Diversity & Advocacy at Work with Alea
Tags: Advocacy, Black Women, Diversity, Work, Inclusion

Welcome to The Color Within, a podcast by Suubi people that explores the brilliant, colorful assets that people bring to the world and the environments they spend the most time in, including the workplace community neighborhoods and more all while navigating a world with color codes. I’m Lydia your host and join us in this episode where we talk with Alea who was a lover of learning and works at a Fortune 500 company. We’ll explore the color she holds within. How to be your own advocate and increase diversity in the workplace. Join us.

LYDIA: Tell us more about where you’re from and more about your ethnic heritage.

ALEA: I am born and raised right here in the US, I grew up in Chicago. I lived here my entire life. Haven’t really strayed too far from my kind of stomping grounds, so to speak. But I love the city. You know, we’ve talked before about problems that we’re trying to resolve here in the city of Chicago, but it definitely is home for me. And I do really love it here. As far as my ethnic heritage like when you first mentioned that I had to think a little bit about, ‘What is my ethnic heritage? Do I have a heritage?’ You know, it’s one of those things that can be a little bit difficult to pinpoint. But it did lead me to kind of think about when I was growing up. There was this show that I used to watch called Know Your Heritage, where these high school students across the city would be quizzed on black history. And I remember watching that show and kind of learning about that. And then when I was in elementary school, we had like these pictures of these black historical figures, just everywhere around the school.

I mean, you could not turn a corner where you didn’t see a picture of these amazing people that achieved these incredible things in the past. And being taught about those individuals and having a lot of pride about these incredible people that came before me, that kind of paved the way for equality who show me that I can really achieve anything that I want. Despite the fact that in our society, with black people, we are sometimes told that you can’t achieve these things. ‘You can’t do it. You don’t have the intelligence, you don’t have the resources, you don’t have the whatever you’re lacking.’ But yet there are these people who were born before that really dispelled that myth. And so it really made me feel very proud about where I come from and just that connection to like these historical figures that really became examples for me to emulate and to follow. And so when I think about those times, I really do connect my heritage and who I am to learning about those stories and those people who made me feel very proud about being a black person in this country.

LYDIA: That’s awesome. And there’s so much there. There’s so many people that have paved the way, so definitely have to be grateful for them. And tell me more about what you’re passionate about.

ALEA: Yeah. Like you mentioned, at the top of the show that I really do love to learn. It is definitely my passion. I am a very curious person. I seek knowledge, I seek information, whatever it is I am all over it. So you know, whatever it is I need to do, whether that’s books, articles, podcasts, just soaking up information and knowledge to better myself. And to also challenge my own paradigm because I think that’s very important, sometimes we can sort of stick to information that just kind of reinforces what we already think or we already believe, but I think it’s really important to look at other sources of information, ‘Are my beliefs, are they true?’ Maybe there’s another way for me to look at, you know, a particular problem or a set of beliefs and use that to continue to grow and to develop.

I use that in my work as well, and always looking at sort of new frameworks and new methods to make me better and more effective in the job that I do. I love thinking about things. I can spend hours of time just contemplating and thinking about really anything. It really is a fun kind of pastime for me to be in my own sort of world, really considering the possibilities of what’s out there. So yeah, I really am. I really am passionate about that. And I think when you are passionate about learning I think opportunity is in the possibilities of what you can do really just opens up, right? Like you’re not just sort of pigeon-holed to, it has to be a particular way, you know, it really can be whatever you want it to be. And I think planting that seed starts with knowledge and starts with learning.

LYDIA: Yes, that’s awesome. And what positive qualities do people say that you have?

ALEA: I think people say that I’m a very friendly and approachable person. Yeah. I would agree with that. I think I’m very friendly.

LYDIA: You are, for sure.

ALEA: Very nice. I think one of the characteristics I have that I probably am the most proud of is that I am a good listener. I really think it’s important to listen to what other people have to say. And to understand where they’re coming from. You know, some people don’t always do that right? They’re kind of listening to kind of jump in and sort of like make their point. Instead of really listening to what the other piece, you know, the person’s trying to communicate to them. But, I’m not that way. I really do want to hear what other people have to say, even if I disagree. I want to know what perspectives you’re kind of bringing to the table that might even change my mind about something.

