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Episode 155: Breaking Barriers: The BIPOC Coaching Advantage with guest, Shaunda Thompson
Shaunda Thompson opens a powerful window into the unique strengths BIPOC coaches bring to leadership development through their lived experiences and embodied wisdom. As an executive life coach, career strategist, and pre-licensed therapist whose leadership journey began as a US Army non-commissioned officer, Thompson speaks with authenticity about creating coaching relationships that honor clients' full identities.
"There are times where words don't have to be spoken, or there's this invisible pain that the client sitting across from you experiences that you as a BIPOC coach already know because you've gone through it," Thompson explains, highlighting the immediate connection and psychological safety this creates. This shared understanding accelerates the coaching relationship in ways that transcend traditional approaches.
The conversation dives deep into essential concepts for all coaches – cultural fluency, code-switching, and the mental tax of navigating predominantly white professional spaces. Thompson offers practical guidance: recognize your own history and privilege, examine your biases, unlearn dominant narratives, and get comfortable sitting in discomfort without centering guilt. Her coaching philosophy centers on what she calls "radical self-honesty" and bringing the fullness of her multiple identities into each session.
Perhaps most compelling is Thompson's vision for reshaping the coaching profession by challenging dominant norms and embracing culturally responsive frameworks. "Let's start rejecting these one-size-fits-all models and be more open to honoring identity, community, and intergenerational wisdom," she urges. This approach doesn't just benefit BIPOC coaches and clients – it enriches the entire field with diverse perspectives and approaches that support lasting transformation.
Ready to expand your coaching practice with greater cultural fluency? Connect with Shaunda at www.shaundathompson.com and discover how authentic leadership and intersectional empathy can transform your coaching relationships.
Watch the full interview by clicking here.
Find the full article here.
Learn more about Shaunda Thompson here.
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Welcome to Beyond the Page, the official podcast of choice, the magazine of professional coaching, where we bring you amazing insights and in-depth features that you just won't find anywhere else. I'm your host, Garry Schleifer, and I'm excited to expand your learning as we dive into the latest articles, have a chat with this brilliant author behind one of them and uncover the learnings that are transforming the coaching world. When you have a chance, join our vibrant community of coaching professionals as we explore groundbreaking ideas, share expert tips and techniques and make a real difference in our clients' lives, because that's what we love to do. Remember, this is your go-to resource for all things coaching, but in the meantime, let's dive in.
Garry Schleifer:In today's episode, I'm speaking with Executive Life Coach, Interview Coach, career strategist and pre-licensed therapist, Shaunda Thompson, who is the author of an article in our latest issue Coaching Anti-Racism and the Backlash Against DEI. Her article is entitled Breaking Barriers Building Leaders ~ The Unique Strengths of BIPOC Coaches. A little bit about Shaunda. She's an Associate Certified Executive Life Coach, Certified Interview Coach, no pressure on me, Career Strategist and Pre-Licensed Therapist who empowers professionals to elevate their careers and personal brands with confidence. Her leadership journey began as a US Army non-commissioned officer, where she honed her skills in mentorship and motivation. I'll just bet. Now CEO of her own consultancy and a two-time best-selling author, Shaunda blends strategic coaching with image consulting to inspire lasting change. A sought-after speaker and trainer, she equips individuals with the clarity, confidence and tools to thrive unapologetically in work and life. Wow, Shaunda, thank you so much for joining me. That's a lot, and I didn't know that you were an image consultant.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, well, thank you for having me.
Garry Schleifer:That explains the good look.
Shaunda Thompson:Thank you, thank you, I always want to make a statement.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, yeah. And starts with those earrings. We talked about that too. Yes, yeah, no, they're lovely. You're great to be here and thank you so much for writing for choice magazine. We really appreciate it, and especially the kind of way, the angle from which you came at the article. But what inspired you to write this article and why is now the right moment to highlight the voices of BIPOC coaches.
