Latest / WOC and Allies: Business and Career Realtalk with Elaine Lou Cartas / 79: How To Create Psychological Safety With Starbucks VP Global Chief Inclusion & Diversity Officer Chéla Gage
Transcript
- 0:00SPEAKER_01: How do you share with your boss or company that you do not feel safe working with them because of the gaslighting or even microaggressions?
- 0:12SPEAKER_01: What do you do when there are layoffs happening?
- 0:16SPEAKER_01: You're still at your company.
- 0:17SPEAKER_01: You're now doing three jobs and you are at capacity.
- 0:22SPEAKER_01: More importantly, you are not present with your husband, wife, partner, kids, and even yourself.
- 0:31SPEAKER_01: In this podcast episode, I am joined by Starbucks' new vice president, global chief inclusion and diversity officer, Chayla Gage.
- 0:45SPEAKER_01: Chayla is a former client-turned friend.
- 0:49SPEAKER_01: Yes, she is now working with a global brand like Starbucks, but her biggest accomplishment is being an incredible wife for 20 years and a mother to three boys.
- 1:04SPEAKER_01: Before we get started, be sure to hit that follow button on Apple Podcasts or Spotify so that more women of color and allies know about the Business and Career Real Talk podcast.
- 1:19SPEAKER_01: We created this podcast for accessible education.
- 1:23SPEAKER_01: All right, let's drop the beat.
- 1:25SPEAKER_01: Hey, I'm Elaine Lucartas.
- 1:28SPEAKER_01: I'm a business and career coach for women of color and allies.
- 1:31SPEAKER_01: Elaine Weekly awarded me the number one thought leader, and Apple News named me one of the top five business coaches.
- 1:39SPEAKER_01: Done doing the most as a woman of color or ally, and you want to create your own definition of success and happiness.
- 1:48SPEAKER_01: Well, grab your coffee tea or boba and let's do some business and career real talk.
- 2:17SPEAKER_01: Chayla Gage.
- 2:22SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
- 2:23SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
- 2:24SPEAKER_02: Yes, officially as uh February 5th.
- 2:26SPEAKER_02: I'm excited.
- 2:28SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and we're recording this like the Friday before.
- 2:30SPEAKER_01: So Chayla was able to squeeze us in before she immerses herself to Starbucks.
- 2:36SPEAKER_01: But Chayla and I met a couple months ago.
- 2:40SPEAKER_01: And I've had the honor where I was able to give a few sessions to Chayla.
- 2:44SPEAKER_01: And she's been the in the HR DIB world for 25 years, working with companies like Sprint.
- 2:51SPEAKER_01: For those of you that know what pagers are, and if you don't know, we have absolutely like aged ourselves.
- 2:59SPEAKER_01: And I I know that you've also had your own recruiting and executive firm.
- 3:06SPEAKER_01: And you've worked with big companies like Cisco, Google, Nissan.
- 3:10SPEAKER_01: I know you have that engineering background, which is so unique as a woman of color.
- 3:14SPEAKER_01: But what's even more impressive, Shayla, I hope you're like enjoying all these compliments, is not just your this big time like C-suite and Starbucks.
- 3:24SPEAKER_01: It's the beautiful work-life integration that you've created on 20 years of marriage with your husband.
- 3:30SPEAKER_01: Congrats, and your three incredible sons.
- 3:34SPEAKER_03: Oh, thank you.
- 3:35SPEAKER_03: Thank you so much.
- 3:36SPEAKER_03: Yes.
- 3:37SPEAKER_03: The work-life integration for me is important.
- 3:40SPEAKER_03: The work that I do is important to me.
- 3:44SPEAKER_03: My children, my family is important to me.
- 3:46SPEAKER_03: There's no way that I can do any of this if I both have to know about each other and it has to go hand in hand for me.
- 3:54SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I remember listening to an episode.
- 3:57SPEAKER_01: I was telling Shayla right before this.
- 3:59SPEAKER_01: I was like, I was like binge listening to Chayla.
- 4:02SPEAKER_01: So feel free to look up Chayla Gage if you're so obsessed with her during this episode to listen to others.
- 4:07SPEAKER_01: But similar to you, I remember reading Lean In by Cheryl Sandberg.
- 4:11SPEAKER_01: And I was like, I don't know if I could put an office and crib next to me while I have a baby.
- 4:17SPEAKER_01: Like I didn't relate.
- 4:18SPEAKER_01: I'm very grateful of the book she wrote, but it really wasn't relatable for women of color.
- 4:23SPEAKER_03: It was not.
- 4:24SPEAKER_03: It it really highlighted for me and a lot of peers that I had read the book with around the time that hey, this isn't this story doesn't resonate.
- 4:36SPEAKER_03: This these resources aren't available.
- 4:38SPEAKER_03: How am I supposed to maneuver this path of trying to be a leader and a mom?
- 4:46SPEAKER_03: Because what she's recommending, I can't throw down.
- 4:51SPEAKER_01: And you have an amazing life story that I didn't realize you had when we first met in person.
- 4:56SPEAKER_01: So can you share how you got into this work?
- 5:00SPEAKER_01: And for those that are watching video, I know she's been in this work for 25 years.
- 5:04SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, what are you talking about?
- 5:05SPEAKER_01: I thought you were like forever 21.
- 5:07SPEAKER_01: And she has three sons.
- 5:09SPEAKER_01: So how did you get into this work?
- 5:12SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
- 5:13SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
- 5:14SPEAKER_03: Yes, I I know I age myself when I start talking about pagers and beepers, but that is where I started back in telco.
- 5:22SPEAKER_03: And one of my first, I had a friend.
- 5:25SPEAKER_03: I was working in Sprint, and I had a friend who had his own search firm and he asked me to come on and help.
- 5:31SPEAKER_03: And this was around the time where Metro PCS was really starting to come up.
- 5:35SPEAKER_03: And we staffed a lot of their, a lot of their store positions.
- 5:40SPEAKER_03: And there we ended up with staffing a lot of their leadership positions with diverse talent.
- 5:48SPEAKER_03: And I loved that because I was bringing a part of myself into the work.
- 5:55SPEAKER_03: So that individual really got my entrepreneurial bug going.
- 6:01SPEAKER_03: And from there, I ended up creating my own company called Engaged Search Firm.
- 6:07SPEAKER_03: And I placed a lot of diverse talent.
- 6:09SPEAKER_03: So I was known as the diverse recruiter.
- 6:12SPEAKER_03: But while I was placing talent, I also saw that organizations that my talent was coming back to me a year or two later.
- 6:21SPEAKER_03: And for varied reasons, but it really felt like organ rejection.
- 6:26SPEAKER_03: It felt like they were coming into the companies, and the companies were not ready to embrace them.
- 6:34SPEAKER_03: They didn't have talent management processes set up.
- 6:37SPEAKER_03: They didn't have either sponsorship or mentoring, just different ways that talent of color needs, different things that talent of color needs in order to be successful in corporate America.
- 6:51SPEAKER_03: And so then I was like, okay, well, then now it's time for me to add some diversity consulting on top of the recruiting.
