Tag: Resilience

The Buzz: A Tonic for Living on This Earth 

I dream of the day when trans futures are common and ordinary, and I dedicate my work to making that possible. That means staying informed of the worst things said about us but dwelling in and among narratives of our dignity, worthiness, and futures full of possibilities.

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A Point of View: Are you really an “Imposter,” or is it just meritocracy at work? The Problem with “Imposter Syndrome”

What is the hype of “imposter syndrome,” and what are the implications of adopting this buzzword in the greater sphere of social change, equity, and justice? The problem with imposter syndrome is not the feelings and experiences associated with it. The problem lies with what “imposter syndrome” doesn’t consider, and how it is used as a tool for systemic inaction and upholding of the myth of meritocracy.

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The Buzz: The Myth of Resilience and How to Begin Healing the Wounds of Racial Trauma

Resilience is a myth touted to bring hope to the Black community. A myth that convinces us to remain tough. A myth that causes us to ignore the physical, psychological, and physiological impacts of racism. A myth that causes us to absolve white individuals of the harm caused by bias and systemic oppression. A myth that white individuals can hide behind, to avoid feelings of discomfort or the need to accept accountability. 

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A Point of View: The Lived Experience Quotient: The Most Overlooked and Undervalued Set of Strengths 

There is a strength of spirit I recognize in others like myself who, as members of marginalized groups, manage to navigate and triumph in spaces, emerging successful with our sense of self and a centeredness intact. I identify this strength as the “Lived Experience Quotient.” The value of the Lived Experience is something we should be able to recognize in ourselves, that others should recognize, and that we should claim as an asset, both professionally and personally. So, how do we break down the Lived Experience Quotient into a set of skills that help Lived Experiencers navigate the workplace?

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A Point of View: Lessons Learned from a Black Leader in Corporate America

As a Black executive, it was harder for me to advance in corporate America than my white peers. I believe I rose as high as I did up the corporate ladder, primarily as a result of my being vigilant in taking control of my career, relentlessly delivering results, holding others accountable, and adhering to my values. So, how do we move beyond vulnerability and model vigilance in our careers? 

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Decolonizing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Work: … Means Naming White Supremacy Culture [In Ourselves] Part IV

When Brittany gave us the challenge to name white supremacy culture in ourselves, I couldn’t help but feel a combination of exhaustion and defensiveness. I tried to think about how white supremacy has been internalized in my own head, in my communities, in my city—but I kept running into a mental wall, and this frustrated and fatigued me. I felt like I was trying to peel off a scab that wasn’t fully healed yet? Colonialism may be centuries old, but this wound is fresh.

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A Point of View: Social Emotional Learning and DEI Work

Although some SEL programs directly or indirectly address D&I, many of these programs at best perpetuate identity blindness, and at worst rely on and reinforce the white supremacist idea of “grit” as an equalizer, rather than emphasizing that equity is an action that the privileged themselves must take. Centering “grit” and “resilience” in these programs underestimates, and consciously seeks to downplay, the lived experiences of being marginalized and oppressed, instead putting the onus on them to “fix” themselves.

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Managing the Toll of DEI Work: What We’ve Learned: The Power of Community

As we culminate this series on managing the toll of DEI work, this conversation is just beginning. This series is more than a set of blog posts—it’s a movement. As our writers and readers showed us, managing the toll of DEI goes beyond our individual actions; it’s about cultivating a community of change-agents, being honest about and critical of the systems we work in, and revisiting the fundamental principles of our health and well-being that we often put on the back-burner. 

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Managing the Toll of DEI Work: The Physiology of Inclusion™

We are living in a time of significant polarization, due to factors such as rapidly changing demographics and immigration patterns, globalization of the marketplace, advancements in technology, and deviations from traditional societal norms of the past. The Physiology of Inclusion™ (POI) is a whole-body system to improve the physical, mental, and emotional health of DEI practitioners and leaders in order to enable them to lead inclusively. 

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A Point of View: Rigor Mortis: Life After Job Loss & Termination

Rigor Mortis is a medical term, describing “temporary rigidity of muscles occurring after death that usually lasting from one to four days.” But we can also see it as a metaphor for when something “ends” in your life — it can pierce your heart, psyche, and overall demeanor as you try to realign. For me, embracing “Rigor Mortis” has been vital in learning how to appreciate the fact when there is “death,”- which could take on a multitude of meanings – there is also life that follows afterwards. 

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Managing the Toll of DEI Work: Dissecting The Emotional Toll and Fatigue of DEI Work

Millennials of color tell me that it is fatiguing to keep educating white people, and that it is not their responsibility to do so. The emotional toll is too great. I thank younger folks for awakening me to the exhaustion that I had undoubtedly suppressed, ignored, or did not connect to the work. I normalized it and felt somewhat guilty if I wanted to take a break. How can we manage the emotional toll and fatigue?

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Managing the Toll of DEI Work: Reclaiming “Resilience” & Moving from Paradox to Progress

Resilience. The wellness buzzword. At first glance, it sounds great—and in theory, it can be. However, the key to why resilience is the current buzzword of the wellness space is also its ultimate downfall: institutions have claimed resilience as an individual behavior modification, something you should be able to learn once given the tools, often ignoring the conditions, policies, practices, and history that affects how we ultimately cope with stresses that are within and beyond our job descriptions.

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Racial Justice at Work: Practical Solutions for Systemic Change

Racial Justice at Work book cover

Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit

Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy and Belonging Across Differences

We Can’t Talk About That At Work! (Second Edition)

Cover of the book We Can't Talk about That at Work (Second Edition) by Mary-Frances Winters and Mareisha N Reese

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