Taking a Collective Stand | Achieving a Bold Stakeholder Vision

by LeeAnn Mallory | Collaboration, Leadership, Purpose/Mission, RiseRadio, Servant Leadership

Taking a Collective Stand | How to Achieve a Bold Community Vision

This episode is being re-published because the content feels incredibly relevant given our political and social environment. In the mid-1990s Jennifer Touchet and a group of committed citizens took a clear and unified stand against a powerful and complex system and won! They used positive political strategies based on a win-win-win approach and intentional inclusivity.

Links

Jennifer Touchet

Twelve Hills Nature Center

A Guide for Owning Your Value

Owning Your Value | Key Elements for Authenticity and Personal Power

Stakeholder Orientation Worksheet

Jennifer Touchet lead a bold community vision

Show Notes

In the beginning, the vision was something for the community, and truly nothing more than that. That’s what held us together. We wanted to bring the community together.
– Jennifer Touchet

The Power of Your ‘Why’

In episode 21, I discussed owning your value and the key elements to unlocking authenticity and personal power. This week we take a deep dive into the first element, “Know what you stand for,” as embodied by my guest, Jennifer Touchet.

Holding true to the vision and the “why” of the community was indispensable during her bid to establish a nature center in the urban neighborhood of Oak Cliff in Dallas, TX.

While some wanted to erect a high-end, gated community on that beloved spot of land, much of the neighborhood knew and loved it for the nature and recreation it provided. What followed was a years-long project requiring passion and persistence. Enjoy learning some key pointers from our conversation.

[3:12] …BeBe spoke so passionately and it was clear that she had a bigger vision for who should benefit from … this jewel that was in our community. So afterward, I connected with her and … asked her if she wanted to work together to try and bring the community voice to what’s really going to happen. And she wanted to…

Be Empowered by Your Beliefs

[9:32] “One of my core beliefs is that local communities that are closest to problems are also closest to solutions…”
“I firmly believe that the community can come up with what’s best for itself. I kind of believe that in general, that the communities that live and work and play where they are, that are closest to things know also how to make it better.”

Know the Stakeholder Environment

“If you want to get anything done, you have to look at all the different factors that will affect your ability as a person or as a group to get that done.”

Know When to Relent and Know When to Relax

Knowing your stand is important. But there often comes a time when compromise needs to occur. Originally Twelve Hills was 20 acres of land. To achieve their purpose, they had to scale back and negotiate. As Jennifer said, “To win doesn’t mean winner take all.”
[16:08] “We had to go back and change our plan, and negotiate with our city government, the school district developers to come up with a different vision. Twelve Hills today is just over five acres…But there were some people that felt like we gave up too much. But at that point, it felt like it was going to be if we fought for all, we were going to get nothing.”

Resources mentioned in this episode:

Owning Your Value | Key Elements for Authenticity and Personal Power
https://rise-leaders.com/owning-your-value/

A Guide For Owning Your Value:
https://mailchi.mp/d37649fa5f04/own-your-value
A downloadable worksheet for defining and voicing your value

To learn more about Twelve Hills please visit:
https://twelvehills.org/

To connect to Jennifer please visit:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennifer-touchet-0437571/

Sign up for Rise Leaders newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe

To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:
https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive. Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.

Sign up for Rise Leaders newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe

Have Friends & Colleagues Who’d Like This podcast?

SHARE IT!

Social Impact | From Idea to Enterprise with Suzanne Smith

by LeeAnn Mallory | Change, Conscious Capitalism, Leadership, Purpose/Mission, RiseRadio

Social Impact | From Idea to Enterprise with Suzanne Smith

Organizations committed to sustainable change bake it into their business model. There are a host of labels and designations for those that “do good”: conscious capitalism, social impact, social entrepreneurship, BCorp, etc. In this episode, we explore the differences and how they function. Suzanne Smith, founder & CEO of Social Impact Architects and adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and the University of Texas at Arlington unpacks it for us.

Links

Suzanne Smith

Social Impact Architects

Social Impact Definitions

Social TrendSpotter Blog

Show Notes

“[As a social entrepreneur] You don’t always do things (directly) connected to your bottom line, you don’t always have to get an immediate benefit out of something, because it’s part of who you are and your ethos – baked into your DNA.”

– Suzanne Smith

The nuances of doing good

We hear a lot of labels today around “doing good” in business: conscious capitalism, social impact, social entrepreneurship and more. But what are the differences and how do they function in the business world?