- 6:57SPEAKER_03: I did that for a while.
- 6:59SPEAKER_03: And when it was time to, I wanted to build a family.
- 7:04SPEAKER_03: And my husband and I at the time said, okay, entrepreneur was a little too hard to build the family with.
- 7:10SPEAKER_03: And so I went in-house and I worked for an RPO provider.
- 7:14SPEAKER_03: When I worked for the RPO provider, it allowed me to see how companies treat talent acquisition.
- 7:20SPEAKER_03: And that is very like it's talent acquisition is usually the entry weight for talent to enter an organization.
- 7:28SPEAKER_03: And it's where bias creeps in.
- 7:30SPEAKER_03: And so I saw the different ways that we can scoop out bias in the TA processes.
- 7:36SPEAKER_03: Now, I I went to school thinking I was going to be a lawyer, Eulane.
- 7:41SPEAKER_03: So I didn't go for HR.
- 7:42SPEAKER_03: I went for law.
- 7:44SPEAKER_03: Right around the time when it was time to start our family.
- 7:47SPEAKER_03: I had my first child.
- 7:48SPEAKER_03: My husband was like, okay, you can go.
- 7:51SPEAKER_03: What about law school?
- 7:52SPEAKER_03: You wanted to go to law school.
- 7:53SPEAKER_03: Like, let's get that going again.
- 7:55SPEAKER_03: So I went to law school and lummed it a little bit.
- 7:59SPEAKER_03: My memory sucks.
- 8:00SPEAKER_03: And so memorization, and you kind of need that if you're going to be a lawyer.
- 8:05SPEAKER_03: I'm more of the, I'm more of the people side of it.
- 8:09SPEAKER_03: I did about two years and I had this wonderful mentor.
- 8:13SPEAKER_03: And right around my two-year time, I was pregnant with my second son.
- 8:18SPEAKER_03: And my mentor and I decided that, okay, I'm going to come out of law school.
- 8:23SPEAKER_03: But that mentor understood my background and helped me create an organization called Miles Above, named after my first son.
- 8:32SPEAKER_03: So I went back to entrepreneurship, but this time it was for nonprofit.
- 8:36SPEAKER_03: And Miles Above, we placed emancipated foster youth into permanent positions, permanent or temporary positions.
- 8:44SPEAKER_03: It's important to know that about me because I grew up in foster care.
- 8:49SPEAKER_03: And between the ages of seven to 17, I lived in six family homes and four group homes.
- 8:55SPEAKER_03: So I moved 10 times in 10 years.
- 8:58SPEAKER_03: And what's amazing about that is I saw how families were like every family has some sort of problem.
- 9:10SPEAKER_01: Thank you, therapy.
- 9:12SPEAKER_03: Yes.
- 9:13SPEAKER_03: I also saw that, and and I felt it when I graduated that it was up to me to figure out how to maneuver through life.
- 9:23SPEAKER_03: So when we placed talent at mouth above, we placed them in permanent positions.
- 9:28SPEAKER_03: And when talent started getting feedback, like, and I experienced it too.
- 9:34SPEAKER_03: The first time I got feedback from my one of my employers at Sprint, it was basically like, here's some things we need to work on, Shayla.
- 9:42SPEAKER_03: And I was like, okay, great.
- 9:44SPEAKER_03: Thanks.
- 9:44SPEAKER_03: I went to go pack up my box because I thought it was time for me to go.
- 9:48SPEAKER_03: Experience teaches me that you get feedback, you leave.
- 9:53SPEAKER_03: And when we were placing talent at miles above, the same thing was happening.
- 9:57SPEAKER_03: So not only did we have to go from placing talent, we went to mentoring talent.
- 10:01SPEAKER_03: And that's where I have a hardcore belief that mentorship and sponsorship is the way to help any level of any person at any level in the organization.
- 10:13SPEAKER_03: Mentorship and sponsorship help with that.
- 10:16SPEAKER_03: So miles above, it allows me to make an impact.
- 10:20SPEAKER_03: One of the things that I learned throughout my career, it's not about title for me.
- 10:25SPEAKER_03: It's not about it's it's about money because I do have three kids and three boys, and they eat, they eat a lot.
- 10:30SPEAKER_03: So but thank you for saying that.
- 10:33SPEAKER_01: Money is important for livelihood, for survival, providing and thriving.
- 10:39SPEAKER_03: And thriving, yes.
- 10:41SPEAKER_03: And as a female of color, I had to get very comfortable with advocating for myself and knowing my worth.
- 10:48SPEAKER_03: But for me, all throughout my career, every job that I have has been what impact can I make?
- 10:56SPEAKER_03: And what legacy am I going to leave in the world?
- 11:00SPEAKER_03: And so I've gone from I've gone from automotive engineering to aerospace engineering to fashion.
- 11:08SPEAKER_03: And now I'm at Starbucks with over 430,000 employees and the impact that I know that I and my team are going to make.
- 11:20SPEAKER_03: This is an impact for generations.
- 11:22SPEAKER_03: And that excites me, Wayne.
- 11:24SPEAKER_01: There's so much to just like follow up from that.
- 11:28SPEAKER_01: One is, I'm I we'll talk about the positive like impact stuff, but one of it is you were talking about feedback.
- 11:35SPEAKER_01: How you thought when you got that feedback, you're gonna pack up and leave.
- 11:40SPEAKER_01: And I grew up grew up in a Filipino household.
- 11:43SPEAKER_01: We are very emotional, which is nothing negative, but we're just very emotional.
- 11:47SPEAKER_01: And I think a lot of first-gen immigrants, women of color relate to it when it's like, oh no, they gave me feedback.
- 11:52SPEAKER_01: I failed up, I messed up, I failed.
- 11:55SPEAKER_01: Like, what am I gonna do?
- 11:57SPEAKER_01: And I'm sure you relate, and even the the people that you've mentored, where it's a lot of unlearning of communication that I could actually express when I'm not psychologically safe, when I feel insecure in a way where I am not yelling.
- 12:15SPEAKER_01: Because I was taught if you're gonna express yourself, you're gonna yell and tone.
- 12:20SPEAKER_01: But and then you know this as a mother, it's a lot of like, wait, hold on, let me not yell, but we're not perfect, you know?
- 12:28SPEAKER_03: It's sometimes it's I've learned it's not always what you say, it's how you say it.
- 12:34SPEAKER_03: And that's what I whenever I get feedback now, and I mean I'm I've gotten a lot of feedback throughout the years, and some of it I take like some of it is for me, and some of it is not for me.
- 12:46SPEAKER_03: One of the things that I've had to learn, and something that I teach, or it's something that I I deal with with people that I'm mentoring is sometimes people don't know how to give feedback to people of color.
- 12:59SPEAKER_03: And they tend to give us all of the great things first, and they don't say what needs to be said.
- 13:07SPEAKER_03: And sometimes it takes, it it takes us, it takes myself.
