Episode 61: Achieving Moral Clarity in the Pursuit of Liberation with Sibil Patri

Episode Highlight: On this episode of the Embracing “Only" podcast, we delve into pursuing the liberation of your time, love, and freedom while achieving moral clarity with Sibil Patri, a dynamic and visionary leader whose career spans over two decades across finance and strategy. Sibil shares her experience of leaving a harmful corporate culture and how you can claim back your power and break generational curses.

Sibil’s work focuses on impact-driven coaching, speaking, and collaborating and she uses her 20 years of financial services industry expertise and lived experiences as a POC to create a systematic movement in corporate, non-profit, and academic environments.

Key Discussion Points:

02:39 Liberating the Mind: Recognizing the harm of corporate culture and taking action to prioritize mental and emotional well-being.

09:33 Recharging Your Energy: Rest and alignment are key to unlocking productivity, creativity, motivation, and fulfillment.

15:43 Personal Sacrifices for Pursuing Social Justice: Breaking free from societal norms to advocate for fundamental human rights and dignity.

24:19 Speaking Your Truth: Gaining resilience and clarity through speaking truth to power, despite initial fear and anxiety.

29:33 Unlearning People-Pleasing: Knowing who you are, seeking validation from internal sources, and breaking generational and systematic traumas. 

41:19 Prioritizing marginalized groups in leadership development: Helping the most marginalized person on your team is only going to make your whole team stronger.

In Summary: Sibil Patri challenges us to recognize that true liberation comes from belonging to yourself, finding validation from within rather than external sources, and claiming your identity and purpose.

Resources from this episode:

Follow Sibil on LinkedIn and Instagram, 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 the importance of self-reflection and understanding diverse perspectives to refine and better workplace dynamics. To do that, we invited Mita Mallik, a renowned corporate leader and best-selling author, her book 'Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace' is discussed as well as a powerful tool for anyone, particularly those in the HR and DEI space. 

Mita shares her personal experiences and insights on overcoming microaggressions, advocating for diverse talent, creating a balance between risk and responsibility when taking a stand, and maintaining personal identity and happiness separate from work.

Key Discussion Points:

05:02 Intent Versus Impact: How leaders and teams can build more cultural intelligence and minimize workplace prejudice

10:00 "Speak Up" Isn't Enough: Questions and reflections to consider if we want to be inclusive leaders

13:27 Asserting Yourself as "An Only:" How can you ensure that regardless of people's intentions (good or bad) your voice gets heard when you're in the room?

21:57 The Concept of Family in The Workplace: How this sometimes well-meaning corporate mindset can do more harm than good – and what we can do about it.

30:49 Assessing Performance And Hiring Diverse Talent: Looking at facts instead of feelings and owning our responsibility as diverse leaders in the corporate space.

41:53 Finding Balance in DEI: How we can spend our resources and efforts more intentionally to get the best results and protect our boundaries.

In Summary: Mita Mallick challenges leaders – especially diverse leaders in corporate spaces –  to create and foster an environment of inclusivity and understanding. One in which everyone's voice can be heard and valued, independently of their gender, ethnicity, background, or personality.

Resources from this episode:

Mita’s Book: Reimagine Inclusion: Debunking 13 Myths to Transform Your Workplace

Follow Mita on Linkedin and Instagram.

Check out Brown Table Talk at browntabletalkpodcast.com

Olivia’s book recommendation: Mind Your Mindset

Connect with your hosts:

Follow Archita and Olivia on Linkedin.

Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook.

_________

Produced by Ideablossoms

Episode Highlight: On this episode of the "Embracing Only" podcast, we delve into the topic of intersectionality and how it impacts the experiences and resources of female founders and professionals in the workspace. To have that conversation, we incited Janine Vanessa Heinrich, a fervent advocate for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in entrepreneurship. 

Recognizing inequities, she champions initiatives for underrepresented founders and speaks on important (yet still overlooked) topics, such as standing in your power and lived experience as a woman of color, defining value-based goals to live by, avoiding and recovering from burnout, and redefining success and failure in the modern workspace. 

Key Discussion Points:

03:23 Janine’s Thesis on Intersectionality: How intersectionality influences the experiences and resources of female minority founders.

