This is the dear corner office podcast where workplace leaders learn why black Latinx and indigenous women lead and how to get them back. I’m your host, Michele Heyward. Welcome, everybody to the Dear Corner office Show. I’m Michele Heyward. And today we have a very, very special guest. with us. We have Donna Hicks, Mitchell. Hi, Donna, welcome to the show.

Hi, Michelle, thank you so much for having me. I have been so excited to have you join us. But I first want to say thank you so much for getting all dressed up and glammed up recording. You know, it’s what we do.

Just to get us started, tell tell the audience Where did you grow up? Because now you know, you know, I always like to know a little bit about our guests and understand where they come from. So tell us a little bit about where you grew up?

Absolutely. So I grew up in Queens, New York. So New York City, it’s my hometown, that’s where we put our spam. I’m born and raised. And I grew up with quite a collection of celebrities. And so when I was in st Pascals prep school, my classmates were Joey Simmons. And so I worked with Run DMC, when we were little guys
running around in
the yard. And they were just like my besties. And we still, you know, stay in contact today from time to time when I see them. And so it’s pretty cool when you have folks that you grew up with that have made it all the way to the celebrity Limelight, and they stay real all the way through. So I grew up in Queens, New York. And it was a time when we still had block parties, and you can leave your door open. And people celebrated and lived as a community. And so it was a really, really a great childhood that I had. We had 32 girls that lived on my block alone. And we stay together and vacation even till today. So I had a wonderful time growing up in New York.

You know, now over here all jealous like wait, she does Run DMC like I need.

Yes, it was great. It was really, really great. And I used to also flow. So I used to rap as well. Good times.
Oh, see, Toby, see you have to come back. And we’re gonna have to do a different type of show.
Absolutely, absolutely. But you know what, it’s really interesting, on the vocal skills, right. And the vocal acumen that we acquired by doing block parties and rapping over tracks has served me well to be an award winning orator. And so those skills have really served me well. And I do public speaking now. And it’s just great. And I realized that those roots started in New York City.

Absolutely fantastic. Interesting to learn. So thank you for sharing all of that. But so now you grew up in Queens, you know, Run DMC, how did you end up in diversity and inclusion?

Absolutely. So I started my career on Wall Street living in New York City. So I probably graduated college, I went to Wall Street network of a derivative trading desk. And my financial acumen got started there. And I realize that there weren’t a lot of folks that look like me on the trading floor. As my career progressed, I started to go into boardroom tables and boardroom meetings. And again, I looked around and I didn’t see a lot of people that look like me. I didn’t see a lot of women. And I didn’t see a lot of people of color. And so that sparked in me a passion to start to create space for others. And so I started to mentor. I started doing networking sessions across my organization, as well as connecting with others in different organizations. And I that’s what really sparked my interest to make sure that my experiences were inclusive, and that I took others along with me on the journey of, you know, corporate success. What did that look like? Well, it really depended on some addressing some of the gaps that exists that and what I found, Michelle, is that a lot of people don’t know the rules of engagement for corporate environments. It’s the unwritten rules really So I recognize that I can add value to diverse communities by teaching them the rules of the road the rules of engagement for corporate cultures.
And that’s what I did.

Wow, that is quite interesting. So for the trading floor, on Wall Street, to diversity and inclusion, that’s a huge job. That is a huge move. Right? Yes. And needing, needing to see that change can definitely definitely change the direction of one’s career. But find a new a new fire. I love that. I absolutely love that. As we sit here in the pandemic, and social justice change, not only in the US, but worldwide. What have you seen what has been the most difficult for organizations and employees to adjust to the most? It’s so much change going on right now.