- 13:12SPEAKER_03: I have to know what is it that I'm working on, what is it that I want to accomplish, and what questions can I ask of the person giving the feedback that will help me land in a place that I really want to land at.
- 13:25SPEAKER_03: I've gotten feedback at one of the employers that I didn't have executive presence.
- 13:30SPEAKER_03: Now, what I learned executive presence means for me is I don't look like or sound like you.
- 13:39SPEAKER_03: So to you, I don't have executive presence.
- 13:43SPEAKER_03: If I were in a different organization, if it were a different environment, and I might look like and sound like others, and I wouldn't get that feedback.
- 13:52SPEAKER_03: So one of the things that I tell my leaders now, whenever I do get feedback, is how is this feedback going to help shape the individual versus having them assimilate?
- 14:05SPEAKER_03: Because that's what executive presence is asking you to do.
- 14:08SPEAKER_03: It is asking you to assimilate.
- 14:10SPEAKER_03: How do I not assimilate and how do I integrate?
- 14:13SPEAKER_01: Oh, so good.
- 14:16SPEAKER_01: I love that.
- 14:18SPEAKER_01: I mean, and and it goes to even like code switching, right?
- 14:21SPEAKER_01: Like I used to work in politics, like working in campaigns.
- 14:26SPEAKER_01: And I noticed that when I was with different groups, when I was at meetings and I was the only one of color, I had to present and talk in a certain way.
- 14:34SPEAKER_01: When, because it was politics, when I would be with all older white men and it was appropriate in terms of the culture, like I would cuss, pretending I am like an old white man.
- 14:46SPEAKER_03: Assimilate.
- 14:47SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 14:48SPEAKER_01: It's just so what feedback, what feedback?
- 14:52SPEAKER_01: What feedback?
- 14:53SPEAKER_01: What questions?
- 14:54SPEAKER_01: When someone's at their role, yes, they're receiving feedback from someone.
- 14:59SPEAKER_04: Yes.
- 14:59SPEAKER_01: And they're just like, I don't understand what this person's asking me to do.
- 15:04SPEAKER_01: Like, what questions should they follow up with so they could actually gather the information in terms of what they can do to improve or or decide if even this feedback is even worth listening to, and maybe calling them in and letting them know, hey, you're asking me to code switch and assimilate, as opposed to like, do you not understand it?
- 15:26SPEAKER_01: It's like also managing up.
- 15:27SPEAKER_01: That is a long-winded question, but I hope you understood what I asked.
- 15:30SPEAKER_03: No, I I do.
- 15:32SPEAKER_03: And I think there are some, there's some, there's something there.
- 15:35SPEAKER_03: There's a lot there.
- 15:37SPEAKER_03: I think the question depends on the person who is giving you the feedback.
- 15:42SPEAKER_03: I was reading reading a book recently, I um one of Adam Grant's book, and now I don't remember if it's think again or hidden potential, but he talks about receiving feedback in the sphere of someone who cares.
- 15:55SPEAKER_03: And so someone who cares has the right to give you feedback.
- 16:00SPEAKER_03: If someone does not care about your trajectory, be it professional or personal, I'm not gonna take that feedback.
- 16:08SPEAKER_03: So the question that I ask, and and and whenever there's some leaders that I've had in the past where I I've had to get myself ready because I know that the feedback that I'm gonna get or just the type of individual this is, I need to be ready.
- 16:24SPEAKER_03: And so I'll look at my goals and objectives, and I'll have my goals and objectives in front of me.
- 16:29SPEAKER_03: And the question may be thank you for that feedback.
- 16:33SPEAKER_03: How is this going to impact our goal of yes, you know, and and and that is how is this feedback directly going to impact our representation goals for 2025?
- 16:48SPEAKER_03: Right.
- 16:48SPEAKER_01: And so going back to the goals, I love it.
- 16:52SPEAKER_03: It makes that person, it takes that because a lot of people want to give you feedback from the last thing they remember.
- 17:01SPEAKER_03: And it's I I forget what I forget feedback of relevance or yeah.
- 17:07SPEAKER_03: And when you put up your goals and objectives, it really takes them back to what's at heart.
- 17:13SPEAKER_01: It's it's interesting you say that because I mean, like I was sharing earlier, a lot of us women of color, right?
- 17:19SPEAKER_01: We grew up in households where it's reactive and emotional.
- 17:23SPEAKER_01: And a lot of the work I do with my clients, regardless of where they're at in the spectrum, manager, director, they're in C-suite, they have their own business.
- 17:32SPEAKER_01: I have to remind them, like, why, like, why can't they understand?
- 17:35SPEAKER_01: Why can't I just communicate correctly?
- 17:37SPEAKER_01: I was like, it's practice.
- 17:39SPEAKER_01: Like, I have literally a notepad, just like you said, just like what Chaylus said, what are the goals?
- 17:45SPEAKER_01: Right.
- 17:45SPEAKER_01: And if someone's giving me feedback or telling me to do something, like, well, help me understand what the priorities are.
- 17:52SPEAKER_01: Because from my understanding, is these are the three things that I need to work on so that this organization achieves this.
- 17:59SPEAKER_01: If I work on this objective, it's actually gonna take away time.
- 18:03SPEAKER_01: So, what's a priority?
- 18:04SPEAKER_01: Because realistically and sustainably, I cannot do all of this.
- 18:09SPEAKER_03: I love that.
- 18:09SPEAKER_03: I love another reason why I love what is priority is because I've seen, and I've I've been in HR for 20-some odd years.
- 18:18SPEAKER_03: I've seen leaders give people of color more work, less resources.
- 18:26SPEAKER_03: And giving us the feedback of maybe you need to do A, B, C, D, but it wasn't on our, it wasn't on my original remit.
- 18:35SPEAKER_03: So, what is my priority?
- 18:36SPEAKER_03: Help me prioritize this so that I make sure I am giving you what you need in order for you to be successful.
- 18:43SPEAKER_01: I know that we call it different things when I've heard other inter podcast interviews you've been in.
- 18:47SPEAKER_01: But what I tell my clients, when you're about to have your annual review, you're gonna meet with your direct supervisor, print out your old job description.
- 18:55SPEAKER_01: And then I call it brag sheet, but I'm like, have a brag sheet, like consistently every day, update all the things that you've accomplished and try to put numbers and percentages.
- 19:04SPEAKER_03: Yes.
- 19:05SPEAKER_01: What do you call it?
- 19:05SPEAKER_01: I know you call it something different.
- 19:07SPEAKER_01: I call it brag sheet.
- 19:08SPEAKER_01: What do you call it?
- 19:08SPEAKER_03: No, I think I I think I just call it my kudos list.
- 19:11SPEAKER_01: I don't, I don't I call it brag sheet, and you know what?
- 19:14SPEAKER_01: I know bragging has a negative connotation for women, but men do this all the time.
- 19:21SPEAKER_01: They're like, hey, I did A, B, and C.
- 19:23SPEAKER_01: That's why I need a I deserve a raise.
- 19:25SPEAKER_01: So that when you go into the meeting and people, your boss or the organization's asking you to do more, like, well, help me understand because my job role is this.
