy that it ultimately passed. But it was really a great example of there is merit in building a strong logical case that people can follow, right. And for us, that was really about the power of inclusion and the role that it plays in driving higher levels of innovation and financial performance in an organization. And though, we must do our part, to personalize the stories, and to bring forward examples, and humanize the experiences, so our legislators can really see the power of the decisions that they’re making.

JM 17:00
Hello, listeners, time for a quick break to give your brain a quick rest. If you have not done so already, and would like to support our mission, please follow our podcast, leave a review, or share this episode with someone you think would enjoy it. Thank you so much for listening in. And let’s get back to the conversation. Yeah, I love that you talked about humanizing those experiences, because it’s true. At the end of the day, we are all human. And all of our experiences are a little bit different than listening to you. I could I you know, I remember just also anecdotally, my friends, you know, I remember had a friend who he had his fro. And when it would get to a certain length, you would start getting dress code violations, you know, and I all the way to college, where I heard some friends being like, Oh, I’m interviewing, I need to do my hair this way, or else I’m going to be, you know, maybe not considered for hire. So I you know, that’s how I related when I was listening to you. And so it’s, it’s great to hear that you sharing your story could make that impact for legislation. So that’s awesome. And I know we’re talking about employment opportunities. I did want to give space to that because I know you were talking about the different ways that you make impact in the coalition makes impact. So when it comes to equity in employment opportunities, and also supporting the entrepreneurs, what other areas would you like to bring to awareness? For our listeners who are in those decision making positions? And maybe their senior leaders in their organizations? What would you like to, you know, put to their forefront in their mind as they are considering? Like I said, opportunities and supporting those entrepreneurs.

TD 18:33
I mean, I think it’s, you know, whether you’re thinking about ways that an organization can attract, retain and accelerate or advance more diverse talent, or you’re thinking about ways to mitigate barriers, like access to capital for entrepreneurs, one of the things that is so crucial to progress is collaboration and collective action. And I have the opportunity to see the power of collaboration through the coalition. But it’s not a new concept organizations form coalition’s all the time, you know, for industry specific initiatives or priority areas. Yet there’s not a lot of working together, and we think about employment opportunity, for example. So in MB care, we are having conversations across sectors across companies about what is the workforce in Minnesota look like? And what do we need it to look like in the next five or 10 years? And what role can we play today as employers who have a vested interest in the economic development of our state and working together to help prepare a workforce and it’s not about any one employer reaping the benefits over another? Because employers can get very competitive when it comes to talent? When you are working in collaboration with others or your inner coalition, it’s not about the success of any single organization, it’s really about the success of the place or the success of ensuring the success of the people. And there’s really not a lot of forms to do that. And so I would encourage leaders that are listening, and looking for progress, and really looking for ways to make substantial impact, to think about joining forces with others. Other organizations that you might see as a competitor today, and might be a competitor in a lot of ways, could also be your greatest ally in terms of getting closer to the impact that we are trying to work towards.

JM 20:48
Yes, I love that you mentioned that perspective shift as well, I do think I have seen that perspective of changing it to see like, hey, maybe we could work together. So I love that. Would you mind giving an example of when you saw collective action and action, I just think examples are helpful to visualize. The

