Season 3; Episode 5: I See You with Cassandra Rose

Cassandra Rose is a Founding Partner and DEI Practice Co-Lead at Meritarc, a human capital software company and provider of advisory services. Cassandra helps organizations fully leverage their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion strategy and enables HR and People Leaders to connect the value of their talent with their mission. She has also been recognized as a Top 100 DEI Leader in 2021 by Mogul. Cassandra is also a compelling speaker on the topics of benefits equity and centering the BIPOC employee journey for transformative employee engagement. Our conversation will challenge your thinking on all these topics – and more! 

Key Takeaways from this Episode:

Overcoming Difficulties as a Leader

·       Be truthful and honest, always. Say I don't know, but here's what I do know. Here's what I'm going to do to best advocate and serve you. People respect you when we’re transparent. They may not like that answer, but they know you're being authentic in what you're able to do and what you can't promise. 

·       Don't allow yourself to be so caught up in just trying to be perfect for your people that you disappoint them and yourself when you can't deliver.

·       Having a child has helped me to stop being so obsessive about work.

·       Being responsive to people is critical but I need to have boundaries even if the world is on fire. I have to prioritize my own mental health and my loved ones which has helped me to be a better leader. 

Advocacy & Recognition 

·       When people advocate for you, you grow 10 sizes. 

·       When you see that someone is doing good work; advocate for them, sponsor them, mentor them, back them up. I promise you they're probably doing their best. And by questioning them and doubting them, that's when the imposter syndrome starts to set in.

·       If you see someone doing great work, don't wait until they do the most fantastic thing ever in their career. Recognize people in those small moments too. 

Leading as a Woman of Color

·       When you’re “the only” it's very easy to want to shrink yourself, to want to not show who you are, because you feel like who you are, might get rejected, or that who you are is not good enough to be in that room. Because of that experience I focus on making sure others are seen.

·       I’ve gotten really good at focusing on my expertise. No matter which role I had, I knew I had my mind, my intelligence. 

·       I knew that if I was in this room, I deserved to be in this room. I may not look like everyone around me, but there's a reason I'm in here and in that confidence, I thought, then why shouldn't I show who I am? 

Career Advice 

·       Become an expert at every level. Take the time to get really get good at the thing you're currently doing. When you're a leader you're going to be great because you took the time to understand the mechanics of the way things work. You'll be better able to support people and grow future leaders because they can learn from the mistakes that you made. 

·       There are mundane aspects of every job but lean into the parts that are joyous about your role and take those parts with you into the next thing that you do.

·       If you're always comparing yourself, turn off those social media notifications. 

·       Always be inspired. When one woman wins, I think all women win. 

·       It's a process to every day lean into what you're good at; every human being has a gift or a skill or something that they bring that only they know how to do. That's where your confidence can really blossom.

Connecting the Dots: Benefits, DEI

·       Benefits equity is about is health equity. Having access to healthcare is a human right. 

·       Don’t wait for people to come to the table; proactively go to people and say, yes you deserve care; let's partner together.

·       HR started out as “Personnel” which was essentially doing paperwork and making sure people got paid. Now HR has grown into creating cultures, creating little microcosms of humanity, and finding out what we can do to better attract and retain talent.

·       Data allows you to see the reality of why benefits are not accessible or why DEI isn’t taking root in your organization. Lack of awareness at all levels throughout most organizations is what holds people back from accessing what an organization offers.

·       Let’s stop for a second and truly understand what does it mean to be inclusive? It means that people can be seen for who they are.

Connecting with Cassandra

·       LinkedIn

·       Instagram

·       Website

Resources

·       Skim

To learn more about my work in executive coaching, leadership development and team effectiveness check out my website, connect with me on LinkedIn or email me at winnie@winnifred.org.  

Reach out and tell me what was helpful about today’s episode or any suggestions you have for my show.

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I look forward to sharing another transformative conversation with you next week!

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