- 19:33SPEAKER_01: And if you're asking me to do this, then that seems like we need to have another conversation of me getting promoted and having a new title, or or we need to hire another team member, someone else I need to manage to do that role.
- 19:47SPEAKER_03: Right.
- 19:48SPEAKER_03: That is a hard conversation to have.
- 19:51SPEAKER_03: I wonder how do we break that into parts for people?
- 19:56SPEAKER_03: Because it's especially when you're given feedback, it's hard to say, I need more resources or or it's hard to advocate for yourself.
- 20:08SPEAKER_03: But that brag sheet, that kudos list, like sometimes I'll I'll read my I'll read my kudos list before I go into a hard one.
- 20:17SPEAKER_03: And it just like, I'm like, damn, I I'm bad.
- 20:20SPEAKER_03: I did that.
- 20:21SPEAKER_03: I'm a little bit of a and so you walk in with like a little bit more swag.
- 20:26SPEAKER_03: And I think I think that is completely okay.
- 20:29SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I love this conversation already so much.
- 20:32SPEAKER_01: But one of the things is, as you know, like 2030 is a big year, right?
- 20:38SPEAKER_01: We are recording this in 2024, literally just six years, six years from when we're recording this.
- 20:45SPEAKER_01: That according to the US Census, 2030 is so important.
- 20:50SPEAKER_01: So, can you share why that's important and why companies need to be like Starbucks and paying attention to this?
- 20:57SPEAKER_01: So, can you share why 2030 is so big, besides us getting older and wiser?
- 21:04SPEAKER_03: Well, the according to the US Census, the demographics are going to shift.
- 21:08SPEAKER_03: So the majority population right now is white Caucasian will not be the majority population by 2030.
- 21:16SPEAKER_03: We will see people of color, people who are of mixed backgrounds become the majority more than the Caucasian or white, which I mean, that's a flip.
- 21:30SPEAKER_03: That is a big flip.
- 21:31SPEAKER_01: And we're seeing it, we're seeing it now.
- 21:34SPEAKER_01: It's so nice to see.
- 21:36SPEAKER_03: It is so beautiful.
- 21:37SPEAKER_03: I love, I just got goosebumps.
- 21:40SPEAKER_03: When I think about some of the advertising that's happening, yes, like it's it's you're starting to see multiple generations in advertisements, you're starting to see mixed colors, you're starting to see families that look different than standard mom and dad or a The same race and gender.
- 22:02SPEAKER_03: Like, no, mom and dad could be two different races.
- 22:05SPEAKER_03: Mom and mom could be the same gender.
- 22:07SPEAKER_03: Like, I love that advertisers are getting there sooner.
- 22:12SPEAKER_03: And it's up to the large corporations to like, I always say we want our insides to match our outsides.
- 22:22SPEAKER_03: And by 2030, the outside is going to look a lot different than it does today.
- 22:29SPEAKER_01: And I mean, I am just throwing flowers at you during this whole podcast interview.
- 22:35SPEAKER_01: Chayla was sharing right before we hit record.
- 22:37SPEAKER_01: Chayla is working for a company that has half a million employees.
- 22:44SPEAKER_01: Half a million.
- 22:45SPEAKER_01: And for those of you that go to Starbucks, which I'm assuming should be a majority of people, if not, go and check it out.
- 22:51SPEAKER_01: It's a lot of Gen Zers, which is so beautiful because it's just this new generation.
- 22:56SPEAKER_03: Yes.
- 22:57SPEAKER_01: What I love about the impact you're going to make, incredible.
- 23:01SPEAKER_03: The impact that Starbucks.
- 23:03SPEAKER_03: So, first of all, during my interview process, one of the values that recently the organization went through a value change, and one of the values is belonging.
- 23:14SPEAKER_03: Belonging is a core value at Starbucks.
- 23:17SPEAKER_03: And what that tells me, it once, so a lot of companies say, oh yes, DENI is in our DNA.
- 23:24SPEAKER_03: Where is it?
- 23:25SPEAKER_03: Where is it in your values?
- 23:27SPEAKER_03: Where is it a part of your systems, your tools, your processes?
- 23:31SPEAKER_03: Because once this starts getting in your values, then it starts, it's in your job descriptions.
- 23:36SPEAKER_03: Then it's in how you perform, how you performance manage people, it's in your high pot programs, it's in your hiring and your retention programs.
- 23:48SPEAKER_03: And the fact that Starbucks and they know their impact and decided to have belonging as a core value, like I was like, this is home.
- 24:00SPEAKER_03: Like this is this is this is just where I'm supposed to be.
- 24:04SPEAKER_03: But I also love that when I went from aerospace engineering into retail, my first job in retail was at Reformation.
- 24:12SPEAKER_03: And I really wanted to impact the lady that I see picking up her clothes.
- 24:17SPEAKER_03: I wanted to impact the teacher that teaches my son, just the everyday person.
- 24:24SPEAKER_03: What I know about Starbucks is, and I've I felt this, and I'm getting a little emotional, but I remember during pride and going to Starbucks and seeing the aprons having the different colors and just like representation matters.
- 24:42SPEAKER_03: The fact that people can show up and be their whole self.
- 24:46SPEAKER_03: They're like, I walk into Starbucks, I see the pride, the pride logo.
- 24:51SPEAKER_03: I know that my family members who are a part of the LGBTQIA plus community can walk into this store and feel whole.
- 25:01SPEAKER_03: They can feel welcome, they can feel seen.
- 25:04SPEAKER_03: I know that if you accept LGBTQIA plus, you're probably looking at neurodivergent.
- 25:09SPEAKER_03: You're probably looking at black, Asian, Hispanic, you're probably accepting of more than just what I see.
- 25:17SPEAKER_03: And that, like, that's what I want to do.
- 25:20SPEAKER_03: I want to impact.
- 25:21SPEAKER_03: That's the impact that I want to make.
- 25:23SPEAKER_01: What are you talking about?
- 25:24SPEAKER_01: You're already doing it.
- 25:25SPEAKER_01: I mean, like, it's so it's so fascinating.
- 25:27SPEAKER_01: Like, I'm thinking about the legacy I want to create.
- 25:29SPEAKER_01: I was like, you're already a wonderful mother to your three sons.
- 25:31SPEAKER_01: And like all the companies that you work with, like, just want to remind you.
- 25:36SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
- 25:38SPEAKER_01: Legacy leader.
- 25:40SPEAKER_01: I know what you're thinking.
- 25:41SPEAKER_01: Elaine, you have such good stuff here.
- 25:44SPEAKER_01: I want more.
- 25:45SPEAKER_01: So if you want more tips and advice for your business career in life, sign up for my gifts and gifts newsletter at elenelew.com forward slash join.
- 25:56SPEAKER_01: That's J-O-I-N.
- 25:58SPEAKER_01: And here's three things you'll get when you join, because I'm like Santa Claus.
- 26:03SPEAKER_01: I love giving.
- 26:04SPEAKER_01: Number one, funny gifts.
