Creating connections with professional colleagues and prospective clients is the easy part. Maintaining those connections is far more challenging, and that often requires a level of openness and honesty in conversations that makes most people uneasy.
Uncomfortable discussions, whether they are about issues of race, privilege, social justice, or any other topic, are important for building a culture of learning, trust and inclusion in the workplace, experts say. We need to be able to open courageous conversations to do our best work, strengthen relationships with our colleagues, and be creative and innovative.
Award-winning author Glenn Singleton, president of Pacific Educational Group (PEG), an agency that guides leadership development in education, government, business, law enforcement, and community organizing, has written about protocols for initiating courageous conversations.
Discomfort is inevitable, especially in conversation about race, he says, but it is only when participants make a commitment to bring issues into the open that healing and change can begin. Courageous conversations require participants to “speak their truths” – not say what they think others want to hear – and to expect and accept that there can be no quick solutions.
At the 2023 New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum, powered by NJBIA, a panel discussion about courageous conversations will feature insights from four experts in this space:
- Casey Carpenter, CEO and founder of Speak & Own It Communications, is a leadership development and executive coach who in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder led a series of community conversations about race and social justice. Carpenter has also led conversations about inclusion for corporations, business associations and other groups.
- Amy Minkoff, a career and leadership development coach and owner of Amy Minkoff Coaching, has extensive experience training, leading, inspiring and transforming professionals into high-performance teams.
- Sally-Jo O’Brien, a leadership consultant, certified Dare to Lead facilitator, and director of executive coaching at the Human Emergence Group, has more than 25 years’ experience as a resiliency, transition, and mental fitness expert. At the Human Emergence Group, O’Brien focuses on growing the capacity for brave conversations that pave the way for successful business outcomes.
- Deborah Visconi, president & CEO, Bergen New Bridge Medical Center, has more than 30 years of success providing strategic direction, vision and leadership in hospitals and healthcare systems. As a Latinx hospital leader, Deb understands the unique issues and needs of underserved and minority communities.
The 9th Annual New Jersey Women Business Leaders Forum will be held Sept. 27-28 at the Newark Liberty International Airport Marriott. The largest professional women’s conference in New Jersey, it brings together hundreds of corporate and nonprofit leaders, entrepreneurs, and students each year to inspire and empower the building of successful businesses and to increase diversity in corporate leadership, both in the C-suite and the boardroom.
The two-day event includes executive TED-style talks, multiple breakout sessions led by expert panelists, one-on-one coaching, help with building résumés, LinkedIn makeovers and numerous networking opportunities to help women advance at every stage of their career. For registration information and sponsorship opportunities, go to https://njbia.org/events/wblf2023.
