Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we are featuring one of the most impactful moments from episode 46, with guest, Meghana Rao Pahlajani. There is enough space at the table for all of us and as you grow professionally, it is your responsibility to be a voice for others.

Meghana is a passionate climate change, clean energy, and sustainability professional. Her work has spanned a decade globally, from the US and across India. She's helped drive corporate strategy, advised on policy change, and led new market development across the public, private, and civil society sectors.

This episode is just a short snippet that highlights the best and most powerful learning moment from a past episode. You can listen to the full episode (filled with more wisdom) here: Episode 46: Limitless Leadership - Consciously Driving Change.

Key Discussion Points:

02:10 Corporate Culture: In the workplace, there are struggles that women face that men do not.

03:13 Having a Voice at the Table: Find a way to be at the table by getting involved. If your voice is still not being heard, it’s time to escalate things.

04:04 Making Space or Others at the Table: As you grow in your career, your voice tends to be heard more. You have a responsibility to help other's voices be heard.

06:08 Ageism in the Workplace: Being curious about the changes out there and open to letting yourself evolve will help you understand the needs of your organization.

07:28 The Learning Mindset: Taking the time to learn a new skill or knowledge will help empower you in the workplace.

In Summary: Meghana Rao Pahlajani challenges us to make our voices heard at the table and to help the voices of those who come after us to be heard as well. She urges us to embrace a learning mindset to empower ourselves with knowledge.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Meghana on Linkedin or Instagram.

Connect with your hosts:

Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.

Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.

Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website.

_________

Produced by Ideablossoms

Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we delve into unleashing the full potential of the people you lead with Minette Norman, author of The Boldly Inclusive Leader and The Psychological Safety Playbook. Discover how you are holding yourself back from seizing opportunities, how to take control of your fear, and how to build resilience to stressful situations.

Minette is an award-winning author, speaker, and leadership consultant who previously spent decades leading global technical teams in the Silicon Valley software industry. Minette knows that when groups embrace diversity in all its forms, breakthroughs emerge and innovation escalates.

Key Discussion Points:

01:48 The Insider’s Club: As an “only” it can be hard to find your way into the inner circle where opportunities and visibility are abundant.

08:22 Having the Courage to Seize Opportunities: We are preemptively holding ourselves back from opportunities because of stories we have told ourselves that are not true.

14:01 Overcoming Fear and Shifting the Culture Around Failure: If you want to do something new and innovative and disrupt the norm, there will be failure.

21:45 The Intersection of DEI and Innovation: Diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams ONLY if they are in a culture of inclusion and psychological safety.

25:27 Building Resilience in Stressful Situations: Our body's natural response during stressful moments is fight, flight, or freeze. We need to become aware of how we are reacting as individuals.

32:10 Being Bold: Do not hold back your brilliance from the world but at the same time acknowledge that everyone is learning and is a work in progress.

37:43 Measuring Psychological Safety: There is no use in measuring psychological safety if you are not going to make the behavioral changes afterward.

In Summary: Minette Norman challenges us to create psychologically safe workplaces to help the people we lead reach their full potential. She urges us to embrace failure if we want real innovation.

Resources from this episode:

The Boldly Inclusive Leader by Minetter Norman

The Psychological Safety Playbook: Lead More Powerfully by Being More Human by Karolin Helbig and Minette Norman

Follow Minette on Linkedin or check out her website.

Connect with your hosts:

Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.

Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.

Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website.

_________

Produced by Ideablossoms

Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we delve into speaking up in the workplace with Animah Kosai, a passionate advocate for ethical leadership, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. Discover the systemic changes needed to allow people to speak up freely in the workplace, how to recognize toxic behaviors within yourself, and the need to simply listen.

Animah has over two decades of experience in the oil and gas industry as an in-house counsel and brings a wealth of practical knowledge to her current role as the founder of Speak Up at Work. Originally from Malaysia, Animah’s global perspective informs her approach to addressing workplace issues across diverse cultural contexts.

Key Discussion Points:

03:01 Speaking Up in the Workplace: There needs to be systemic and cultural changes in the workplace to allow people to feel safe to speak up about misconduct, harassment, and other issues.

08:41 Creating Community: When reporting toxic behavior, people not only need solutions and action, but they need emotional support.

12:47 Self-awareness in the Workplace: Leaders need to be able to recognize toxic behavior in the workplace, especially when they are the ones perpetuating that behavior.

19:47 Disrupting the System: Disrupting the system of oppression in the workplace takes more than just one or two individuals.

28:03 Workplace Marginalization: There is no space for individuals to share their pain in the workplace.

34:01 Decentering Yourself: As leaders, we can create spaces to listen. However, we need to recognize that in the process of listening, we may feel uncomfortable.

In Summary: Animah Kosai challenges us to find communities for psychological safety so we can start to speak up in the workplace. She urges leaders to learn to listen and to create spaces where people feel comfortable to share.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Animah on Linkedin or check out her website.

Connect with your hosts:

Follow Archita on Linkedin or check out her website.

Follow Olivia on Linkedin or check out her website.

Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook, or check out the website.

_________

Produced by Ideablossoms