Today Suzanne Smith – an expert in social impact who works with nonprofits, foundations, socially responsible businesses and individuals – unpacks it all. She founded Social Impact Architects back in 2009 with a goal to reshape the business of social change, and she teaches on these topics as an adjunct professor at Pepperdine University and University of Texas at Arlington.

Looking differently at social change

We discuss how social change exists in a middle space between the business world and government where neither has entirely tackled it head-on. Historically, the business sector hasn’t created enough of a market for social change, but in recent years brands look differently at how they engage. Creating change has become much deeper than charity donations and volunteering. With such a surge, it’s important for brands and individuals to rely on research-backed methods and best practices without reinventing the wheel. But it’s also important to not lose sight of what you can uniquely bring to the table.

Social entrepreneurship, charity, conscious capitalism

[8:40] “So the traditional notion of charity is the whole idea of ‘I’ll give a man a fish,’ if we want to use that analogy. Social entrepreneurship changes that narrative and says, ‘You know what, let’s teach a man to fish. Let’s figure out how to do that to scale.’

“We leverage the toolkit that businesses established to create market-based solutions.”

[12:22] “Social innovation is about the idea, social entrepreneurship is about the mindset, and social enterprise is about the business model.”

[21:55] “That’s where I would put the conscious capitalists, those are the people who are hardwired around the idea of, we want to, we want to do a better job of creating social change. But typically, they’re looking at it more from a business practice perspective, it’s part of their ethos.”

The difficulty of effecting social change on a grand scale

[10:58] The danger of starting from scratch: “Leapfrog innovation, which is yes, we want to create change, but we want to give ourselves the best chance at creating impact. So we want to build it on a solid foundation of best practice research, problem, ideation, etc. So that way, we get as much impact as we possibly can from that innovation.”

People are drawn to social change

[30:15] “I consistently look at what I purchase, and I vote with my dollar…if you look at some of the research that’s been done, those companies who perform better time after time, are the ones that are socially conscious. People running those organizations are making more thoughtful decisions, they’re making less decisions that are in the short run, the better decision versus the long run being the better decision.

“Companies have to start thinking about these issues. It’s not just about them creating the product or service anymore… Do their employees have appropriate daycare? Are they moving their employees up in a career pathway?”

Her recommendation to students

[37:40] “Find that thing that they’re uniquely passionate about, marry that with the thing that they are uniquely God-given from a talent point of view,”

Resources mentioned in this episode:

https://socialimpactarchitects.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/company/social-impact-architects/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/suzannesmithtx/

https://twitter.com/socialtrendspot

https://www.instagram.com/socialtrendspot/

https://www.facebook.com/SocialImpactArchitects

Sign up for Social TrendSpotter blog:

https://socialimpactarchitects.com/newsletter-signup/

Sign up for Rise Leaders newsletter:

https://mailchi.mp/426e78bc9538/subscribe

Have Friends & Colleagues Who’d Like This podcast?

SHARE IT!

Owning Your Value | Key Elements for Authenticity and Personal Power

by LeeAnn Mallory | Awareness, Engagement, Leadership, Purpose/Mission, RiseRadio, Somatic

Owning Your Value | Key Elements for Authenticity and Personal Power

There are times in our professional lives where we need to advocate for ourselves. – to take a stand. Recognizing our worth and being able to communicate it isn’t rude, nor is it bragging. But it can be uncomfortable. Owning our value supports our authenticity, which liberates our spirit and launches excellent performance.

Links

LeeAnn Mallory

A Guide for Owning Your Value

Clifton Strengths

Tilt 365

Show Notes

When we’re able to own our value, we’re more likely to bring positive contributions to work,

to life, to our communities- to whatever we care about.

The Power of Authenticity

There are times in our professional lives where we need to advocate for ourselves. – to take a stand. Recognizing our worth and being able to communicate it isn’t rude, nor is it bragging. But it can be uncomfortable. Owning our value supports our authenticity, which liberates our spirit and launches excellent performance. Communicating our value is necessary to get a seat at the table. We make the value we bring apparent when we confidently acknowledge and demonstrate it each day – and it also helps us bring our unique advantage to the workplace.

Explore the Eight Elements of Knowing Your Value

This week’s episode is an efficient 13 minutes as I outline 8 elements to help you own and speak your value. These are actions you can take to increase your feelings of power and authenticity in all aspects of life. I’ve created an in-depth, integrated guide for your reflection and to help you develop new habits. Whether you’re mentoring someone or need strategies for realizing your own impact, you will achieve greater awareness of what you offer and how to communicate it.