I think my other positive quality is that I think I am very empathetic. I really do feel for other people. I just can’t look at someone’s life or their situation and not feel some sense of empathy for the situation and kind of wanting to do something about it, even if I don’t know what the thing to do is. But so I think having that empathy and understanding for people and at least trying to do something, or trying to understand their situation, some sense of what it is you can do to perhaps make their lives better.

LYDIA: Right. That’s awesome. And, you know, to your point about listening, you know, I always believe that listening is one of the greatest acts of love.

ALEA: Oh, totally. Yeah.

LYDIA: Because you have to lay down yourself and instead of thinking about, to your point, jumping in thinking about what you’re going to say next, you really open yourself up to what the other person has to say.

ALEA: Definitely. That’s exactly right.

LYDIA: That’s awesome. And tell me more about your role, what you do in your role at work.

ALEA: I like to think of my job as bringing simplicity to complexity, is the way I like to think about it like that. You know, my role includes a lot of process improvements, optimizing operations for shared services areas. The company that I work for, which is a procurement function, and there’s also a fair amount of my work that also intersects with change and communications. And then there’s also some room to be creative and to use design thinking and those principles to improve the user experience so that employees at the company that I work for can understand how to engage with our procurement operating model in an easier way.

LYDIA: Great, awesome. And have you ever experienced whether it’s in this job or a previous job, somebody seeing your talents or gifts and just wanting you to grow and thrive?

ALEA: I have experienced that. Yeah, definitely. I think that’s been a fortunate outcome of some of the opportunities I’ve had in my career where people see that there is something valuable that I can contribute. And, you know, helping me to get lined up to use some more of the opportunities that I can use to continue to grow and to further develop those skills and those talents. And one of the things that I have been a huge champion for in my current role is in this world of service design and how you sort of use empathy and the process improvement methods and combine those together in order to create services that people can use and that are actually useful. And there’s nothing currently in my job description that says that I have to know something about those particular methods, but I believe in them.

And I think that they are really important and useful. And so I just try to weave them in where I can and try to teach people about them and experiment with them. Like I facilitated a workshop where it was basically a process design workshop. I’ve done other types of projects where I’ve used those sort of user experience type of methods in the work that I do. And it keeps my role in the work that I want to do just fresh and new, right. Sometimes when you do work for a while, it can start to feel kind of stale and sort of boring, like what else is out there? You know, but for me when I seek out other ways to look at the work that I do, it keeps me excited about it. It keeps me wanting to keep doing it. And learn about other ways that I can apply those methods and be more effective at it.

And I think there also is something about, you know, when you kind of look at other frameworks it just kind of expands the possibilities of what you can do. And it kind of opens the box of how I even understand what the problem is and how I can fix it. Sometimes I think you kind of need to bust it up and look at something new in order to figure out, ‘Oh, this is what I should do.’ This is how I can solve this problem. This is how I can make this better. So yeah, that’s definitely a huge, huge area that I’m a big champion for.

LYDIA: Yeah. That’s awesome. And can you tell me, you know, at work, we have a global workforce and have you ever experienced inequality based off of your ethnic background or seen another person who’s experienced inequality either now, or previously?

ALEA: I can’t say that I have experienced it in an overt way, that I can really pinpoint and say, you know, someone’s treating me differently because I’m black, right. It’s never been that out there, and I’m grateful for that because I think if you are someone that has experienced that, I mean, I couldn’t imagine how disheartening and how terrible the situation that would be. But I guess if I can say, if there is an area where I have felt some level of inequality. I definitely can say I’ve had opportunities and access to some things that have helped me to build my career. There have been areas where I felt like that wasn’t always the case, you know, where you feel like you have the skills and you feel like you have experience that there’s something valuable that you can contribute.

But yet you don’t seize that opportunity or you’re not selected for something that you really want to be a part of. And there’s only a time where, you know, I would rationalize that like, Oh, well, I’m sure that was the right decision. You know, maybe the other person was more qualified or, you know, you trust that the managers and leaders in your organizations have everyone’s best interests at heart and are making the right decision. But then when you sort of see it happening again and again, you start to question like, okay, ‘Are we on an open playing field here? Is it truly equal there?’ And you know, there was definitely a time where I felt angry or upset about that. But at the same time, it taught me one of my biggest lessons of my career, which is that I have to be my strongest and most vocal advocate on my job, I can’t always depend on other people to always do that for me, although they certainly do. But I also have to do the same.