- 26:06SPEAKER_01: Cuz who doesn't love memes and pop culture references?
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- 26:56SPEAKER_01: That's J-O-I-N.
- 26:58SPEAKER_01: All right, let's get back to the episode.
- 27:04SPEAKER_01: So, I mean, I know we know that's sad, right?
- 27:07SPEAKER_01: 2030 majority is gonna be the minority.
- 27:10SPEAKER_01: And it's like, sure, it's performative.
- 27:13SPEAKER_01: Like, let's just be honest.
- 27:15SPEAKER_01: A lot of people are like, okay, we need to hire a DEI person.
- 27:18SPEAKER_01: But can you share?
- 27:19SPEAKER_01: I just want to help our fellow women of color listening to this, as they are, you know, talking to their leaders, or if there is an open house, hopefully there is one where they're talking to people.
- 27:30SPEAKER_01: How this, I hate that I have to say this, but we just live in a capitalistic society.
- 27:33SPEAKER_01: How this affects the bottom line.
- 27:34SPEAKER_01: Oh, like how companies could lose money if they don't put DIB practices in place.
- 27:41SPEAKER_03: DEI.
- 27:42SPEAKER_03: So first, I believe there are so many stats that talk about the business case for diversity.
- 27:50SPEAKER_03: But when you bring diverse minds together, you're really creating an opportunity for innovation.
- 27:59SPEAKER_03: You're creating an opportunity for, you know, for ideas and creativity to thrive.
- 28:06SPEAKER_03: And that is where that's where companies start to win.
- 28:11SPEAKER_03: There's it's been said that companies who are gender diverse are way more successful than those who are not.
- 28:20SPEAKER_03: But it's also McKinsey and Company, and I I don't have the quote or the data in front of me at the moment, but McKinsey and Company have a really good quote, and I think it's like 15%.
- 28:31SPEAKER_03: It hits the bottom by 15%.
- 28:34SPEAKER_03: Just think 15% of companies who companies who are ethnically diverse have a bottom line increase of 15%.
- 28:46SPEAKER_03: And that's and what I also love, once McKinsey company started putting out those numbers and those data and those stats, board members started paying attention.
- 28:57SPEAKER_03: And board members now are asking, okay, what are we doing when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion?
- 29:04SPEAKER_03: I love when board members are asking, what are we doing?
- 29:07SPEAKER_03: What are the equitable practices that we are putting in place?
- 29:11SPEAKER_03: That's the question.
- 29:13SPEAKER_03: So if you're talking to another company and I've I've done this, I've had companies come to me, Taylor.
- 29:20SPEAKER_03: We like they may have seen something that I recently did.
- 29:24SPEAKER_03: We love what the work that you've done for Reformation, or we love the work that you've done for Raytheon, but they don't see everything in my background.
- 29:30SPEAKER_03: They only see my current, my last, you know, two, three years.
- 29:34SPEAKER_03: What they're really looking at, Elaine, is that I'm a black woman in HR.
- 29:38SPEAKER_03: Just because I'm a black woman in HR does not mean that I have diversity capability.
- 29:43SPEAKER_03: Like that is not what we do.
- 29:45SPEAKER_03: Companies do not hire the first black person or first woman or man of color you see and put them in a diversity role.
- 29:53SPEAKER_03: For those of you who are being tapped for diversity roles and you know you don't have the diversity experience, then that may not be a company you want to you want to pull into.
- 30:04SPEAKER_03: What happens?
- 30:06SPEAKER_03: The resources may not be there.
- 30:08SPEAKER_03: The the capability of DENI is more than just programs.
- 30:16SPEAKER_03: It's more than just what are we doing for Black History Month?
- 30:19SPEAKER_03: It's more than just we support Pride or we support Juneteenth.
- 30:25SPEAKER_03: DENI is true change management.
- 30:28SPEAKER_03: We are changing systems, we are changing policies.
- 30:32SPEAKER_03: We like we are changing processes.
- 30:36SPEAKER_03: All of that has to be put in place in order for a company to really or really walk the walk and talk the talk for DENI.
- 30:46SPEAKER_03: So I have friends that I have people who come to me, tell you what I want to get into DENI and I just had a company.
- 30:52SPEAKER_03: Yeah, that company, they're not ready.
- 30:54SPEAKER_03: They're not ready.
- 30:55SPEAKER_01: I love this.
- 30:57SPEAKER_01: I love that you are calling in companies.
- 30:59SPEAKER_01: I mean, what it sounds like, because I actually get asked to speak to do workshops, right?
- 31:04SPEAKER_01: I don't know very clearly why.
- 31:06SPEAKER_01: You know, they want me to talk because I'm a woman and woman of color, right?
- 31:10SPEAKER_01: Talk about a service in communication.
- 31:13SPEAKER_01: And I'm actually doing right now a certification with executive leadership and and career coaching right now.
- 31:19SPEAKER_01: And I was talking to one of my mentors, I was like, hey, these two very well-known big companies just hit me up and asked me to do a workshop.
- 31:27SPEAKER_01: One of them, their ERG, and then the other one, they want me to work with their department to work on communication and and also time management.
- 31:35SPEAKER_01: And he actually said it directly to me.
- 31:38SPEAKER_01: He's like, if they want to fix that, they need to work with you not through a workshop, but they need to do, you need to do a longer-term proposal because you need to coach them.
- 31:48SPEAKER_01: You like systems and policies and coach the directors as well as rank and file.
- 31:53SPEAKER_01: Like that is as he was just like, that's performative.
- 31:56SPEAKER_01: They just want a band-aid.
- 31:57SPEAKER_03: That's performative.
- 31:59SPEAKER_03: A one-time talk, a one-time workshop, that does nothing.
- 32:03SPEAKER_03: What are we doing behind the scenes?
- 32:05SPEAKER_03: What's the back end?
- 32:06SPEAKER_03: What's the follow-up?
- 32:07SPEAKER_03: Do we, do we, do we have the right tools and technology to actually follow up?
- 32:12SPEAKER_03: Are we looking at data?
- 32:14SPEAKER_03: What are the measures of success?
- 32:16SPEAKER_03: Like those are the questions that we should be really asking.
- 32:19SPEAKER_03: And, you know, it took me a lot of time and a lot of pain to actually call those questions out.
- 32:28SPEAKER_03: And I smile now because I'm thinking about the experience that I had with Starbucks.
- 32:36SPEAKER_03: And it took a long time for us to land with me taking this position.
- 32:40SPEAKER_03: But I asked some very difficult questions.
- 32:44SPEAKER_03: I've been gaslit before.
- 32:46SPEAKER_03: I did not want to do that again.
- 32:48SPEAKER_03: And I've worked at performative companies, or I've been called upon us to work at performative companies, and I did not want to do that.
- 32:57SPEAKER_03: I want to make an impact.
- 32:58SPEAKER_03: And in order for me to do that, the company has to be ready.
- 33:01SPEAKER_03: You have to put up or shut up.
- 33:03SPEAKER_01: You know what?