08:28 Crafting a Captivating Pitch And Securing Funding: How female entrepreneurs of color can make their pitches stand out and find the right investor for their startup.

19:12 Preventing Burnout: Defining what thriving means to you as “an only” and making the necessary changes to see it happening.

27:23 Overcoming Systemic Barriers and The "Just Do It" Mindset: How can minorities, especially women of color, do this in a way that protects our energy, our values, and our ability to thrive?

34:39 Shifting Our Perspective around Failure: Defining what you consider a “failure” and shifting that perspective in order to learn from it and live a more fulfilling life.

40:04 Getting Comfortable with Discomfort: Moving through discomfort to get to where you want to be while also understanding where your physical limits lie–and Janine’s advice to help you thrive in 2024.

In Summary: Janine illustrates the intricacies of intersectionality and how it impacts minorities in entrepreneurship as well as corporate spaces. She invites us to reflect on it and encourages female minority founders and professionals to better understand what “success” and “failure” might look like for them, so they can forge a path that takes them to where they truly want to go.

Resources from this episode: 

Janine’s Podcast: https://www.ontheupandup.io/ 

Janine’s Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/janine-vanessa/ 

Connect with your hosts:

Follow Archita and Olivia on Linkedin.

Follow Embracing Only on Linkedin, Instagram, and Facebook.

_________

Produced by Ideablossoms

In this insightful interview Archita and Olivia interview award winning author, Farah Harris. Where they explore the complexities of emotions, emotional intelligence, and cultural identity in the workplace. 

Key topics covered:

• Why emotional intelligence and emotional skills are critical for leaders today, despite prevailing attitudes that emotions should be "left at the door"
• The damaging effects of suppressing emotions and "masking" our authentic selves to fit in at work 
• How code-switching and changing behaviour to assimilate can lead to imposter syndrome, anxiety, and other issues
• Tips for improving emotional intelligence: identifying our feelings, communicating them effectively, and finding healthy ways to process painful emotions
• The importance of inclusive leadership: valuing diverse personalities and working styles on your team 
• How to interrupt biased comments in talent reviews and set employees up for success

Farah shares vulnerable stories and actionable advice for honouring yourself and your emotions, while still meeting workplace goals. Tune in to gain insight from her trailblazing perspective as a woman of color and clinician navigating corporate spaces. You'll walk away inspired to approach work and life with greater authenticity, empathy, and emotional courage.

Link to purchase Farah’s book can be found here:

https://www.amazon.de/-/en/Farah-Harris-ebook/dp/B0C46RKN8Y

You can also follow her and her work here:

https://workingwelldaily.com/

In this episode, hosts Archita and Olivia are joined by the remarkable Elaine Lin Hering – a celebrated author, adept facilitator, and engaging public speaker. Together, they delve deep into the realm of leadership, shedding light on varying leadership styles and their consequent impacts on teams. Elaine, brings a fresh perspective to the conventional leadership discourse, emphasizing the essence of communication and inclusivity in fostering a thriving workplace environment.

The episode challenges the often touted advice of “just speaking up”, as it overlooks the ingrained culture of silence and the inadvertent silencing by leaders. It explores how societal norms and power dynamics shape our communication styles, often favoring those in positions of authority. Elaine propounds that being vocal manifests differently for everyone, and hence, a one-size-fits-all approach is futile. She stresses on the necessity for leaders to disrupt these entrenched systems to foster a truly inclusive ambiance.

Key takeaways from the episode include:
1. The three-fold process of unlearning silence: personal endeavor to speak up, leaders recognizing their silencing actions, and identifying systemic suppressions of underrepresented voices.

2. The collective responsibility in challenging the culture of silence – when silence perpetuates, it sets a precedent, thereby underscoring the power each individual holds to break this cycle.

3. Embracing your unique perspective by owning your domain, which paves the way for authentic communication.

4. A warning against lazy leadership and the babble theory - valuing diverse communication styles and avoiding the pitfall of equating verbosity with leadership competency.

5. The journey towards inclusive leadership necessitates a shift in communication approaches, aligning them with the needs of team members, rather than forcing a singular style.

6. A self-reflective practice of continuously questioning ‘what do I want’, aiding in recultivating one’s voice and adapting to evolving desires.