And it’s also very important, I think for people of color or black people to do that because it’s very common for us to sometimes not be in those circles or in the same conversations where we line up to the right types of people that can give you access to those kinds of opportunities. So now you know, if I want something, and I think I should be a part of it, then I just go and get it. I’m not going to wait for the invitation to come in the mail, so to speak. I’m just going over to the house and knock on the door and say, ‘Hi, I’m here. I can contribute something to this and I want to be here and this is what I can do.’ And I think that’s so important. It’s definitely something that you have to continue to practice because it isn’t always easy to do that. But certainly it is something that everyone should do in their career, but especially you know, if you are a person of color, probably even more. So it’s very important to make sure that you’re doing that and being like your strongest supporter and just making it known that I deserve to be here and I have something valuable to contribute.

LYDIA: I love that. Yes, we definitely have to show up and contribute our gifts and our talents in any way. So, yeah, definitely. And I wanted to share a data point here with you. There was a research study done by Pew Research in 2019 and they showed a big divide between the perception of getting ahead in life. 44% of whites versus 82% of blacks said that blacks are not treated fairly when it comes to hiring, pay, and promotions. And so how do we balance our view there, you know because there’s quite a wide disparity in that perception.

ALEA: Yeah. That is surprising to hear that number. But the fact that there are so many black people that feel that way or other people who also see that, or are observing that I think really speaks to the fact that it happens in the workplace. And I think that it really goes to the fact that corporations and any organization have to be very diligent in their diversity and inclusion efforts, emphasis on the inclusion part, right. Because you can have a diverse workforce, but if the people that are in your company who are diverse don’t feel included or don’t feel like they have access to the same opportunities, then what truly is the point of those initiatives in the first place? But if that’s not happening, then they’re not truly serving the full scope of their purpose.

So I do think that it takes people who are leaders to really make sure that they are doing everything that they can to make sure that everyone feels like they are included that they have a voice. I think further to that, I think even employees, I think that there’s a lot of emphasis that we put on what the leader should do. But the employees also, I think, need to speak up and say, we see this and we need to keep talking about it. We need to keep bringing visibility to it. And not just sort of being content with, well, we have a diversity training or whatever it is, and like, okay, that’s one and done. We don’t have to talk about this anymore. But I think that we can and should hold our leaders accountable, making sure that we are truly making good on those pledges for diversity and inclusion and making them true and real, not just something that’s nice to put on your website or in your company brochure.

LYDIA: Absolutely. Yes. And I love that point that the leaders definitely, they need to step up and make sure that the environment they’re setting, they’re the thermostat for the environment, but really like everybody at the organization is a leader in some way or another and they have an impact. So we all have a part to play for sure. And I’m curious like younger folks that are coming up, you know say they’re in college or they’re just getting ready to enter the workforce. What advice do you have for them? You know, just getting ready to make sure that they do everything they need to do to be successful when they enter it.

ALEA: Yeah. That’s a great question. I think, you know, younger people who are just sort of getting started in life I think it kind of goes back to my earlier point about learning and seeking knowledge. I think that to me is just the foundation of really anything that you want to do. There was never a point in your life where you should stop learning. And I think in a lot of cases, you can argue that when you enter the real world, that’s where the actual real learning begins because you can read books and you can be in the classroom and you can listen to what your teachers are teaching you. But until you really get out there and sort of see the world and what’s going on out there and, and who you are in relationship to that you will learn and grow so much more if you take advantage of the opportunity. The other thing I would say is just always follow the thread of what your interests are.

I think sometimes when, you know, we’re being educated in, you know, higher education or what have you I think some people make the mistake of thinking that, you know, their career is going to be this one specific thing. Like I have to be this, and this is what it has to look like. And I think what you’ll find out that it often does not happen that way. Because you know, you learn something, you might have a job and might lead you to some other area that you are interested in, and want to explore further, and that leads you to something else. And the career that you started, you know, it looks very different, you know, five or 10 years later. That was definitely the case for me. I started my career in the nonprofit world. And now I work for a professional services company doing process work and that was definitely not where I thought my career was going to go. And I don’t regret that.