TD 21:05
examples are really powerful Julene. And I think they’re particularly powerful, because we don’t see it a lot. And we need very tangible and tactical examples to prove that it can happen and that it is possible. And I’m particularly proud of one initiative that we had last year, a partnership with first independence bank. First independence bank is Minnesota’s first minority deposit institution. It’s a black owned bank that is headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, and after operating in Detroit for over 50 years, decided to come to expand outside of Detroit, in the Twin Cities. And there were a number of financial institutions that band together to help bring and create an environment and infrastructure for first independence to come to the Twin Cities. And as a coalition, we wanted to really start to ensure the bank success and sustainability in our community. And that sustainability is important. For a couple of reasons. It was important because we care about as a coalition, a lot of the same issues that first independence as a bank is trying to address in our communities. They are really invested in closing the homeownership gap here, specifically in the Twin Cities, the Twin Cities has the largest homeownership gap between black Minnesotans and white Minnesotans or black residents and white residents than anywhere else in the United States. And as a bank, they were also being really intentional about how they could start to grant greater access to capital for entrepreneurs of color. And both of those areas, I have a level of overlap with the work that NBC already is interested in doing. So the partnership really made sense. And we had a conversation about what would be most helpful with the bank, which I think is another really important way for organizations to involve or engage in partnership. It is not about leading with what you want to achieve or leading with the idea that you have. But it’s really about listening first listening to an organization or potential partners needs, and then being open to what solutions you might be able to co create that brings the form might have your resources to bear to help accelerate or invest in that organization. And that’s really what we did for first independence. There are newer bank here in the Twin Cities, they were focused, not surprisingly, on deposit growth at the time and as a coalition, we develop a campaign that would start to unleash the scale of our member companies a bit today. And vcare has, you know, over 30 member organizations, and all of those member organizations, most of those member organizations, I’ll say employ 1000s of people. So we have the opportunity for some pretty significant impact. We created a toolkit and a set of assets for companies to share inside their organizations to get individual employees to go and make a deposit and first independence. And we set a very, I’d say small and reasonable goal of a million dollars. We wanted to see if we could drive a million dollars in deposits in four months time. And in those four months, we actually drove over $3 million in deposits. And it’s been such an honor to continue our relationship with first independence bank want to hear the positive feedback from their leadership about how mbcr Ease we call it the deposit challenge how the deposit challenge really helped them build Some organic relationships and start conversations with potential clients and institutions that I had with they hadn’t before. And I think that’s a really great example of the business community kind of just showing up in numbers. It was not complicated. No, this is not algebra, it was really recruiting individuals to go and put their money in our state’s first black owned bank. And so I would count that as a

JM 25:25
success. That’s awesome. What I loved about that was, you know, you saw where some challenges were happening, and you saw the puzzle pieces, and where they fit. And then, you know, you achieved the solution. But not only that, but even more for the community, you know, so I think that was really awesome to hear. And that is a reality. And it’s not something that is a perfect process. But it can happen with like I said, like you were talking about collective action. And so I wanted to ask, because for those out there who want to maybe start an action like this, or just want to be more aware, I do want to ask about, from your experience, what common obstacles or even inequities, do you think entrepreneurs and small businesses face? Because I think that might be a good starting point to, you know, kind of decide how are we how are we going to think strategically and also within the community to, to kind of, you know, provide solution to this.

TD 26:17
I mean, I think there are a few common challenges that you hear about all the time, right, one of them being access to capital, the other being, you know, scaling a business, which is certainly related to access to capital, right, even if I’ve got a small business, and I am trying to get it to a place where I can deliver on or land a large contract, I might need access to capital to help me do that. And there are just so many barriers that exist in financial institutions in the history of financial institutions that prevent that from being the case, we also see, you know, and now we’re, I think we are becoming a lot more aware of even the challenges and barriers and other sources of funding, like venture capital and other things like that. So access to capital is for sure, a really big challenge. One of the other challenges that we may not talk about as much yet is a focus area for our members is really on the procurement side, there is a lot of opportunity for large enterprises to do business with small, you know, and or black owned businesses, yet there can be a lot of misinformation about the process and who the decision makers are and how do you you know, how do you make inroads in a large enterprise? And a lot of what, as a coalition we have tried to clarify is that barriers exist on both sides of the relationship, there are certainly barriers and entrepreneurs faith. And then there are barriers inside of the companies that are realities of our processes and practices that we have to be aware of, too. And we don’t talk about those as much. And so I think, being clear about whatever problem you’re working to solve, right, there is likely someone on either side of the table, and being sure that you’re clear about the challenges and the obstacles on both sides could really help make greater progress. So we’ve been talking about, you know, how might we develop tools to help our member organizations do business with small black owned businesses or black owned businesses easier? Is there a tool like a a common contract that we might use? Or even how might we learn from other organizations that are making more progress in the area around payment terms, and things like that, that we know entrepreneurs face, and may not have the tools to work around. However, inside these large enterprises, we are in control of how we work in our practices. And so maybe we need to change how we work to better achieve the goals that we’ve set around supplier diversity or things like that.