7. The lifelong journey of healing from silence, underscored by a cycle of action, learning, pivoting, and re-action.

As a precursor to her enlightening discourse, Elaine invites listeners to pre-order her transformative book, “Unlearning Silence”, available via the link below. This paradigm-altering read unveils the ubiquitous nature of silence and provides a roadmap to dismantling it, thereby empowering individuals to find and express their voice both personally and professionally.

[Pre-order “Unlearning Silence” here](https://www.amazon.com/Unlearning-Silence-Speak-Unleash-Talent/dp/0593653602)

Tune in to this episode, and embark on a journey towards cultivating a more inclusive and communicative leadership style. Your team will undeniably be grateful for the positive change it incites.

In this empowering episode, Archita and Olivia discuss how to navigate career transitions with confidence and purpose. They share their personal experiences and offer valuable advice for making intentional choices that align with long-term goals. Despite facing challenges like layoffs and visa issues, Archita emphasizes staying focused on your goals. Olivia challenges us to recognize that not every opportunity will align with our goals and being clear on what it is you really want will help you make these transitions with intention.

This episode if for you, if you are navigating any of the following: 

• Leaving a toxic workplace

• Entering the workplace after time away

• Leaving a workplace where you don’t feel valued

• Your next opportunity following a job loss due to a layoff or redundancy

Highlights of how to do this include the importance of understanding your core purpose, embracing a growth mindset, and creating a roadmap for your career journey. They encourage listeners to be strategic when evaluating opportunities, create their own paths, and build a strong support network.

Tune in for an insightful conversation filled with actionable advice to help you approach change with clarity, purpose, and a sense of empowerment.

You can download the free resource to help make your empowered transition here: 

Grab your FREE copy to start your career transition with clarity here:

Guided video workshop + workbook.

Music Credit: Kevin MacLeod, Cumbia No Frills Faster

In this podcast episode Archita Fritz sits down with Martha Aviles, a fierce marketing leader. 

Martha is the VP of Marketing at Austin-based Gigster, a firm that accelerates the delivery of digital transformation applications giving companies the agility to thrive in a software-defined world. With  20+ years of high-tech marketing experience in SaaS, semiconductor, networking, and network security at start-ups, private, and public companies, Martha has a gift for building and growing high-performance marketing teams, corporate brands, and inspiring thought leadership. 

Martha has consistently used her grit and determination to become successful in her career and displays that despite introversion, you can become a high-level performing professional. In this episode we discuss…

• The language barriers, stereotypes and pressures of being a first-gen immigrant.
• Knowing when to choose your battles when it comes to prejudiced views. 
• The importance of trading the concept of “I need to get this job” to “is this job environment right for me?”
• How to overcome people pleasing and feel empowered as a woman in a male dominated workplace - AND how to ask for that pay rise.
• Why leaving workplaces can be more difficult for women - but why you still should.
• How to know your worth and use your grit to overcome uncertainty. 

Enjoyed this episode? Connect with Martha on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/maviles/

Financial literacy and wealth-building are crucial for women to claim their financial futures.

In this podcast episode, host Olivia Cream sits down with trailblazer Kelly Ann Winget, author of "Pitch The Bitch: Grab Your Financial Future By The Bags" and the only millennial LGBTQ+ manager of a solo-female-founded private equity fund. Winget's book challenges the notion that women shouldn't be part of financial conversations, offering readers insight into her journey from selling in car washes as a teenager to her current position as founder of Dallas-based Alternative Wealth Partners (AWP).

Drawing on over a decade of experience in alternative investments and a legacy in the oil and gas sector, Winget has raised nearly $1 billion in private capital for various business ventures. She uses her expertise to help investors access real returns off Wall Street.

Winget passionately discusses the importance of financial literacy and wealth-building for women. She aims to change the face of wealth, instilling knowledge and confidence in women to take charge of their financial futures. Winget introduces listeners to Ellevest, an investment platform designed specifically for women, and offers practical advice on financial planning, wealth creation, and ways to overcome financial fear.

The episode concludes with the essential message that success means ensuring that financial decisions for the world become more equitable, and that it’s important to support people who can make that happen.

Here are five key takeaways from the conversation with Kelly:

1. Embrace Financial Literacy: There is great power in understanding financial systems, from basic budgeting to complex investment strategies. This knowledge serves as the foundation for taking control of one's financial future and achieving a sense of security and empowerment.

