Patricia Russell

How cursing helped open my eyes to accepting differences

How cursing helped open my eyes to accepting differences

All, DEI, DNA / By

In the 1970s, when I was transitioning from a career as a chemical engineer to a diversity coach, I worked mostly with men. I noticed that a lot of them frequently cursed.
Being raised by a mother who believed ‘cursing is bad’, I had adopted that belief and it really rubbed me the wrong way. 😠 I’d get irritated and think, You don’t say words like that, it’s bad to curse. I would even actively scold the men and say “No, no, no! You shouldn’t curse!”
Then one day, when I was talking to my coach at the time about it, I got caught by surprise.

The feeling of ‘inclusivity’ had very little to do with DEI

All, DEI, DNA / By

Do you want to be recognized as a great team leader, because of the color of your skin, your sexual orientation, or your gender?

Or….

Do you want to be recognized as a great team leader who played a role in transforming the healthcare industry because you saw, honored and valued the unique differences each team member brought to the table?

If you chose the second statement, this blog is for you!

A Proactive vs Reactive Approach to Conflict in the Workplace

All, Conflict / By

Conflict happens. In organizations made up of diverse humans it’s to be expected. However, companies are spending billions of dollars annually training their employees to “ manage” conflict when each employee could be learning how to recognize, deal with, and resolve conflict at its onset, instead. Employees (leaders and individual contributors)  in United States companies …

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Building Trust In A Diverse Environment

All, Trust / By

Leaders and individuals want more from work and life. They want to feel good and purposeful, like they are winning.  TRUST is the glue that makes winning possible. It’s the secret sauce to  experiencing a thriving company culture. It’s what fuels  personal accountability, connection, innovation, retention, and engagement.    Unfortunately, many organizations’s attempts at building …

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Is Critical Thinking Becoming a Lost Art?

All, Culture, Morale / By

Critical thinking ranks among the highest desirable job skills that leaders and managers are seeking in potential employees.   Strangely enough, many leaders and employees alike have lost sight of the difference between problem-solving and critical thinking, and it’s hindering their ability to nurture this very important skill. In an age of influencers and disruptors, where …

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Performance Reviews – Do they Harm Or Heighten Employee Productivity?

All, Performance Management / By

Performance Reviews tend to have a bad reputation among both business leaders and their employees. All too often the mention of them creates stress for all involved; employees brace themselves to hear the worst and managers carry the burden of yet another required and often uncomfortable task on their to-do list.  Before the reviews even …

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What Most Companies Overlook That Diminish Their DEI Efforts

All, DEI / By

DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) has become quite a buzzword in the world and for good reason. It’s not only great for society but it’s great for business. Unfortunately, most companies that have increased diversity and inclusion efforts within their organizations aren’t seeing the “cultural” changes they had hoped for. Most well-intentioned executives overlook a …

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Morale:  The Inseparable Link Between Morals and a Thriving Work Culture

All, Morale / By

Without a heartfelt connection, even the most powerful workforce will eventually lose their spark. It’s no accident that the words morale and moral are so similar.  When it comes to creating a thriving work culture, they are inextricably linked. In other words, for a group of people to experience good morale, they must collectively operate from …

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Both the CEO and the Janitor are Leaders And I’ll Prove It

All, Leadership / By

Inside every block of marble is a David. Granted, Michelangelo chipped and chipped away to reveal the magnificent 17-foot statue, nonetheless, David was in there. The same idea holds true for individuals in organizations. We are all blocks of marble housing a leader (David) within. I am not speaking about having the potential to be …

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Practicing Accountability Without Blame and Shame

Accountability, All / By

Recently, Treasury Minister Lord Bates, a junior minister in the UK’s House of Lords, walked into chambers late and stunned his colleagues and the world by offering his resignation for his tardiness.  His actions generated reactions ranging from accusations of being too dramatic to be accountable. (Of course, Prime Minister May did not accept his resignation.) …

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Where’s My Why?

All, Leadership / By

Great leaders inspire action because they are crystal clear about the “why” of what they do and the how—a concept championed by visionary Simon Sinek. This article will provide a roadmap to arrive at your “why.” Your “Why” The “why” defines the emotional connection people have to their work; it is a reminder about why …

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Cultural Transformation

All, Culture / By

Every organization wants it. Yet few achieve it. Why? Transforming a culture to a great place to work and produce results requires imprinting a new and different way of thinking about people; the environment within which they work, and embedding that thinking in the organizational culture. Coaching different thinking to transform cultures is the cornerstone of what The Russell Consulting Group …

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Do Performance Reviews Harm Or Heighten Employee Productivity?

All, Performance Management / By

Performance Reviews tend to have a bad reputation and companies are quick to make them extinct if they think they are causing more harm than good. Business leaders change performance processes hoping to get a different result, only to create another issue. It’s not unlike one of the definitions of insanity: Doing the same thing …

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Three Non-Corporate Ways To Inspire Employee Loyalty

All, Employee Loyalty / By

While the phrase, “Behind every good man, there’s a good woman” is outdated and has prompted comeback phrases like, “a woman needs a man like a fish needs a bicycle;” the more accurate phrase these days, regardless of gender, is “Behind every good company, is an authentic leader.” Leading authentically begins from the inside and …

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Leadership and Self Care: Organizational Self Care

Accountability, All, Leadership, Self Care / By

Organizational self-care, or lack thereof, is a direct result of individual self-care. It is often exposed in the choices leaders make when faced with business challenges. Here are two examples that illustrate this point:   In 2008, if you recall, there was an economic crisis. The banks took lending risks that ultimately caused the value of …

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Leadership & Self Care: Individual and Organizational Self Care

All, Leadership, Self Care / By

Executives would agree that the five most important business objectives they hope to achieve include: driving profitability; building a high-performance and customer-focused culture; enhancing organizational talent; entering new markets, and innovating products/processes. They would also agree, according to DDI’s recent publication, Global Leadership Trends for 2021, that the four leadership forces they will face in 2021 …

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Accountability 102: Accepting Accountability Practice

Accountability, All / By

According to The Cambridge Dictionary, to be accountable is to be responsible for and have to explain your actions, and accounting is a written or spoken description of something that has happened. As a result, the world’s view of accepting accountability (or being accountable) is to: explain what you did wrong; apologize by saying, “I’m sorry;” acknowledge how much the action hurt you, as well …

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Employee Satisfaction

A Revelation in Employee Satisfaction: The Medical Group Analytics Team

All, Success Stories / By

CHALLENGE Heidi Kozart, the executive overseeing the Medical Group analytics team, was beyond frustrated by the results of The Annual Advisory Board Survey she had received. MGA’s employee satisfaction numbers had significantly declined from their results just 2 years prior. Heidi was at a loss. She knew it was critical to making changes but everything they had …

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Sally Jo

Breakthrough in the Boardroom: University of Utah Research Enterprise Success Story

All, Success Stories / By

CHALLENGE    One key concern she had was the increased level of accountability required to effectively manage the projects and meet deadlines. She trusted the teams to get the job done on time but hoped to eliminate any finger-pointing or excuses. Sally Jo was not optimistic about hiring another consultant, so she was relieved when …

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