- 33:04SPEAKER_01: I just have to like applaud you and compliment you, right?
- 33:07SPEAKER_01: Because I mean, so often you hear a company like Starbucks, or for me, being a business owner, like a coach, it's like, oh, all these clients want to work with me.
- 33:14SPEAKER_01: I actually canceled 10 sales calls in January because they were not a good fit.
- 33:18SPEAKER_01: But to even your extent, what you were sharing, it's like, I mean, the money, it's great, but you have to understand the type of quality service and experience I am going to provide.
- 33:32SPEAKER_01: Like, this is not just a gift that you're giving me.
- 33:35SPEAKER_01: I am a gift.
- 33:37SPEAKER_03: Yes.
- 33:38SPEAKER_03: Oh, I love that.
- 33:39SPEAKER_03: I am a gift.
- 33:41SPEAKER_03: I'm writing that down.
- 33:44SPEAKER_03: It's like one of our coaching sessions, Chayla.
- 33:48SPEAKER_03: Which I love.
- 33:50SPEAKER_03: I because you see me and that is rare.
- 33:54SPEAKER_03: So thank you.
- 33:55SPEAKER_01: Oh, you're welcome.
- 33:56SPEAKER_01: I know we're not even towards the end.
- 33:58SPEAKER_01: I still got questions to ask you, Chayla.
- 34:01SPEAKER_01: But what you're talking about, like gaslighting, right?
- 34:04SPEAKER_01: When people don't feel comfortable and feeling performative, what advice do you have for people where they're in an environment that they don't feel safe?
- 34:13SPEAKER_03: Yeah.
- 34:14SPEAKER_03: You know, psychological safety is, I believe, is a foundation for success in DENI.
- 34:22SPEAKER_03: And it's because when people are safe, they can be, they can be their whole selves.
- 34:28SPEAKER_03: When people are their whole selves, they can bring their innovation, their creativity to their employer, to the organization, to the event, to whatever it is.
- 34:39SPEAKER_03: But when you're not safe, what that says is and what what that can look like, sometimes it looks like my words are being taken differently, or it can look like being called aggressive.
- 34:55SPEAKER_03: It can look like it can look like not, it can look like not having resources on your team.
- 35:04SPEAKER_03: It can look like organizations that are laying off, like we're we're doing right now.
- 35:09SPEAKER_03: There's a lot of companies going through rifts and going through layoffs.
- 35:13SPEAKER_03: And unfortunately, you start to see a lot of people of color leaving those organizations.
- 35:19SPEAKER_03: Then those who are staying feel like they're not safe.
- 35:24SPEAKER_03: And when that happens, and you do start as an employer, you're bringing doubt and a lack of trust.
- 35:34SPEAKER_03: I don't care what relationship it is.
- 35:37SPEAKER_03: A relationship cannot thrive without trust.
- 35:41SPEAKER_03: If you don't have psychological safety, if you are not safe, there are certain ways that you can build that.
- 35:48SPEAKER_03: I I think that it can be built, but sometimes it can be eye-opening to say, is this the environment that I want to be in?
- 35:58SPEAKER_03: And or what do I need in order for me to feel safe in this environment?
- 36:05SPEAKER_03: Sometimes what that can look like is going out to get an external coach, getting up another perspective.
- 36:13SPEAKER_03: And I I love I love the idea of having a coach just like I loved my I love my therapist because an external view into your situation like really helps.
- 36:27SPEAKER_03: And to be seen, to be validated when you are in an environment where you're not safe, you start to question.
- 36:36SPEAKER_03: And I know every question that you and it what it starts to deteriorate the pride and the worth, the value that you have as an individual.
- 36:50SPEAKER_03: And so what it can look like to build that up, it could it could be building a coach, it could be creating an employee resource group so that you're creating community for yourself and for others.
- 37:03SPEAKER_03: It could be creating a peer mentor.
- 37:07SPEAKER_03: And I've had to do that in organizations where I I remember one org, I was in a meeting and someone said something that was a little off-putting, and I and I I saw somebody else in the room, a white woman, and she kind of like like sat in her seat.
- 37:23SPEAKER_03: A little, she sat a little bit more upright.
- 37:26SPEAKER_03: Now, sometimes allies can't always speak up in the moment.
- 37:31SPEAKER_03: Maybe she didn't feel psychologically safe to speak up either.
- 37:35SPEAKER_03: But after that meeting, I went to her and I didn't say anything about the comment that somebody said.
- 37:41SPEAKER_03: What I said was there there comes a time where I need a peer mentor and I need somebody to validate my experiences.
- 37:51SPEAKER_03: Could you be my peer mentor?
- 37:53SPEAKER_03: I just feel like you and I have a connection and you see me for who I am.
- 38:00SPEAKER_03: And she said yes.
- 38:01SPEAKER_03: Now that was an environment that wasn't psychologically safe for me, but I created safety for myself.
- 38:08SPEAKER_01: I love that.
- 38:09SPEAKER_01: It's actually what I encourage my clients, like when they're working on a behavioral change, like I'm not giving feedback enough.
- 38:17SPEAKER_01: Or in terms of psychological safety, like, hey, can you tell me, like when we're at meetings, like, can you see if I'm able to speak up and do things?
- 38:26SPEAKER_01: So even being able to like meet with this individual, and both of you could hold each other accountable, where like once a month, it's like, okay, as you know, I'm working on this.
- 38:34SPEAKER_01: How often should you see me do this?
- 38:35SPEAKER_01: Did I do not say this?
- 38:38SPEAKER_01: So I really appreciate you even saying that.
- 38:41SPEAKER_01: And and I want to go back to even what you're saying because a lot of companies are shrinking, but I have a number of executive career coaching clients where there's layoffs, they stayed because of the work they're doing.
- 38:54SPEAKER_01: And what happened was now they have more workload and they're working with through they're doing three different jobs, and these are all women of color.
- 39:03SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 39:04SPEAKER_01: And like what both Chaila and I were talking about, it's like a lot of the unlearning because unfortunately, as a woman of color, as women, we are taught to be the supporting role, right?
- 39:15SPEAKER_01: Like we will cook for you, we will do chores, whatever you need, I will be there, as opposed to seeing ourselves as the leading role.
- 39:24SPEAKER_01: And I'm so proud of one of my clients where literally the last day before holiday break, like, okay, you have 30 new accounts, like an hour before work ended.
- 39:34SPEAKER_01: And then she responded, there is no capacity for me to do it.
- 39:39SPEAKER_01: We need to, we need to talk about how this could be done differently.
- 39:44SPEAKER_01: Like, why are you giving this to me when I am working X hours?
- 39:47SPEAKER_01: I'm doing three jobs and I already have this number of accounts.
- 39:51SPEAKER_01: And also, if you're gonna give me these accounts, we're gonna lose X button revenue because I won't be able to perform at all.
- 39:56SPEAKER_03: Bam, when you start talking about data, when you take it down to ROI, people really pay attention.
- 40:03SPEAKER_03: Kudos to her for saying I have no capacity for this.