Absolutely. So very interesting. I think, learning how to have empathetic and sensitive conversations. Because if you think about our corporate environment, usually it’s pretty buttoned up, right? You don’t ask about certain things, you don’t ask about people’s personal life too much, although that has changed some, you don’t talk about religion, you don’t talk about politics and all of those things, but it’s changed so much now. Now we need to because we’re in a virtual environment, we need to connect on a whole different level. And leaders need to show up as empathetic leaders, right and sensitive leaders, because there is a lot going on in people’s lives right now. And if I am to lead you, I need to be trusted by you. And I need to let you know that I can be trusted. And how do I do that? I display empathy. And sensitive, I have a high emotional intelligence quotient, right? I’ve worked on that. So I can tell that if something’s going on with one of my employees that I need to tap in. And, you know, kind of at least give them the forum to express themselves. They may want to but they might not know how. So me being highly skilled in that area allows me to set the format for those meaningful conversations, right, those sensitive conversations to take place. So that’s one of the things that I’ve seen that kind of happened in the pandemic that leaders need to shift a bit as it relates to their their own skill set in order to make sure that their employees are healthy and thriving.

Absolutely agree. It is highly important that that leaders make the changes. And as as we often say, or or the saying goes, you can have a wartime leader and a peacetime leader. So it definitely definitely takes for us leadership’s to ship or leaders to change or shift a bit, especially in a time like this, where most of us none of us have ever experienced a lift through previously. So I absolutely agree.

Yeah, I agree as well. And for our employees as well, for those who may not be in leadership yet, you know, to come to the table and allow trust to kind of happen, right? So do trust in your leaders. And if you don’t have that trust in your leaders, have your trust in a mentor and ally and advocate, someone that you can talk to that can help you to navigate and these times in this space.

Have you seen in the workplace, more people step in and show up as allies and advocates?

Yes, absolutely. Absolutely. And we’ve reached across as well, I see the affinity networks are really taking leadership roles in bringing programming to the to the corporations and to their firms and institutions, on top of mind things that employees can bring into those affinity spaces. And then they turn around and offer programming back to help employees to navigate in that space. So yeah, I have seen a huge shift as relates to each of us taking care of each other in new ways.

Absolutely fantastic. So data we’re getting to my favorite part of this show. What’s that Michelle? Rapid Fire question. Great, I’m ready. You ready? Okay. She did study for the test show, but it’s a pop quiz. To see how she really does but it’s Queen she’s gonna represent I know, I know. She is yes. What are the most impactful DNI KPIs?

You’ve seen in industry, absolutely. And gender representation, age representation. And self identification is really, really important. So that we can measure truly the components of our, of the representation within organizations. Those are the top three that I can think of immediately.

Right? Next question. industry wide, what has been DNI team’s biggest challenge?

Absolutely, as of late, adjusting to a virtual environment, and making sure that we maintain, you know, the team’s morale, because we’re used to going into the office, and we’re having, you know, opportunities to come together, whether it be potlucks or just have our team huddles every morning. And now we don’t have that. So we had to recreate and adjust new ways of connecting. And so the virtual environment is kind of forced us into this space. But I think for the most part, we’ve now all adjusted to zoom or Microsoft Office or, you know, whatever platform everyone’s using now. But I think that communicating and maintaining the connections, it has been a huge challenge.

Absolutely. What’s your all time DNI book or workplace culture.

Donna:

I like a lot of books in this area, but one that I found very helpful is blind spots. And this particular book really peels apart and takes a look at the inner layers of hidden biases, why they exist, how they exist, and then it also provides a gateway to overcome hidden biases that we might not have known existed. So I think blind spot is a really great book.

I have to agree. What name a recent book on DNI you’ve loved. I really loved blind spot that that’s the one that comes to mind for me, Michelle. Okay. What DNI or HR podcast delivers the most value to you? See, she didn’t get it. He didn’t study for the test, because she didn’t have.

Yeah, so it’s really hard to say which one is my favorite. But you know, there is one that is out of the UK. And it’s called inclusion works. And it really, it’s great because it explores many of the secrets of building an inclusive culture at work as well as in the community. So I enjoyed that. And they offer the opportunity for different leaders globally and activists to participate in it. And I find it quite interesting. So it’s called inclusion works.