Shaunda Thompson:Yeah, so the article was inspired by a couple of things. So one, this is my contribution to my community, the coaching community, and also I wanted to share some of my lived experience as a BIPOC coach, as well as highlight the experiences of other BIPOC coaches who are my mentors. I think with the climate of the world that we are in right now, I think it's a call and it brings light to how we need to engage in truth and representation and healing. Coaching, as we know in our field, it focuses on performance, goals and mindset, but I also think that acknowledging, like the historical as well as the generational aspects of coaching is important. So I think the call for this article, it was right on time.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, well, thank you for doing it too, and you know you reference in the article, and a number of other people referenced it, that BIPOC coaches are underrepresented and BIPOC individuals and coaches are underrepresented in the coaching profession and leadership, and you speak a lot about that and I'm really glad that you. You know it was a challenge at first when you submitted the article, to be honest, and I said, well, what about white coaches? Why can't they? And you very wonderfully explained some of the nuances and clear differences, like lived experience, that you bring to the table. So thank you for that.
Shaunda Thompson:You're welcome and in addition to the lived experience, it's the embodied wisdom which is shaped by BIPOCs lived experiences, as well as the resilience and some of the nuances. There are times where words don't have to be spoken, or there's this invisible pain that the client that's looking like you, that's sitting across from you, that you as a BIPOC coach, you already know because you've gone through it.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, yeah, unfortunately. Right, so thank you. Now speaking of that, so how can coaches, especially those outside BIPOC communities, begin to build this cultural fluency that you speak about in your article?
Shaunda Thompson:I really appreciate that question and I think the first step is really recognizing where you come from, your own history, your privilege and like, your patterns. So your patterns of like, how you avoid things, even your own triggers. Because as a coach, I don't think real transformation can really occur if you are kind of unaware of like triggers, biases, assumptions and this will come out in our work as a coach. And so I think when you examine, like your biases, when you kind of unlearn or when you're more in tune to what a dominant narrative is, I think that will help kind of cultivate empathy.
Shaunda Thompson:I also think that non-BIPOC coaches have to be intentional because you always have a choice in doing the work. So read diverse voices, get involved in BIPOC communities. So outside of just working with clients, you know, get involved in other BIPOC communities. And I also think that I think one of the most important things is being comfortable and sitting in discomfort without centering guilt or invalidating your client. I think that would be, I would say, the number one thing that non BIPOC coaches can do.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah. A number of those have been referenced in your article and also to be, and I think you said it. But if I'm saying this more, I think I'm saying this for myself. My learning is that being self-aware enough to know that I don't know.
Shaunda Thompson:Right.
Garry Schleifer:Fact is, and I always say, I'm open to and I say this to you as well in this conversation, Shaunda, if I say anything, that's a perfect example of what we're looking to change, please bring it up, because I don't know what I don't know. I loved the articles because some of the examples are you know about like microaggressions and you know, oh, you're so articulate and I'm like, oh, I, I didn't realize that that landed that way.
Garry Schleifer:It would land possibly differently for me somebody saying that to me, but you know I'm a white man of privilege so I guess I'm kind of used to that, so noticing those differences and nuances. So thank you.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, and also being aware of identity. So I've had a colleague who is a white male make a statement like what's the big deal about hair? We're talking about the Crown Act and the importance of it and some of the trauma that comes with having to either straighten your hair or do things. You're under pressure to kind of conform. And he made the statement like I don't see what the big deal is, it's hair. And I think that's another perfect example of when you're, you know, a coach and you're operating in cultural fluency, you would do the work to understand how hair is strongly tied to a Black woman's identity and you would be able to sit with a client and validate the client's feelings and experience.
Garry Schleifer:And you just helped me learn something and I knew there was something around hair that was important, but I'm learning more through this conversation about the depth of it and the history and things like that. So thank you for sharing that. Yeah, I was rereading the article again this morning, like I haven't read it enough times already. Right, proofreading, you know all that. But there's one that I'd like to share and I'm very open about, that I don't know what code switching is. What's code switching?
Shaunda Thompson:It's a way of being, so it's how you adapt your language to certain environments. So I'll just use myself for an example. So I am from the Midwest. I'm a proud Midwesterner living on the East coast, and so in the Midwest we have certain terminology. So where I'm from, we call soda, sody. I know some people I think regionally they call it pop or whatever, and so when I'm in certain environments I can say sody and other terms and my speech may be faster, so naturally I speak very fast. I like to use my hands a lot, and so I do that in certain environments where I feel safe.