JM 29:05
Yeah, you know, I loved your answer, because not only did you share what the common obstacles you saw, but also potential ways to offer resource or access to those. So that was awesome. You kind of like, talked about it a little bit here. You already gave me an example before, but I wanted to talk more about the partnership side if you wanted to give more light to that. So like, can you give an example of like a partnership that you witnessed between organizations or businesses that like made impact for that business and entrepreneur and maybe the community too, because I know you were talking about the community impact? So I wanted to kind of give an example with a different light.

TD 29:42
I love this question because it gives me an opportunity to talk about some of the great partners that we’ve worked with. We have a partnership with a company called turn signal. Turn signal is a black owned tech company that was founded in Minneapolis. three black men. It is an app that connects a motorist to a lawyer for legal advice when they are in the midst of a traffic stop to ensure that both the driver and the peace officer can leave that encounter and get home safely to their families. And I first learned about turn signal because there was a member company of NBC care Blue Cross Blue Shield of Minnesota, who had a really unique and inspiring partnership with turn signal, Blue Cross Blue Shield was essentially funding or covering the costs of the app for all residents of Brooklyn center, Minnesota Haftar, Dante right was killed in that city by a police officer. And when I learned about the app, and the partnership, it really got my wheels turning. And so I had a conversation with a couple of the founders or the co founders of turn signal. And we built a partnership that would essentially offer a turn signal as an employee benefit to all employees of NBC, I remember companies, and it was really a strong way for us to maintain focus on how we are shifting models of public safety, it was an opportunity for us to support a black owned business, and really just start to think more creatively about how, in BCRP can be a vehicle for growth for our partner organizations. I’ve been really proud of the organization to have said, yes, we want to provide this app to all of our employees, because we know that when people are having an encounter with a police officer or with a peace officer that it wears on their mental health. So some organizations think about it as a mental health benefit. You know, some think about it as you know, just kind of an offering for their employees, because it’s the right thing to do. And so I’ve just been really inspired by the way, again, that NBC I remember, companies have been able to think creatively about our scale our resources, and how we can use them to the benefit of our partner organizations. I

JM 32:25
was gonna say that my face, if you could see it, well, I was listening to you, my jaw was like, dropping, I was like, oh my god, that is so awesome. I was like, Whoa, as like an employee benefit and a mental health benefit, why that’s so cool. Like, you know, bringing it to the next level. That was just, you know, for me, that was inspiring. And just like, I felt my heart, like be like, Oh, my god, that’s amazing, you know. So wow, kudos to your coalition, and all of the great things that people are doing in the world, you know, so

TD 32:53
like, for me, the work and the impact is great. The coolest part, though, has been, you know, building relationships with those co founders and having opportunity to spend time in their headquarters and, you know, the relationships that are born when you are trying to work together towards a common goal. And that is where there’s just so much magic and opportunity in the way that envy care works, that we are, you know, not really taking a cookie cutter approach to how we engage right that we are going out and spending time with potential partner organizations learning about their challenges, and then co creating or CO designing solutions and partnerships together. And it’s been certainly a, I think, a different way of engaging when you think about how the private sector or the business community typically shows up in communities, right? It’s not it’s not all the time with a spirit of partnership and spirit of listening first, and then acting or we don’t necessarily assume that there are already assets in the community that we want to help amplify or accelerate. And I’m just so proud of the way that NBC airy has committed to working with communities in a different way, so that we can really change the narrative around how the business community can and should work with and for the communities in which it occupies.