I’ll have to check that one out. I actually don’t know that with so good. Yeah, it’s out of the UK. Okay, who is the DNI influence? So you’re most influenced by?

Oh, my goodness, that’s easy. I you know, I adore this lady Tara J. Franks. Tara J. Franks. She is a phenomenal influencer. She’s an executive DNI experts. And she has just made a powerful impact in the space.

Right? Where do you hear? Where do you hear that influence the most on like LinkedIn, books, podcasts, YouTube, where can people find

Oh, on LinkedIn. And definitely, she has quite a presence there. And one of the things that is, is just so powerful about Tara is that she actually not only challenges the status quo, but she does it with such authenticity. She keeps it real. And she forces us to really look at the inner workings of diversity, equity and inclusion and to challenge ourselves to think differently, and not just check the box what actions right so she puts the pressure on to what actions are we committed to as organizations and firms in order to improve you know, things that are happening in the space and social and justices that have the open dialogue about it, and then commit to change? LinkedIn?

Definitely checking her out what’s the most underrated DNI training but effective?

The most underrated DNI training in my view, is um, I would say At the opportunity to really understand what our exit interviews are telling us. So um, oftentimes attrition may be high for underrepresented demographics. And the exit interviews a, an accurate exit interview can give so much insight to the organization in terms of what they could have done differently to retain that talent. So for me training on exit interviews, is a vital strategy that can yield powerful, powerful results and ROI return on investment of it.

If you could ask one question to one of 100 of your peers a corporate or C suite leadership, what question would you ask them?

Absolutely. I would ask them if they have a personal DNI goal, not just the goal of the organization to which we have aligned ourselves, the organizations that we serve, but what about your personal commitment to D and I Diversity, Equity and Inclusion? I think by challenging ourselves to have a personal goal as well, that would help us to definitely not only align with our organization, but even to go further in our own personal commitments to see change.

Absolutely love that. I can’t tell you how often we try to take somebody else’s, what is yours truly?

That’s right, make it personal, make it personal, and I believe that would would drive us to, you know, outperform or to meet the goals even more efficiently.

And lastly, question, what kind of data would you like to access as a DNI leader?

The type of data that I would want to access that I may not have access to now
is probably the view of our incoming college and graduate school idealist who want to join a firm. And so I would like to know what it is that they desire in the culture of the organizations that they would like to work at. I think that would give us some great insight because Generation Z is coming in and the you know, the millennials have their view, but we the hybrid generation is following. And we need to know in advance what the future state of work should look like. And I think that they can tell us, so for able to meet those needs and advance and create those cultures to which they would want to work. I think that it would be a win win. So that’s the information I would want in advance.

Well, Donna, that is absolutely outstanding. I think the future of work is is ever changing. But it’s really important to focus on the next generation is coming in absolutely agree. This is plastic. Oh my god.

It’s been my pleasure, Michelle, you’re someone that I looked up to. And I definitely just honor you right now. And thank you so much for doing this great work. You’re very welcome. Yes. Thank you. It’s been my pleasure.

Everybody, be sure you’re following. Donna, where can they connect with you?

Absolutely. Michelle, thank you so much. So I can be contacted on Instagram at the corporate diva via LinkedIn, Donna Hicks Mitchell, and on the clubhouse. Donna Michelle, also, if your organization is looking for a wonderful speaker, if I may say so that has a plethora of knowledge in executive gravitas, or executive presence, or diversity, equity and inclusion, as well as the rules of engagement, navigating a corporate culture, please feel free to reach out to me on any of those channels. Thank you so much, Michele for the opportunity.

You’re very welcome. Thanks, everybody, for joining us. We’ll talk to you next time. Bye. Don’t forget to rate review and subscribe to my podcast. It helps me grow, visit positive hire.co. That’s positive hire dot c o