- 40:08SPEAKER_03: Something else I know that I know women of color, especially women who are in the DENI space, we tend to take on more.
- 40:16SPEAKER_03: The D E and I role is I call it a pulpit position because people come to me not only about, hey, I need to hire this, or or this process doesn't feel good, but they come to me with like, my what my my daughter is dating a black man, or my daughter has recently come out as gay, and this is impacting me, or what am I supposed to do?
- 40:44SPEAKER_03: Like it's a pulpit position, and I say that because we put on a cape and we don't take that cape off.
- 40:53SPEAKER_03: But especially for people of color, we feel like we have because most of the time there's been trials or tribulations that we've had to overcome.
- 41:07SPEAKER_03: And so we know what it's like to overcome these things.
- 41:10SPEAKER_03: And so we just we feel like, okay, this is just something else I have to do.
- 41:15SPEAKER_03: I am here to tell you, you are not to be traumatized in the workplace.
- 41:20SPEAKER_03: It is the workplace is not a place that should give you more than you can take.
- 41:26SPEAKER_03: That is not what your employer should be doing.
- 41:29SPEAKER_03: And the cake is like that cake can come off.
- 41:34SPEAKER_03: Like to say I don't have the capacity, that's the smartest thing to do because you're really showing the org, you're really showing your employer, I care about the work that I'm doing, I care about the legacy that I'm leaving, and I can't do it unless you support me.
- 41:52SPEAKER_03: It's hard, it's really hard.
- 41:54SPEAKER_01: And I hate I say this to my clients, but I'm just being direct.
- 41:58SPEAKER_01: I'm sorry.
- 41:59SPEAKER_01: And even if you have a fabulous boss, right?
- 42:01SPEAKER_01: Like it just might also just be the organizational culture, like they're not thinking about you all the time.
- 42:07SPEAKER_01: They have their own stuff to do.
- 42:09SPEAKER_01: So if you're not saying anything and explaining to them, like, hey, I'm working on this other stuff, you know, what I'm managing is like five million dollars of revenue and you're asking me to do this, like I understand that's a priority, but I am not able to fulfill that.
- 42:26SPEAKER_03: A hundred percent.
- 42:27SPEAKER_03: Or here's what I'm going to drop to pick this up.
- 42:31SPEAKER_01: Ooh, that that sentence structure.
- 42:33SPEAKER_03: Yep.
- 42:34SPEAKER_01: That sentence structure.
- 42:35SPEAKER_03: I've had to learn that.
- 42:36SPEAKER_03: I've had to learn that one.
- 42:38SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
- 42:39SPEAKER_01: Oh my gosh.
- 42:40SPEAKER_01: Chayla, you are a wealth of knowledge, and I'm just so excited for you in this new role.
- 42:49SPEAKER_01: I hope you hope you well, I kind of want to say, I hope you drink a lot of coffee, but then like you might have to be going to.
- 42:57SPEAKER_01: If you drink too much coffee and your heart will go up.
- 42:59SPEAKER_03: No, I'm a coffee aficionado.
- 43:00SPEAKER_03: Like, coffee is my thing.
- 43:02SPEAKER_01: Oh, okay.
- 43:03SPEAKER_01: Well, I will announce it in this podcast.
- 43:05SPEAKER_01: But my partner and I, we bought an espresso machine.
- 43:10SPEAKER_00: Nice.
- 43:11SPEAKER_01: We are we are bad like latte artists right now.
- 43:18SPEAKER_01: Like we could put a smiley face.
- 43:20SPEAKER_01: We tried to make a panda and it looked like Joker instead.
- 43:25SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's funny.
- 43:27SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so Starbucks do not hire me as a barista.
- 43:32SPEAKER_03: Now I want to see the picture.
- 43:34SPEAKER_03: Now I'm gonna ask you to take pictures of your of your art.
- 43:38SPEAKER_01: I have been displaying my art on my Instagram stories.
- 43:40SPEAKER_01: They're doing well.
- 43:41SPEAKER_01: I will text it to you after this call.
- 43:43SPEAKER_01: But Chayla, as we're talking about psychological safety, feedback, what is one takeaway or a question to help our audience?
- 43:52SPEAKER_01: Uh, because I know we talked about a lot of deep stuff in this episode.
- 43:55SPEAKER_01: But all right, you know what?
- 43:56SPEAKER_01: Let me reframe that question.
- 43:57SPEAKER_01: If you had to give advice to Your younger self when you're a woman of color, like mid-level manager or starting their own business, what advice would you have for them?
- 44:07SPEAKER_03: There's two things that immediately come to mind.
- 44:10SPEAKER_03: One is you're worse and just that's it.
- 44:15SPEAKER_03: Like you're worth you're worth the time, you are worth the money, you are worth the resources, you are worth the trainings, you are worth the high pot, the high potential agenda, you are worth the sponsorship, you are worth the mentorship, you are worth advocating for yourself.
- 44:35SPEAKER_03: You are worth it.
- 44:37SPEAKER_03: That is something that I would I would say.
- 44:40SPEAKER_03: The other is sometimes you have to make your own blueprint.
- 44:45SPEAKER_03: There's one of the things that I didn't see when I was in my in my middle, and I say middle because my middle phase of career, I have a son who is 18, a son who is 16, and a son who is nine.
- 45:00SPEAKER_03: When my 18-year-old was like 10 years old, I didn't like, and my 16-year-old was eight years old.
- 45:08SPEAKER_03: Like I was in the throes of elementary school and middle management.
- 45:13SPEAKER_03: And I didn't know how I was gonna make it work.
- 45:17SPEAKER_03: I didn't see women talk about their stay-at-home dads.
- 45:23SPEAKER_03: I didn't see women talk about having to leave work early or start work late because they had to do a drop-off.
- 45:32SPEAKER_03: And I I would tell myself, make the blueprint for you because someone else is watching.
- 45:41SPEAKER_03: And what you do today is going to impact 10 people tomorrow.
- 45:48SPEAKER_03: Does that help?
- 45:49SPEAKER_01: Of course it helps.
- 45:51SPEAKER_01: I mean, if you fall in love with Shayla, Chay, how can people find you?
- 45:55SPEAKER_03: I'm always on LinkedIn, Taylor Gage, and then my Instagram is tweet at Jay.
- 46:01SPEAKER_01: And I know we kind of talked about it earlier, but I know we had an opportunity where you got to work with me.
- 46:07SPEAKER_01: So for those that are on the fence and possibly interested in working with me, can you share your experience?
- 46:12SPEAKER_03: Oh wow.
- 46:14SPEAKER_03: I had so let me go a little deeper.
- 46:17SPEAKER_03: I met you through one of the networking associations and I signed up and I have a hard time networking in multi-group settings.
- 46:27SPEAKER_03: Like I walk into a networking room and I get terrified.
- 46:30SPEAKER_03: I'm like, oh no, I don't know what to do.
- 46:32SPEAKER_03: And so I was talking to someone and trying to figure out okay, what event out of this networking thing am I going to really partake in?
- 46:42SPEAKER_03: What is going to be my takeaway?