Highlights from this episode

[2:30] “Know what you stand for…what you care about and what you’re committed to. These values guide your decisions, your actions and your priorities. Have clarity around your vision.”

[3:30] “Knowing what we stand for keeps us in our lane, focused on what we care about rather than pursuing what others are striving for.”

[6:53] “Track your contributions. These are quote receipts of your good work. I do this daily in my journal to remind myself that I spent my time well, and so I can articulate the deliverables that I’m working on with clients.”

[8:51] “To go along with speaking your value is to practice embodying your value. Embodying your value means that you feel it at your core, and others also feel it and see it in your presence.”

A Guide to Owning your Value:

Download Guide

Clifton Strengths Assessment:

https://www.gallup.com/cliftonstrengths/en/252137/home.aspx?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=Strengths_ECommerce_Brand_Search_US&utm_content=clifton%20strengths&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqfz6BRD8ARIsAIXQCf32_TGLD1r9bEiWXfqGzCKndOoFD6xl-Exe0WOydEZOM-qrJTus2I4aArwUEALw_wcB

Tilt 365:

https://www.tilt365.com/

Episode 19: Trudy Bourgeois about workforce excellence: https://rise-leaders.com/achieving-workforce-excellence-trudy-bourgeois/

To discuss executive coaching, leadership development program design, and workshop facilitation, please visit:

https://rise-leaders.com/contact-info/

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive. Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.

Have Friends & Colleagues Who’d Like This podcast?

SHARE IT!

Silicon Mountain: Finding Multi-Stakeholder Wins in the eWaste industry

by LeeAnn Mallory | Conscious Capitalism, Leadership, Purpose/Mission, RiseRadio

Silicon Mountain | Finding Multi-Stakeholder Wins in the eWaste industry

Hillary and Joel Patterson transformed a business opportunity into a passion project. After designing ERP solutions for clients in the electronic waste recycling industry, they jumped into the fascinating world of recycling, repair and redistribution of the electronics we regularly toss in our trash. They became SO passionate that they privately funded and produced a documentary, Silicon Mountain.

Episode 20 | September 15, 2020

Links

Joel Patterson

The Vested Group

Silicon Mountain Movie

IFIXIT

Show Notes

It’s the ultimate win-win-win situation where we help the environment, we help businesses, we help people – the products that are sent off to other countries can help with education. There’s just such a big benefit. I wanted to show what all the opportunities are, and how individuals and companies can make a difference.

– Hillary Patterson, The Vested Group

The Unintended Impact of Constant Innovation

Today we use more electronics and gadgets than at any point in history. Electronics are used in everyday life, with people upgrading their phones to the latest model, buying new technology for their companies, homes and more. This raises the question: What happens to the waste? How can we recycle and safely dispose of it? And who might this benefit?

What is Electronic Recycling?

[17:05] “Only 20% of any of the waste in the world gets recycled. So that shows you the potential of growth and the amount that can be gained by just recycling our own devices… “Such a small percentage of what’s out there that can be recycled is actually being recycled… Approximately 400,000 smartphones are thrown away every day in the United States.”

[18:14] There’s $343 million worth of gold in those phones, $46 million worth of silver. If we don’t recycle that, then we have to dig that out of the earth again. The environmental ramifications are obviously ongoing and large – something that we can easily take a big chunk out of.”

[33:31] “They have almost unlimited demand for their products when they recycle and repair these items that come in. Their struggle as [an eWaste company] is getting this stuff.”

What About Data Security?

[20:58] “As long as you’re going to a certified recycler, they have the process in place…as long as you’re using somebody reputable, they’re going to take care of it … because their reputation is on the line as well; they’re going to make sure that that that it’s secure before it’s actually sent to anyone.”

A Circular Economy

[22:47]“It’s taking something that one person has stopped using. And a lot of times people will buy the new iPhone because they want a new iPhone, not because there’s anything wrong with the last one that they have. Instead of leaving it in a drawer, they’re giving it to somebody that can either sell it, refurbish it, and putting it back into the economy.”

Silicon Mountain Documentary

Premier Information:
Date: Thursday, September 17th , 2020
Time: 7pm CST
Streamed through: http://www.siliconmountainmovie.com/

Thank you for listening and reading! I’ve included links to various resources covered in this episode.

And remember…Elevate Your Part of the World!