JM 34:24
Yeah, I just love the way you speak. It’s great. Just like, this is great. I’m getting like secondhand pride over here and like, Wow, that’s awesome. To me that impact you know, I’m so happy to be talking with you today. So, okay, with that, you know, we’re talking about partnerships. I want to acknowledge that like, you know, di and addressing inequities, and being creative with working with the community, like you said, and for the community. You know, this is not easy work, and it’s not always butterflies and rainbows. Right. So, I wanted to ask you, for you know, I know that you said it’s not a cookie cutter approach. So I want to really push that because I don’t want to promote this idea that like oh my god, if you do A, B and C, everything’s gonna be perfect, because that’s probably very far from the truth. So what did I ask you? What are perhaps three must haves for the process of creating a great partnership, as you said, you know, each partnership is not going to be the same. So, you know, this might be a, an abstract question, but I know that you’ll have a good answer for it.

TD 35:19
I mean, I think the first thing is you have to increase your proximity to the community you want to impact. So if you want to invest in or you want to support black communities, you got to spend time in black communities. And I’m not just saying spend time when you’re, you know, hosting or bringing organizations or nonprofits into your corporate headquarters, right? No, I’m talking about going out and actually spending time spending your own personal time, in and around the communities that you want to serve. Like, you kind of you really had to build your empathy. And it’s hard to build empathy in a three hour workshop, right, or in a two hour service project. So you really got to increase the proximity to the community you want to impact. The second thing I’d say is listening, listening is so important, because communities already know what they need. And so often, we want to measure you want to survey and we feel like, you know, as a corporate community, that there is a knowledge gap, right? When the knowledge gap is really yours, that communities are very well aware of their challenges and opportunities and their assets, and are really hungry for ways that their assets can be leveraged and accelerated. And we must enter communities with that understanding, right? The these communities don’t need anything, they’re not at a deficit, that it’s really about how can we bring our resources to bear in a different way and supportive. And then I’d say, lastly, to start with the end in mind, that when you are building a partnership, it’s a relationship. And it’s not going to be a one and done engagement likely. So while you may be working towards one big event, or you know, one big announcement, think about what’s going to happen after and how you are going to ensure the sustainability and success of that organization, or that partner in a year. A lot of times, we are just focused on working towards the one big thing. And then we end up either intentionally or unintentionally divesting from communities, right, or the, you know, our priority shift or resources, you know, change direction, and then organizations or partners are left. And so we have to start to think about enduring relationships sustainably. So those are the three things that I would highlight as principals to take with you, as you’re wanting to have an impact in communities that you’re not currently working with. Yeah,

JM 38:09
those are great, great, great, must have thanks for sharing those. I wanted to bring community back in here, because you were talking about listening to the community. So I wanted to dive a little deeper into that. So I know before this, you’re also talking to me about you know, when it comes to listening to the community, like elevating their voices, and actually like doing something about it is important and also impactful. So, you know, here’s a do’s and don’ts. Question for senior leaders. Actually, I’m curious if you have any do’s and don’ts that you’d like to put on their radar when it comes to listening to the community and taking what they’re saying into consideration. Do

TD 38:44
believe what you hear, I think, sometimes when we are far removed from an experience or a situation, we might want to put what we’re hearing through our own lens or trying to translate it in a manner that fits a narrative that we’re trying to build. And it’s really important to honor what you hear at face value, and be aware of your own bias and the narrative that you’re already holding, and keep that in check. I’d say a don’t would be similar in that don’t disregard what you’re hearing. And don’t take what you are hearing as an assume that a community is a monolith. If you are listening to a certain set of leaders or people with a certain experience, don’t assume that that’s the experience of every black person or every black woman, right? There’s just so much dynamism in communities. And that’s one of the reasons why I said earlier to increase your proximity to communities because when you do that, you can start to see how much diversity there is in a community how much it is not a monolith. How much just because you are hearing one account or once Dory, how much that cannot be applied to others. But you can’t see that if you aren’t spending time with and building real relationships with the folks in the community. Yeah,

JM 40:10
I wish you could hear my moves. And like, yeah, that makes sense. I’m reading myself, so I don’t mess up your audio. But I was doing a lot of that over here. And I really appreciated the very specific do’s and don’ts that you provided here. Okay, last question on this topic is, you know, again, for those leaders out there who are listening, and are maybe in the community facing positions, how would you like to challenge the status quo when it comes to moving towards making an impact that benefits both businesses and the community? I know, we’ve talked about both of these things throughout our conversation, but just for challenging the status quo, what would you like to bring up to the stage

