Minda Harts, Founder and CEO of The Memo, advocates for women of color in the workplace. In this conversation, she discusses actionable strategies for managers to promote inclusivity, highlighting the alarming statistics of black women in leadership. Minda emphasizes the need for courage in confronting injustices and the importance of allyship. She introduces the Manager’s Pledge, outlining six ways leaders can foster equity. The discussion delves into the resilience required to rebuild trust and challenge systemic biases for a more just workplace.
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insights INSIGHT
Underrepresentation of Black Women
Less than 2% of Black women hold leadership roles, despite qualifications.
This indicates significant systemic barriers and lack of opportunity.
insights INSIGHT
Unchecked Bias
Unconscious bias, while harmful, is often passively accepted.
Unchecked bias creates further harm due to lack of accountability and discussion.
question_answer ANECDOTE
Silent Bystanders
Minda Harts shares an experience where colleagues privately sympathized with her struggles but failed to publicly support her.
Bystanders who witness harmful behavior but remain silent contribute to the problem.
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Right Within provides essential guidance for women of color to deal with microaggressions, heal from racialized trauma, and find relief from invisible workplace burdens. Through action points, exercises, and coaching, Minda Harts encourages women to summon strength and courage, including advice from therapists and faith leaders on healing.
Radical Candor
Be a Kick-ass Boss Without Losing Your Humanity
Kim Scott
Radical Candor by Kim Scott offers a practical approach to management by emphasizing the importance of caring personally and challenging directly. The book argues that effective managers must find a balance between being empathetic and providing clear, honest feedback. Scott draws from her experiences at Google and Apple to provide actionable lessons on building strong relationships, giving feedback, and creating a collaborative work environment. The book introduces the concept of 'radical candor' as the sweet spot between obnoxious aggression and ruinous empathy, and provides tools and strategies for managers to implement this approach in their daily work[1][2][5].
Minda Harts: Right Within
Minda Harts is the founder and CEO of The Memo and an advocate for women of color in the workplace. She is a sought-after speaker and thought-leader, frequently speaking on topics of advancing women of color, leadership, diversity, and entrepreneurship. She was named a LinkedIn Top Voice for Equity in the Workplace and was honored as one of BET’s Future 40. She has been a featured speaker at TEDx Harlem, Nike, Levi's, Bloomberg, Google, SXSW, and many other places.
She is an adjunct assistant professor of public service at NYU. She also hosts Secure the Seat, a career podcast for women of color. Minda is the author of the bestselling book The Memo* and now her new book Right Within: How to Heal From Racial Trauma in the Workplace*.
In this conversation, Minda and I discuss the daily actions that managers can do to support inclusion in the workplace, especially for women of color. We explore the unfortunate realities of systemic racism that still show up in many workplaces and how we can all do better. Plus, Minda invites us to consider the Manager’s Pledge and six key ways we can bring more equity into our organizations.
Key Points
The State of Black Women in Corporate America report finds that in 2020, Black women held 1.6 percent of vice president roles and 1.4 percent of executive suite positions.
When someone says something racially charged, one of two things tend to happen: laugher or silence. We can do better.
You don’t need to be the hero, but you do have a responsibility to start.
All of us will mess up. Take inspiration from the Japanese art of Kintsugi, where the broken pieces reassembled become more beautiful than the original.
We often miss the opportunities that are right in front of us. Starting there is how each of us bring justice into the world.
Resources Mentioned
Right Within: How to Heal From Racial Trauma in the Workplace* by Minda Harts
Minda’s website
Interview Notes
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Related Episodes
How to Build Psychological Safety, with Amy Edmondson (episode 404)
How to Support Women of Color, with Minda Harts (episode 506)
How to Reduce Bias in Feedback, with Therese Huston (episode 510)
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