To learn more about Joel and Hillary Patterson and The Vested Group please visit:
Joel Patterson http://www.thevested.com/meet-your-team
The Vested Group http://www.thevested.com/netsuite-provider-the-vested-group
https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-vested-group/?trk=top_nav_home
https://twitter.com/TheVestedGroup
https://www.instagram.com/thevestedgroup/
https://www.facebook.com/VestedGroup/

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive. Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.

Have Friends & Colleagues Who’d Like This podcast?

SHARE IT!

Achieving Workforce Excellence | Trudy Bourgeois: Equality, Inclusion + Diversity Expert

by LeeAnn Mallory | Culture, Engagement, Leadership, RiseRadio

Achieving Workforce Excellence | Trudy Bourgeois: Equality, Inclusion + Diversity Expert

Trudy Bourgeois came to the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) reluctantly. She wanted ‘nothing to do with’ previous ineffective efforts to improve DEI in organizations. Yet the work kept calling her. As a former executive in a Fortune 500 consumer products company she brings pragmatism and passion. And results.

Episode 19 | September 8, 2020

Links

Trudy Bourgeois

Center for Workforce Excellence

Equality: Courageous Conversations About Women, Men and Race to Spark a Diversity and Inclusion Breakthrough

Proctor & Gamble #TakeOnRace

Show Notes

When you see something that is not right, not fair, not just, you have to speak up.

You have to say something; you have to do something.

John Lewis

Former U.S. Representative

Civil Rights Activist

Trudy Bourgeois came to the work of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) reluctantly. She wanted ‘nothing to do with’ previous ineffective efforts to improve DEI in organizations. Yet the work kept calling her. As a former executive in a Fortune 500 consumer products company Trudy brings pragmatism and passion. And results.

Here’s what to pay attention to as you listen to the episode today: first, where she sees hope for the changing landscape in terms of equity in organizations. Second, listen to Trudy’s perspective on how to own the value that you bring to your organization so that you can speak with authenticity and with power. This is particularly for women of color and women in general. Third, listen for Trudy’s perspective on the role of white and black women in moving the equity conversation forward.

Is Diversity, Equity and Inclusion a Business Imperative? Tell the Truth

[09:31]: This is not new. What is new is that through the power of a smartphone, people had an emotional connection. Their consciousness was touched. I think that organizations would say many of them, that they were on the journey. I would humbly submit that they might have been on the journey, they hadn’t gone very far.

So many of them would say, it’s a business imperative. I don’t know – as a former line manager, I don’t know what business imperative would go unresolved for 50 years and people would keep their jobs.

Owning Your Value = Power to Choose

[15:45]: If people realize, you spend the largest percentage of your life at work. Why do you want to wake up every day and put a mask on and go pretend to be somebody that you’re not, just so that you can get a paycheck? If your value is that good, then you know what? Your attitude, it should always be, “I am choosing to give my gifts and talents and add my value and impact here. I’m not being held hostage to stay here. I’m making a choice.”

[18:49] … organizations talk about innovation, yet when you stifle people and you put them in a box and then they get scared and then they don’t know their value, you’re not going to have any innovation and you’re sure not going to have any collaboration. You sure are not going to have all the things that people write up about how they want to function as a company, but this notion of knowing your value is so important. It’s important for everybody, that it’s especially important for women and people of color.

Women Hold the Key

[28:42] … I am specifically calling on women, us, to stop pointing the finger at men and the lack of progress that we’ve made. This is not to suggest that we don’t need male champions, but I am calling on us to have the courageous conversations.

Thank you for listening and reading! I’ve included links to various resources covered in this episode.

And remember…Elevate Your Part of the World!

Trudy Bourgeois https://workforceexcellence.com/trudy/

Twitter: @trudybourgeois

Center for Workforce Excellence https://workforceexcellence.com/

Equality: Courageous Conversations About Women, Men and Race to Spark a Diversity and Inclusion Breakthrough

https://www.amazon.com/Equality-Courageous-Conversations-Diversity-Breakthrough/dp/1976596335/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1X53JAOD87D10&dchild=1&keywords=trudy+bourgeois&qid=1599318403&sprefix=trudy+bour%2Caps%2C168&sr=8-1

HBR: Why Diversity Efforts Fail https://hbr.org/2016/07/why-diversity-programs-fail

Questioneering, Joseph Bradley https://www.amazon.com/Questioneering-Model-Innovative-Leaders-Digital/dp/1944027440/ref=sr_1_8?dchild=1&keywords=joseph+bradley&qid=1599318601&sr=8-8

https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/06/share-the-mic-now-instagram-campaign

I specialize in helping leaders and organizations thrive. Reach out if there’s a way I can support you.