- 46:43SPEAKER_03: What am I going to learn from this networking event?
- 46:47SPEAKER_03: And they said, Oh, there's an executive coach that comes as a part of this networking event.
- 46:52SPEAKER_03: And I was like, Well, let me go try that out.
- 46:54SPEAKER_03: I walked in the room and just like I kid you not, it felt like, oh, like just like it was just like the heavens opened up.
- 47:06SPEAKER_03: Like it was just like this room was meant for me.
- 47:10SPEAKER_03: Like it was a space that I could be free in.
- 47:14SPEAKER_03: Like the first thing I think I said to you was, I'm confused about what to do next.
- 47:20SPEAKER_03: And like the next three sentences out of your mouth showed me that you saw me, you saw the triggers that I was going through, you saw the microaggression that I recently experienced.
- 47:36SPEAKER_03: And you saw me as a woman of color struggling for my footing.
- 47:42SPEAKER_03: And you validated that.
- 47:59SPEAKER_03: There's someone I could reach out to.
- 48:01SPEAKER_03: There's a lifeline, and this place exists for me.
- 48:06SPEAKER_03: So thank you.
- 48:07SPEAKER_03: Thank you for having this podcast.
- 48:09SPEAKER_03: Thank you for being you.
- 48:11SPEAKER_03: Thank you for seeing me.
- 48:13SPEAKER_03: It's helped get me to where I am right now.
- 48:15SPEAKER_03: 100%.
- 48:16SPEAKER_00: Oh, Cela.
- 48:17SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm just so excited for you.
- 48:21SPEAKER_02: Thank you.
- 48:22SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I said this earlier, I'll say this again.
- 48:25SPEAKER_01: And I know you've accomplished so much in your career, but like I said earlier and so many times to you, like the biggest celebration is your 20 years of marriage and your three sons.
- 48:38SPEAKER_03: It really is.
- 48:39SPEAKER_03: I can't believe we we did it.
- 48:43SPEAKER_01: I mean, I know, I know the goal is like with your kids, like for them to stay alive.
- 48:48SPEAKER_01: But not only that, and I want to share, actually, I want you to share this.
- 48:52SPEAKER_01: I want to end it with this story, but I would love for you to share when you were given this opportunity when your oldest son had their senior year of high school.
- 49:00SPEAKER_01: Can you please share that?
- 49:01SPEAKER_01: It was just, I cried hearing this story.
- 49:04SPEAKER_01: So I'm gonna make you all cry now.
- 49:07SPEAKER_03: Well, when I took the job at Reformation, at the time I was working for an East Coast company in West Coast hours.
- 49:15SPEAKER_03: So I was having to be at Zoom at 4 a.m.
- 49:18SPEAKER_03: in the morning.
- 49:19SPEAKER_03: And Reformation was a West Coast company that allowed me to make an impact to the everyday consumer.
- 49:24SPEAKER_03: And so I knew I wanted to take the role, but my son was graduating high school.
- 49:30SPEAKER_03: And this child is the child that went through COVID in ninth grade and tenth grade, and he didn't really have a time to really connect with the school or with students.
- 49:41SPEAKER_03: So he was already feeling disconnected.
- 49:44SPEAKER_03: And so I didn't want to create any more disrupt in his life at all.
- 49:48SPEAKER_03: And when I told him, Miles, I have this job opportunity, and um just want to let you know that I'll be doing the move, I'll be taking the role.
- 50:00SPEAKER_03: And eventually we're gonna move to Southern California as a family, but I'm going to travel now just for the next year or two until you graduate.
- 50:10SPEAKER_03: And he said, No, mom, no, we do this as a family.
- 50:15SPEAKER_03: I'm better when you're around.
- 50:17SPEAKER_03: And so that's my son.
- 50:20SPEAKER_03: Like, I'm lucky to be his mom.
- 50:22SPEAKER_00: You did something right.
- 50:24SPEAKER_00: You did something right with raising your kids.
- 50:26SPEAKER_00: You know, because I know that that's like a hard time.
- 50:28SPEAKER_01: I mean, I can't imagine being a teenager in COVID years.
- 50:32SPEAKER_01: I I don't know how that is, but that senior year is like when all the big things happen.
- 50:37SPEAKER_01: They've already been, they've established their friendships, prom, like rad night, all that.
- 50:42SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 50:43SPEAKER_01: And your baby boy.
- 50:45SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 50:46SPEAKER_01: Go ahead, say it, say it.
- 50:48SPEAKER_02: Mom, we do this as a family.
- 50:50SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
- 50:51SPEAKER_01: Uh Chayla, thank you so much.
- 50:52SPEAKER_01: Please, I will put Chayla's LinkedIn profile in the show notes so you could follow her.
- 50:57SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much for all you do.
- 50:59SPEAKER_01: Congratulations for impacting another company that has half a million employees.
- 51:03SPEAKER_01: I just want to remind you when you order your Starbucks drink, think of Chayla.
- 51:09SPEAKER_01: Don't worry, Chayla's not running for office or anything.
- 51:13SPEAKER_03: No, my favorite drink is the white chocolate mocha.
- 51:16SPEAKER_03: So if anybody else likes the white chocolate mocha, then I'm out there with you.
- 51:21SPEAKER_01: Thank you, Chayla.
- 51:22SPEAKER_03: Thank you.
- 51:24SPEAKER_01: If you are feeling unsafe at your current job or business, I hope you learned a lot on what you can do, especially the scripts that Shayla and I shared.
- 51:36SPEAKER_01: And if you need to get those scripts again, go hit the replay button again.
- 51:42SPEAKER_01: And if you found this episode on psychological safety and feedback helpful, here are four things you can do if you feel called to do them.
- 51:53SPEAKER_01: Number one, if you could leave a five-star rating interview, that would mean a lot to me and my team.
- 52:01SPEAKER_01: We created this podcast for accessible education for women of color and allies.
- 52:08SPEAKER_01: Each episode takes about four hours to create.
- 52:12SPEAKER_01: It takes me one hour to prep and another 30 minutes to one hour to record.
- 52:16SPEAKER_01: Then my team spends another two hours to edit and market.
- 52:20SPEAKER_01: Number two, because I care about accessible education, share this with a friend who's probably complaining about their job all the time and they need some strategy or scripts to deal with it, or to just know that they are not alone.
- 52:38SPEAKER_01: Number three, do not forget to follow that button, subscribe button, and when you hit that follow button, it lets the interwebs do their thing to let other fellow women of color and allies like you know that this podcast, this resource is available to them.
- 52:58SPEAKER_01: And number four, if you would like to create a more sustainable and simple business and career where you feel safe, where you are creating a safe environment, then schedule an introductory legacy business and career audit call with me.
- 53:17SPEAKER_01: I only work with 24 clients at one time to ensure each client receives the results they deserve.
- 53:27SPEAKER_01: And you can schedule a complimentary legacy business and career audit call at elanew.com forward slash call.
- 53:36SPEAKER_01: That's E-L A-I-N-E-L-O-U.com forward slash call.