Shaunda Thompson:In a work environment I'm more conscious of slowing down and I may not say sody in a work context, I may call it pop or soda. So code switching really, in a nutshell, is you're just adapting your speech, your non-verbals and just your way of being, depending on the environment that you're in and mentally and emotionally, it can be taxing when you're doing it over and over and over again, which then could lead to mental health challenges.
Garry Schleifer:Wow, and that sounds like it could be for anyone. What's the additional layer for BIPOC individuals?
Shaunda Thompson:The additional layer for BIPOC individuals is BIPOC individuals are constantly, we have to adapt and kind of fit into this mold in professional settings. For example you maybe ask questions for clarification, or if you advocate for yourself, you may be perceived as okay, you're bossy, or maybe you're too aggressive, whereas if you did the same thing, no one's gonna second guess it or think that you're being any other way. So there's the race component on top of it.
Garry Schleifer:So what do I do differently?
Garry Schleifer:What do I need to do like and I want to do it differently. So I'm not saying I have to, but I want to do it differently. What's something that a white man of privilege, cisgender, all that, how would I behave differently? Break that systemic system?
Shaunda Thompson:I love that question. Call it out, call a thing a thing, because silence is you're complicit with, you're like adding to the problem. So when you're seeing something that's like unjust and not right, you not saying anything isn't making it any better. So call it out, be an ally.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, well, I hope that I am through our work here at choice and in the work I do in my life. I'll be honest. You've given me some more things to think about being more engaged in BIPOC communities. I live in Toronto in Canada and it is one of the most diverse centers communities in the world. Like I go to our gym and you will rarely hear English.
Shaunda Thompson:Nice.
Garry Schleifer:Indian, Pakistani, Chinese, Middle East Arabic, I guess. Just a whole plethora of languages. I think we like to say there's probably at least one person from every country in the world. Well, two so that they different languages heard. Oh yeah, we've been, as the US has been, Welcoming immigrants for for hundreds of years, it's what's shaping. You know, my parents were immigrants and you know I was close, but I was born in Canada. But thank you. It's a good reminder, always a good reminder when you see something, say something.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, call it out and then offer support for the individual. If they're, you know, either cut off or if someone is trying to put a label, you know, on a BIPOC individual, that really isn't true, like call it out. Show support.
Garry Schleifer:Thank you. In your article, you speak about authentic leadership and intersectional empathy. First of all, explain those and then, secondly, how has that impacted your coaching style?
Shaunda Thompson:Yes. So for me, authentic leadership it really begins with what I call radical self-honesty. So as a coach, I don't separate who I am from how I coach. So I have multiple identities. So I'm a Black woman, I'm a veteran, I'm a coach, I'm a counselor, and so bringing in the fullness of my identity into the coaching space, I think that serves as like a grounding presence. And I think authenticity, it's really not about being raw in the space all the time, it's being real enough to invite safety. So, from what you said earlier, there are a lot of things or there may be times you don't know what you don't know, and I think being curious as well as sharing that with a client, I think is helpful. And then my clients they know that I'm not going to ask them to be vulnerable in ways that I'm unwilling to be because I believe, how can you require something of someone when you are uncomfortable or you can't do that yourself?
Shaunda Thompson:And I think that that's where kind of trust starts in the coaching relationship. And then, I think, with intersectional empathy, that means that you're seeing the whole person, so you're seeing all the intersectionality, some people may have things that have happened in their background. You're seeing their strengths and you're not just looking at, okay, what is the end goal with this client? And so I think, when we as coaches acknowledge that a client's journey isn't really linear and that there's like power, there's privilege and there's like sometimes even pain that all show up in the room with your client. So I think, acknowledging all that and then knowing, as a coach, our job is to walk beside our client. We hold space, we affirm and we're not there to fix everything.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah.
Shaunda Thompson:Yeah, and so I think how all this has impacted my coaching style. I think I have more of a focus on being than doing, so I really want my clients to return to their self, and then that's why I always just try to be like me in the session. So I'm going to show up with the big statement earrings, funny saying.
Garry Schleifer:The lovely colorful fingernails. Mine are shiny, they're not colored today.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, yes. So I think when you were authentic, I think that builds safety. And then I think the intersectional empathy, I think that builds the trust. So I think the combination of those they're going to turn your coaching into a space that's real and then I think that would support lasting change for clients.
