Are you struggling with diversity and inclusion in your business or life? Are you committed to building an inclusive culture in your business and life? Are you looking for leadership strategies to help you grow your trust, engagement and sense of belonging? Our special guest Dr. Steve Yacovelli answers these and other questions about leadership, inclusion and culture building.

Dr. Steve Yacovelli (aka “The Gay Leadership Dude”) is Principal of TopDog Learning Group, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) around the globe.

Steve and TopDog provide guidance and solutions in leadership and
organizational development, change management, diversity and
inclusion consulting, instructional design, and custom e-learning
creation.

Steve is passionate about workplace equality, and specifically how leaders can be more “consciously inclusive” to foster a feeling of inclusion and belonging for all team members. His most recent, award-winning and critically acclaimed book is Pride Leadership: Strategies for LGBTQ+ Professionals to be the King or Queen of their Jungle.

Listen in as Dr. Steve shares his wisdom and experience on being a “consciously inclusive” leader.

The Impact Leadership Podcast is brought to you by Cardivera, the leadership development eco-system that helps you grow your people, grow your business and grow your life.

Show Notes

Episode highlights…

  • The three (3) key opportunities for leaders: 1. Better listening and teaching; 2. Empathy; 3. Authenticity
  • The importance of spending time with people who are different from you
  • Leadership is not industry or role specific – you don’t have to know the industry or the job if you’re a strong leader
  • Smart leaders are like gardeners
  • The risk of clarity in hiring desires becoming hiring only people like you (non-diverse)
  • The role of unconscious bias for all leaders
  • You can’t create a more inclusive workplace unless you’re willing to acknowledge that you’ve played a role in creating the lack of inclusion and diversity
  • A simple approach for becoming more consciously inclusive: Think In … Speak Up … Act Out
  • Think In – Assess your own thinking and unconscious bias
  • Speak Up – Choosing to speak up when things happen that are inconsistent with your desired inclusive culture
  • Act Up – Assess and modify your processes and approaches that are impacting inclusion and diversity
  • The key role of creating a culture of belonging for everyone and especially people of difference
  • Different ways to think about and achieve diversity and inclusion
  • Strategies for creating a culture of belonging
  • Keys to creating feedback processes to address diversity and inclusion issues
  • Understanding the difference between intention and impact
  • Part of leadership is speaking up (acts of leadership versus roles of leadership)
  • Learn Dr. Steve’s MOP+SAM strategy for addressing issues related to diversity, inclusion and difference
  • The key role of emotional intelligence and self-awareness when leading in a diverse and inclusive way
  • What are you doing to influence the workplace culture in your business or organization?

Resources:

Special Guest

Dr. Steve Yakovelli

(aka “The Gay Leadership Dude”) is Principal of TopDog Learning Group, a leadership, change management, and diversity and inclusion consulting firm based in Orlando but with affiliates (“TopDoggers”) around the globe.

Your Hosts

Jeff Nischwitz

Author, speaker, coach, consultant, and
Chief SHIFT Officer of Cardivera

Craig Mathews

Strategist, innovator, consultant, and
CEO of Cardivera