Move Fast. Break Shit. Burn Out.

In this episode, Jackie Cureton, Chief Diversity Officer at Bitly, talks about the importance of meeting people where they are (openness & listening) and "calling folks in" (instead of calling people out). Only by listening deeply, can DEI leaders hear the "whisper of the organization" which helps to create the space for courageous conversations. Jackie also shares about how her strong commitment to her personal rejuvenation practices (physical, intellectual, emotional, and spiritual) sustain her energy, and allow her sit in her power as a DEI leader. Her advice: "Be who you say you are." Learn more about Shirley Chisholm's history. Original music by ⁠Lynz Floren⁠.

Chris Williams first remembers becoming aware of race when his brother was stabbed several times in the back. His brother survived, but it gave Chris a lifelong passion of working for equity. As Global Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at CBRE, Chris is igniting change in a 68,000 person organization that operates in over 100 countries. To lead change on this scale, Chris talks about the importance of effective communication and collaboration. In order to create change with such a diverse audience, he notes it's important to be able to read the audience, practice active listening, and not assume that your normal messaging translates to different audiences. Chris shares stories of several times where he realized that his communication may have created a barrier and how his self- and situational awareness helped him recognize that he made a mistake. He explains how he apologized and learned from those experiences - modeling the power of humble DEI leadership. You won't want to miss this high-energy and deeply vulnerable conversation. Original music by ⁠Lynz Floren⁠.

In this episode, Jess Harvie, Global DEI and Social Impact Leader (formerly at Snap and Justworks), highlights how trust and curiosity underpinned the work she did bringing The Action to Catalyze Tech Report (ACT Report) to life. The ACT report is an initiative to get the entire tech industry to collaborate around DEI work to 10x DEI results. This initiative stemmed from the realization that tech companies have been trying for years to solve systemic DEI on their own, while the reality was that they end up playing a game of diversity musical chairs, with DEI employees shifting from one tech company to another. Jess shares that the key to creating this coalition to accelerate impact was building trust, which she did by communicating effectively and being vulnerable with other people. Curiosity helped her understand value to other stakeholders which allowed her to articulate the vision in a way that built trust and got them onboard. Original music by ⁠Lynz Floren⁠.

In this episode, Blair Taylor, Former N America DEI Practice Leader, Accenture & Former DEI Lead Partner N. America, PwC, speaks from his deep experience driving massive change as a Catalyst in very large roles including as the Chief Executive Officer of My Brother’s Keeper Alliance (MBKA), a nonprofit launched by then President Obama. Blair shares that though we face a lot of big problems in this world, we need to focus on the fact that the problems are actually solvable. But Blair points out that we can't solve these problems alone. He says that ideas can be a dime a dozen. It's the ability to take an idea and bring it to fruition by building the right diverse team, the right strategy, the right approach, and understanding the market conditions that Blair says are the skills necessary to be a successful Catalyst. Original music by ⁠⁠⁠⁠Lynz Floren⁠⁠⁠⁠.

In this episode, Krishna Manda, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at Lenzing Group doesn't just talk about his commitment to slowing down to bring people along leveraging empathy, he embodies it. Krishna shares his simple framework: coherence, co-creation, co-elevation. Coherence is about finding shared value. Co-creation is necessary to both leverage everyone's expertise around the business, which is critical when driving company-wide sustainability initiatives, and helps people feel a sense of ownership. Co-elevation is about giving visibility and credit to your co-collaborators, so they have the permission to do this type of work again in the future. Original music by ⁠⁠Lynz Floren⁠⁠.

Gloria Caulfield is an ultra Catalyst, creating change in so many venues as the VP of Strategic Alliances for Tavistock, the President of the Lake Nona Institute and Founder of ⁠Lake Nona Impact Forum⁠ just to name a few. In this episode, Gloria shares the importance of strong communication skills. If you're just starting to realize your vision and don't have any data or testimonials, you have to paint a clear picture of the vision in a way that makes your potential partners want to come along on the journey. Developing partnership is the other key skill that has helped Gloria achieve her massive success. Check out The Medici Effect which is the book she mentioned on our talk. Original music by Lynz Floren.

Dave Zaboski is the ultimate storyteller, having worked as a Senior Animator at Disney during the Second Golden Age of Animation on films including “Beauty and the Beast,” “The Lion King,” “Pocahontas,” “Aladdin,” “Hunchback of Notre Dame,” “Hercules,” and “Fantasia 2000.” In this episode he shares the power of telling the story of the storyteller. When you think of the stories about iconic Catalyst leaders like Yvon Chouinard, Steve Jobs, Elon Musk or Satya Nadella, you quickly get a sense of the power, for better or worse, of the story of the storyteller. Find out more about Laetro here Original music by Lynz Floren.

In this episode, the magical Kalifa Oliver PhD, guides us on a journey to understand how listening, data, storytelling and speaking in your audiences' language (plus an infusion of humor!) is the formula to inching change forward. She explains that it is not data itself that helps people move toward change, but rather building a bridge from data to help people understand how things will be better if they act on that data. In our discussion she walks her talk - sharing rich and informative stories of how combining data, insight and a vision for the future makes taking a step toward change very easy for people. Check out more about Kalifa here. Original music by Lynz Floren.

Our podcast guest Whynde Kuehn brings a piquing frame to Catalysts - while we set big, hairy goals, we spend most of our time on the journey to achieve those goals. And yet many of us suffer through resistance and burnout on that path. As an ultramarathoner and mountaineer Whynde sees her most important catalytic skill as 'taking a journey'. While climbing Aconcagua she spent only 0.12% of the time on the summit, while 99.88% was the journey to get there and back down. In this podcast she helps us understand how to love the journey, as much as the summit! Find out more about her consultancy and check out her book. Original music by Lynz Floren.

In this episode, Brandon Powell, founder and CEO of HatchWorks Technologies, shares that his journey of self-exploration with coaches, therapists and fellow entrepreneurs has been the key to his success. Through this work he has transformed from a need to be the smartest person, to a desire to be the dumbest person in the room to ensure he is learning from others at all times which allows him to tackle challenges he never imagined possible! Check out this Mathew McConaughey Texas football speech referenced in this episode Original music by Lynz Floren.