You know, I think I was just very open to what I wanted to do and what I wanted to learn and the opportunities that I had that kind of led me down this path of wow, this is interesting. I like this. Let’s do more of that. Okay. I’ve done that. Here’s something else I really like. And just, you keep doing that. And eventually, you know, you will stumble upon a career that you find really enriching and worthwhile. It has never steered me wrong, you know, ever. And I think again, like if you are truly learning and understanding more about who you are and who you are becoming the opportunities that you seek will always stay in alignment with that. You’re not going to outgrow yourself because you’re always thinking, what is the next thing, you know, who am I now, what do I want to be next? And you go out there and you figure out what you can do to kind of make that happen.

LYDIA: I love that. It reminds me of this metaphor of a painting. So you have like a blank canvas and we’re in this art space. If you’re drawing somebody there, it doesn’t look like anything yet, but you just fill in the spaces and you kind of let the sensibilities develop, you know, and then after a while, then the figure starts to emerge on the canvas, you know? And I love that idea of staying with yourself as you yourself are growing. And we are, you know, we evolve over time. We’re never the same.

ALEA: Totally. That’s the thing. It is evolution. Yeah. We’re evolving. We are changing all the time. And if you’re not giving yourself the flexibility and the room to continue to sit in that change, then you’re going to probably not be very happy with your self or with your life. You know, I remember when I was in school, I had relationships with people, friends and the other colleagues who would always say, you know, ‘When I was in college, I wish I would’ve studied this instead of what I actually majored in. I would’ve done this instead of, you know, what I’m doing now.’ And I kind of made a commitment to myself that I didn’t want to be that person. Like, I didn’t want to be the person that regretted not studying what I wanted to study or not pursuing a path that I really wanted to pursue, because I was too worried about, you know, what my parents wanted me to do. My dad wants me to be an accountant, so I guess I’ll have to be an accountant. And you just sort of do that.

And then you end up being like, I hate the accounting, I never wanted to be in that position. You know, and sometimes depending on the choice that you make, other people may not always think that you’re making the right choice that that might happen, right. Your parents might think, well, where are you going to get a job, doing whatever? Is that going to be a lucrative place for you to be? And, I certainly had my share of that. And I majored in religion when I was in college and while my job isn’t specifically lined up to that area of study. But that was what I wanted to do. And I found that it made me such a well-rounded person. It was very personally enriching for me. It helped me to learn how to think in abstract terms, right? I mean, you think about religion, there are so many different systems of belief that are out there.

Why people believe what they believe, how does it inform how societies develop? How we relate to one another? And while it can be a little bit of a, ‘What you believe is what you believe’, where I studied, you had to apply logic and critical thinking to really explore a lot of those themes. And a lot of those theories made me a very good writer because I can express my ideas in a way that really serves me in my career today. So, you know, that’s why I say it’s very important, I think for people to not be so rigid and how they think about what their area of study has to be and what it is that they want to do. I mean, there are certain careers where yeah, you have to have certain qualifications and certifications and things like that. But there are way more other opportunities out there where there’s not really a specific thing that you have to do or have to study in order to be a professional in that particular area or industry. The world is definitely much more flexible than that.

LYDIA: I love that. I could totally testify to that. I totally relate, you know, starting out in engineering and then going to art school for a bit. And my parents were like, what are you doing? This is crazy! You know? And then, you know.

ALEA: You’re making a terrible mistake.

LYDIA: Yeah. You know, having parents who, ‘You have to be a doctor, engineer, or a lawyer’, it’s like nothing else. And then going into user experience and that was kind of like a intersection of all of those things, which is wonderful. And, you know, to your earlier point of like, once you’re in the workplace, you know, really kind of being proactive about your career. I think that the element of proaction, it is before as well, as you’re learning, once you find something that you love and it really moves you, you should go ahead and just take the steps to go after it.

ALEA: Definitely, absolutely.

LYDIA: Well, Alea, this has been so wonderful. I’ve learned so much from you.

ALEA: Thank you.

LYDIA: Thank you so much for joining. Appreciate it.

ALEA: Yeah. Thank you so much.

Do you have a similar story? Text me at my community number at (312) 847–3352. To share your story and join the Suubi People Community. Thank you for tuning in and join us for the next episode of The Color Within.