TD 40:52
to challenge the status quo, I would encourage us to not think about community engagement as only philanthropy. In corporate, I think there is a way of working that is relatively transactional. It’s, there’s resources in the corporation, we want to deploy those resources and community in order to invest in a program to see a certain impact, or outcome. And we’re going to choose several organizations to do that with year after year after year. And I challenged us to think about that entire model differently in a couple of different ways. One, I challenged us to think really about the investment in community as just that an investment. And when you make an investment, it generates a return for an organization or community. And it might take a while to see it. If you are investing your money. Like we all know, if you invest in the stock market, you might not see a return tomorrow, or even in a year, you got to let your money sit there for a while. And I think we could all really benefit from really increasing the time horizon on which we expect to see an impact and really think about whatever funding or resources we’re deploying as an investment in communities, and be willing to stay the course, with community partners and with community organizations to achieve the impact that we might want to see together. And then I’d say, you know, just building on that last point, you should spend some time really thinking about how else an organization or company can support community partners, that there are so many other ways and so many other needs that community organizations or nonprofits have, that if we were to just ask the question, we might be surprised what we find, right? There’s human capital, and there’s intellectual capital. And there’s all sorts of things that companies have, that community partners organizations could think about differently. And then the last thing I’d say is to really reserve some time for dreaming together. And what I mean by dreaming is to imagine the community that we want to build, and not just the quantifiable outcome, but to really think about, what sort of environment are we trying to create? Why are we at this table to drive this particular impact? Right? What vision are we all holding for the community? Because we might realize that there is more to it and more required than the transactional kind of passing of funds from one hand to the next. Yes, all

JM 43:50
of your responses are so specific. And I really love that I can hear your strategic mind coming through, and your creativity in it. So thank you for that. Thank you for bringing that here. And thank you for being yourself. I appreciate you. It’s time for the last question for today. I’m excited to hear what you have to say for this one. So for you, what does an inclusive workplace look like to you?

TD 44:17
That’s a good one. I think that inclusion is a feeling. And I think because sometimes we think about it as like looking a certain way. We’re missing it. An inclusive workplace, to me, feels like a place where I am bringing my uninhibited creativity to bear that I am totally free, as a black woman from the Mensur acrobatics that I am doing every day to change how I speak, to think about my hairstyle to think about what I’m wearing to you know, even I’m this actually happens to me to lie about the music I’m listening to in my headphones, where I’m not spending time thinking about any of that. And I can just do the work that I’m here to do. And I know from personal experience that when I’m not focused on all of that stuff, that I am better, and that I am contributing to the success of that organization, differentially. The challenge is there are so few opportunities for people of difference to show up in that way. And we’re losing out. It’s the company that’s losing out, we’re not even getting half of that creativity, or half of that brilliance or half of that genius, because people of different are spending so much time having to dilute who they are to fit into a standard. That just not is the reality for them. And so for me, it’s that feeling of I can be free for my mind, to only focus on my work, and what I’m doing and bringing ideas forward. That’d be pretty dope.

JM 46:12
I love that and getting a little taste of your creativity today. Wow. Like, yes, we need this creativity. You know, it’s it’s so valuable. I can see. And I can feel. So. Yeah, just thank you for all of your answers today. I’m really just enjoying hearing you and hearing your perspective. So thank you again for being here. I appreciate you.

TD 46:34
Thanks so much jelly, and thanks for having me. This was fun.

JM 46:37

Thank you for joining us today. As we continue to explore how we can enable diversity at work, follow us and get notified of our latest episodes. Also, we want to hear from you. Please like rate and review us on your podcast app or wherever you’re listening in. If you want to contact us, please visit diverseek.com – that is d i v e r s e e k.com. This episode was produced by Madhu Nair, edited by Cansin Dalak, researched by JOLENE MEI, music composed by Nicholas Lang and our production team includes Keisha Williams, Prashant Balbar and Maria Querina. I am your host JOLENE MEI and you have been listening to DIVERSEEK.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai