Fearless Dialogues Session

Key Takeaway:

• Fearless Dialogues’ fostered spaces that engaged in transformational conversations that help participants as leaders understand and develop strategies for 3 critical aspects of leading: 1) Fear of the unknown, 2) Fear of strangers, and 3) Fear of plopping (that is failing/dropping the ball).

Black Leadership Excellence in Action: A Fireside Chat with Sharon Taylor, Former CHRO at Prudential

Key Takeaways:  

• CALIBR members can benefit from understanding how to lead from a position of strength and should work to lift others as they climb, even if, at times, it may be questioned or uncomfortable.    
• To sustain a relationship between CALIBR and your organization, help your senior leadership understand how CALIBR’s value proposition is strengthening your performance and make the attribution to CALIBR involvement/participation clear. This helps build CALIBR as a critical employee development opportunity and gives it sustainable credibility.  
• Plan for life after your current role. There will always be a path forward for people who are talented. But sometimes your opportunity isn’t always going to be in your current role or organization. When it’s time to transition, lean on a diverse network of people from different racial and ethnic backgrounds within and outside your organization. If you form relationships with a reciprocal mindset, there will always be others who will support you. 

Principles for Path to Senior Leadership Promotion Session 

• To advance in your organization, you must know where the power centers are. Black careers sometimes stall because people take promotions outside of the core of the business. The promotion may put you at a higher level, but it may also take you away from the center of the action (power center) in the organization. You need to stay in the center of the action to progress in the organization.  
• Keep a healthy diet of finance and accounting because it is the language of the c-suite. To do this, get on an earnings call, read competitor financial reports, or have a finance friend teach you the language of finance and accounting.  
• Engage your team members on an individual level about why they’re doing the work and how it will benefit them. Whether you lead a small or large team, having individualized conversations about your employee’s career development will drive engagement, ensure that you have buy-in, and increase retention.   

Wealth Creation While Navigation Market Volatility 

• How to think about Market Volatility – Market volatility will always be true. The markets are volatile because humans are volatile and emotional about their money. The best days in the market happen during the most volatile periods. The best investors are not trying to time the market. And they don’t change their financial plans based on the political climate. Note: Politics don’t influence the market. Policy influences the market. 
• Financial Planner vs Wealth Advisor – If you want to be hands-on with your money, go with a financial planner. A financial planner will usually charge you a flat fee to provide you with a financial planning document. A wealth management team is going to feel like a member of your family. They may take custody of your assets, provide investment advice, and are licensed to perform other services on your behalf. 
• Before 2024 ends, review your will and beneficiaries and talk to your financial advisor about your asset portfolio, the impact of inflation on your financial goals, and tax law changes.   

Broad Strokes: Connecting Design, Research & AI to the World Around Us 

• Leaders who use AI must interrogate its processes to ensure that society is more thoughtful about its use and the people who are developing AI models are aware of instances in which the models are discriminatory and not inclusive.  
• Dark Patterns and Deep Fakes – The purpose of a dark pattern is to get you to behave in a certain way or to do something that you may not need to do, and it usually includes a sense of urgency. An example is when you’re trying to unsubscribe from a mailing list, but you can’t find the opt-out button. That’s by design. Dark Patterns create more opportunities to mislead and misguide. In most instances, this makes users spend more money. In a more harmful way, it can use misinformation to influence presidential elections.   
• Biases that are out of sight are biases that are out of mind  – According to the National Institute of Standards and Measures, AI systems can exhibit biases that stem from their programming and data sources. To combat this, society must consider where human biases start and set standards for accountability and transparency.  
• Ethical Standards –  AI can create quick and easy work arounds but we must think about the long-term implications of doing so.  The common rule in research should be applied to AI practices. In any way that your organization uses AI to support the end user, its customers or employees, they have a responsibility to do no harm. 

A Path to the Elusive Paid Board Role When You Don’t Have Extensive Experience 

• What are the necessary skills for someone seeking a board appointment? Every board is different, but your technical expertise and perspective position you for a unique contribution. Many boards are looking for Financial Planning, Supply Chain Management, HR Compensation, IT and Governance experience. You should be able to articulate what your value is and not necessarily focus on what the board is looking for. A board resume should be tailored to speak to your high-level skills versus the standard resume that focuses on your operational expertise.   
• What is the time commitment? The time commitment depends on the board and your position. For example, the average time commitment for a corporate board may be 200 hours annually, but it could be more if the company is in a crisis or if you’re chairing a committee.  
• Before joining a board, understand that you take on fiduciary responsibility, which means you can be liable for the organization’s decisions. Confirm the board has comprehensive director’s and officer’s insurance to ensure that you feel safe making decisions on the organization’s behalf. Also, seek out previous board members, specifically those who were unhappy with their experience. They will provide insight and questions you should ask before accepting the board appointment.