Conversations With Purpose
The Conversations With Purpose Podcast is brought to you by the co-founders of Seven Focus, a multi-faceted consulting team that works in partnership with you as you act on your personal, professional and community goals, engaging you to consider the different layers at play - experiences and understandings - so you succeed, long after our team is gone.
Building on the impacts of the Beyond the Training podcast, Conversations With Purpose serve as an example of moving toward the intended impact, by talking about the very things that makes connecting challenging.
Join the conversation as we share perspectives, ask tough questions and navigate the social dynamics, innuendo and interactions - all while we learn and grow!
Episodes
41 episodes
Joy Is Resistance
Perhaps you've heard the poem, "joy is an act of resistance," and you thought it was a nice sentiment, or you agreed and went on about your day. Join us for a conversation digging into the relationship between joy and the work it takes fo...
Vulnerability Speaks Volumes (Even at Work)
In this episode our hosts demonstrate the kinds of vulnerability and transparency required to move "the needle" in diversity, equity and inclusion work and conversations.While they may have an ongoing business relationship, even DEI Practit...
Where Does Joy Fit When the Work Is Heavy?
Sometimes the trainer or educator will use different games and activities to instill a sense of humor, fun or even joy in the learning spaces. Both for the experience of the participants as well as themselves. During this episode, o...
What the Best Organizations Actually Do Differently
Welcome to the Beyond the Training "car cast" episode, where our hosts attempt a crucial conversation while on their way to deliver training. The audio might not be the best, and the conversation is too good - so many bars for all of us t...
I Almost Hit Someone — And What Happened Next Changed Me
Welcome to the Beyond the Training "car cast" episode, where our hosts attempt a conversation while on their way to deliver a training. The audio might not be the best, and the conversation is too good - so many bars for all of us to take...
How to Talk About Differences Without Making It Weird
How are we supposed to talk about differences? If differences make a difference, how do we celebrate them in the workplace and in the community without harming one another? This week, our hosts discuss the implications of our human ...
Who Actually Gets Hurt When Inclusion Goes Away?
Are White people under attack? There are certainly some who feel that way - especially inside trainings and conversations about diversity, equity and inclusion. In this episode, our hosts discuss the implications of the work to be i...
Why Cultural Competence Isn't Enough
Have you ever heard the term "Cultural Competence"? Do you think it's possible to actually become culturally competent? Join us for the discussion about the pitfalls of this concept with our host, who are actually Qualified Administ...
How to Give a Real Apology (Not Just Sorry)
To err is human, so is apologizing!Sometimes, when we demonstrate our biases, there's an opportunity to admit wrongness and wrongdoing - and when you apologize, there are some pieces to remember so it lands and makes the intended impact.&nb...
Merit, Excellence & Intelligence (MEI): What the Acronym Gets Wrong
By now, you've heard some of the maligning, anti-DEI rhetoric in the news, media and different public spaces that are gaining traction around the nation. In this episode, our hosts discuss a number of the contexts they are experiencing an...
Why Is It So Hard to See Each Other as Human?
Call it what you want (DEI, JEDI, etc.), our world, our societies, just need to treat each other better. Like human beings. With so much hurt and harm, so much loss of life, it seems like the most logical answer to it all would be t...
Moving Beyond Just Being Respectful (Culturally Agile)
Seven Focus has seven Ways of Being:Reflective of SelfAwareness of the PresentCuriosity Over CertaintyCulturally AgileTransparentHeightened Consciousness of the PastDiffuse Power and Privilege, Centering Historically...
When to Stay Calm and When to Flip the Table
Have you ever been in a conversation and felt so passionately about something, you wanted to flip the table over in exasperation? Have you ever really done that? Or, are you the type to pound the table with a fist, maybe in your min...
When the Work You Believe In Gets Attacked
No doubt you've been in the news or the community hearing about and possibly being affected by the U.S. Presidential Executive Orders, Memoranda, or misguided vitriol to squash, discredit and illegalize the concepts of DEI and the work (and wor...
Who Gets to Tell the Story? Media, Justice & Community
In today's episode, our hosts are honored to have Jen and Jason from the Colorado Criminal Justice Reform Coalition (CCJRC) along to talk about the way a stereotypical narrative of misappropriation and irresponsibility was told about people wor...
25 Years of Work: What Training Actually Changed for Me
In this episode we hear from a member of our Seven Focus community about her experiences in diversity, equity and inclusion training spaces. In a time when DEI training is under fire, being shifted from U.S. Federal Government priority, a...
Ditch Your Icebreakers: What to Do Instead
Every trainer's done it...we've all been in training sessions and meetings with a facilitator who's trying to set the tone with an opener of some sort - before or after the ground rules and intention setting, there's almost always an obligatory...
When Pushback Is Actually a Sign You're Making Progress
Is resistance positive? Can pushback be a sign of good things?In this episode, our hosts debate the real messages, intentions and impacts of those who pushback in meetings, trainings and programs related to diversity, equity and inclu...
Stop "Shoulding" on People (Yes, You Read That Right)
For Your Consultation/Consideration: Stop shudding on each other!You read that right...think about what you really mean when you use the word "should" in a sentence or question. What expectations are you trying to communicate? A...
What Your Outfit Says About Your Culture
Certainly there are connections between language and culture. In those connections we are able to understand what is expected of us in our communities, our organizations and our relationships.What, then, is the intersection between th...
Do You Know Your Own Biases? Take This Test
For Your Consultation/Consideration: Take the Implicit Associations Tests. Actually, take a few. And make sure you have a plan for what comes next...you're going to need one.
What I Learned About Bias in My First Real Training
In this episode we welcome a lifetime learner of diversity, equity and inclusion topics into the conversation to learn about her take on DEI training.When learning and talking about bias training, she has some specific thoughts for DEI prac...
Three Small Changes That Will Transform Your Conversations
For Your Consultation/Consideration, here are three challenges you can try on in the new year to increase the intentionality of your words, and conversations.Be mindful of who you talk to...and who you don't.Ask more (bette...
What Celebrating Ramadan at Work Actually Looks Like
How do you make inclusion efforts 'stick'? When the person or people who created or facilitate the activities and programming leave, how solid is the work for those who remain?In this episode, our hosts talk about the challenge of kee...
Why 'Assume Positive Intent' Can Backfire
No doubt you've heard the phrase, "when you assume, it makes an a** out of you and me." That's about as popular as, "assume positive intent," especially in conversations about bias, equity and undoing oppression. In this epis...