2. Addressing the Wealth Gap: The persistent wealth gap, particularly for women and marginalized communities, must be challenged. The key to this lies in systemic change and the redistribution of resources, ensuring that more wealth ends up in diverse hands.

3. Women-Specific Investment Platforms: Platforms like Ellevest are designed specifically for women investors. They take into account the unique financial hurdles that women face, such as lower income, shorter working periods, and longer lifespans. This tailored approach ensures that financial solutions align with women's specific needs and experiences.

4. The Power of Confidence and Action: Taking the leap towards financial independence requires belief in oneself and the courage to take the first steps. Overcoming fear, challenging societal norms, and taking action are critical to this journey.

5. Redefining Financial Success: True financial success extends beyond personal wealth accumulation. It's about creating a more equitable financial landscape where decisions and resources benefit a wider range of people. This vision provides a blueprint for those who aim not just to grow their own wealth, but to contribute to a fairer financial system.

You can learn more about Kelly and how. to work with her here: https://www.kellyannwinget.com/

You can purchase a copy of her book here or at your local bookstore: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/pitch-the-bitch-kelly-ann-winget/1143229127?ean=9781667892368

Music Credit: Kevin McLeod Cumbia Frills Faster

Dive into our latest real talk episode, as Archita and Olivia, shed light on their journeys of conquering fears and embracing imperfect action. A potent blend of personal anecdotes, inspiring insights, and practical strategies, this episode is a must-listen for anyone feeling the tug of fear or hesitation in their path. Listen in to learn how both Olivia and Archita leveraged their fears to catalyze growth, and the power of taking imperfect action to navigate through life's many challenges.

Key takeaways from their conversation are:

• Leverage fear as a pathfinder

• Strategize and take action

• The Power of Imperfect Action

• Consistent Action Equals Growth

They discuss that no matter where we are in our professional lives, there's always room for change, discovery, and growth. Embracing discomfort and fear can often lead us to our true path and help us fulfill our mission in life. 

Tune in and take that first step towards imperfect action on your path to facing your fears!

In this episode, we have the pleasure of interviewing retired Air Force Colonel, Kim "KC" Campbell, a fighter pilot who served in the Air Force for over 24 years. During her service, she flew 1,800 hours in the A-10 Warthog, including more than 100 combat missions protecting troops on the ground in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Kim was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross for Heroism after successfully recovering her battle-damaged airplane after an intense close air support mission in Baghdad.

As a senior military leader, Kim led hundreds of Airmen both at home and abroad, and enabled them to succeed in their missions. She knows what it takes to be a successful leader, to inspire and empower high-performance teams to achieve success. Kim is passionate about leadership and feels strongly that leaders earn trust by leading with courage and connecting with their team.

In this episode, Kim shares her combat experience and leadership lessons that will motivate and inspire your team to be more confident when faced with adversity or uncertainty. She provides practical ideas and examples to improve trust and help your team prepare to face challenges in their personal or professional lives. Kim emphasizes the importance of preparing, practicing, and planning for contingencies to ensure we are able to respond in the face of adversity. And if we make mistakes or fail, then we need to fail forward by learning from our mistakes and figuring out what we can do better the next time.

Through her new book, Flying in the Face of Fear: A Fighter Pilot’s Lessons on Leading with Courage, Kim shares distinctive leadership techniques and principles different from what you might find in most leadership books. She teaches how to cultivate a wingman culture on your team, develop a fighter pilot mindset for failing forward and embracing risk, and create your own flight plan to find balance and fulfillment. Join us as Kim shares military combat stories and fighter pilot lessons learned that will provide the skills you need to prepare for adversity and debrief for success.

The key takeaways from this episode are:

• Fear is a natural response to stress, and it's important to face it in order to come out stronger on the other side.

• Effective leadership involves building trust, showing vulnerability, and listening to team members at all levels.

• Visualizing, rehearsing, and practicing for difficult situations can help create positive outcomes.

• Leaders should strike a balance between a strong overarching mission and clear, achievable goals for each team member.

• Leaders should encourage a culture of constructive feedback and dissent, cultivate self-awareness and self-care, and foster a culture of mutual support and recognition.

You can purchase Kim’s book using the link below, https://amzn.to/3kwA4zq