Garry Schleifer:Two words I'm hearing when you were saying that. Loving, fearlessness.
Shaunda Thompson:Oh, yeah.
Garry Schleifer:Cause don't we always, always love our clients honestly?
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, yes.
Garry Schleifer:I mean even the ones that choose me that I don't get to have that chemistry conversation, they've just chosen me. Yeah, like I just fall in love with them and yes as a gay man, I have also authenticity work that I've been doing and I bring that to the conversation when it's right.
Shaunda Thompson:Right.
Garry Schleifer:A friend of ours wrote a book, Ray Rigoglioso wrote a book "gay men and the new way forward, and in there he speaks about that out openly gay men are probably way more authentic than straight men.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes.
Garry Schleifer:Because we've done a lot. We've had our struggles and our, you know, challenges and being and fighting and all that sort of thing yes have a little segment of authenticity that we've brought forward in our own conversation.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, I like that.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, that was a great book. I highly recommend it. Oh, speaking of books, I know someone who's a two-time bestselling author. He wrote what books?
Shaunda Thompson:So I've been in a few anthologies. So the anthologies that I've written my chapters in, these were the two time bestselling anthology. So the first anthology kind of dealt with grief and loss, and then the second anthology had more of like a leadership focus. And so with the first anthology I kind of shared my story of losing my son. So I had my son at 26 weeks. My son's name was Brock and I kind of shared kind of what my grief journey was like and how I kind of navigated that and just kind of did a pivot. So I lost my son, I went through a divorce and so I just kind of had to reinvent myself. And for the other anthology that had more of the leadership focus, I talked about like an image blueprint, so just giving some strategies and tips.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, well, thank you for your contributions. And again, condolences on the loss of your son.
Shaunda Thompson:Thank you.
Garry Schleifer:And marriages are grief events as well. So, yeah, I'm assuming you're in a great place and your authenticity shines because of these things that you freely share with us. So thank you.
Shaunda Thompson:Yes, thank you.
Garry Schleifer:Yeah, being vulnerable, Shaunda, be careful. Y ou might be a coach. Oh, you are a coach. There we go. No, thank you so much. So what would you like our audience to do as a result of this article and this conversation?
Shaunda Thompson:Yeah, so what I would like the audience to do, I want them to not be afraid to reshape the coaching profession and maybe challenge themselves in unlearning ways that are not helpful to other populations or particularly BIPOC populations. I would like the audience to challenge dominant norms. So, as coaches, let's start rejecting this one size fits all models and so be more open to like culturally responsive frameworks and let's get comfortable with honoring identity, community and intergenerational wisdom and let's kind of expand some accessibility for BIPOC populations. So let's create spaces where BIPOC populations, where they can feel affirmed, where they can feel safe and truly be seen.
Garry Schleifer:Thank you and I'm going to step up and say that if anyone listening to this would like my help in that, I am an ally and you can reach me at Garry@ choice-online. com. Pretty easy to find me and love to have a conversation to see how I can participate, how I can help. Through choice, years ago, around the time of the George Floyd murder, we started a column called Kaleidoscope, which is our ongoing voice for diversity, equity and inclusion and belonging. So we're always looking for contributors to that. Doesn't have to be BIPOC, obviously, because we need to do our work too, us white people, and yeah, so reach out to me. But if somebody wants to reach out to you, Shaunda, what's the best way to reach you?
Shaunda Thompson:Well, they can reach out to me on my website, so www. shaundathompson. com.
Garry Schleifer:Shaundathompson. com. Pretty easy. There's forms to fill out. So there we go. Wow, I mean, I love these conversations. I could go on. I'm learning, learning, learning always, and kind of why I do what I do because sometimes these topics are just for me and it's for the audience and our readers. Thank you for your contribution and, I hope we see you again in some other community or some other venue.
Shaunda Thompson:Thank you for having me.
Garry Schleifer:That's it for this episode of Beyond the Page. For more episodes, subscribe via your favorite podcast app, most likely the one that got you here. If you're not a subscriber to choice Magazine, you can sign up for a free digital issue by scanning the QR code in the top right-hand corner of our screen. If you're listening, then you can go to choice-online. com and click the sign up now button. I'm Garry Schleifer. Enjoy the journey of mastery.