Category Archives: Authors I-Q

ADR Authors by last name I-Q

Allyship through social networking – by Deborah Levin

Allyship is an inclusion and diversity strategy through which individuals with privilege support members of underrepresented groups in positive ways.  Implementation of allyship strategies in work environments is increasing. There are many opportunities to use this strategy beyond the workplace, particularly in person social networking and media activities, to combat hatred toward underrepresented groups. 

Hate, as a noun, is a passionate dislike, disgust, hostility or learned moral resentment of someone or something.  As a verb, hate is to feel intense dislike, resentment, or hostility toward someone or something. Hatred is a demonstration of these feelings.  Typically, hatred toward a group or class does not begin with extreme behaviors; instead, there is an incremental escalation which begins with less severe activities. 

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What Does George Floyd’s Murder Teach about Accountability? – by Vincent I. Phipps

Foremost, my heart goes out to the family, friends, and supporters of Mr. George Floyd.  As a professional communication coach, it can be challenging to remain poised when you are emotional over seeing such an egregious act of what we were victimized to witness.

How is it that the world saw Mr. Floyd have his life extracted and we as viewers are also victims?

The answer is accountability.  We all saw the video.  Former Police Officer Dereck Chauvin, age 44, mercilessly kept his knee in Mr. Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes.  Although Mr. Floyd desperately pleaded for his life and although civilians videotaped and did their best to inform Former Office Chauvin of Mr. Floyd’s depleting condition, those pleas were unrequited by Chauvin.

What is accountability?  According to Dictionary.com, “the fact or condition of being responsible”.

Continue reading What Does George Floyd’s Murder Teach about Accountability? – by Vincent I. Phipps

The Nightmare Cough – by Dr. Les Kertay

coughFor the past 5 weeks, I have been living a nightmare. I’ve been about half-present at work, or maybe more precisely I’ve been mostly present about half the time. I’ve come and gone from social media because too often I am unable to tolerate the incivility and hatred that has become – against all odds – even worse during this time when we should all be pulling together.

The nightmare I’ve been living is being worried sick that the love of my life was going to die.

About 5 weeks ago, already almost 2 weeks into self-imposed social distancing, Maddie started to cough. At first, it seemed like a simple chest cold. No high fever, no loss of taste or smell, nothing that made me panic.

The cough kept getting worse.

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How Leaders Can Reduce Anxiety and Prevent Panic – by Simma Lieberman

We are still in the midst of a disruptive crisis no matter how “positive thinking police” try to spin it. As the Covid-19 quarantine continues with people working from home, with little or no social interaction, some of your team members may start experiencing a deeper level of anxiety. No one knows when or how it will end or what the “new normal” will look like. That anxiety due to seemingly uncertain futures and not knowing how or when the crisis will end, can cause some people to panic, lose focus about their work and disengage from the team.

With the right strategies you have the power to help yourself, your family and people in your organization to not panic and instead find joy and stay engaged. The actions you take now to increase and sustain connection, community, and inclusion will make the difference between a long re-entry or the shortest one possible. If you want to know five actions you can take immediately, read on.

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From Virus-Suppression to Workplace Return – by Deborah Levine and Cathy Light

How Leaders & Employees
Go from Fear to Optimism:
          One TEAM again

The new norm of work is a challenge for businesses and the workforce. No one is exempt from the challenges we face during this period of isolation.  Even those who are used to working virtually will have new demands placed on them. Teams will be forced to communicate differently and accommodate home-based needs. Team leaders must find ways to collaborate and move forward despite unprecedented uncertainty. Business owners can find themselves in a fight for survival while not only maintaining the ability to restart operations, but implementing creative ways to make that transition. How are we going to manage all this? Continue reading From Virus-Suppression to Workplace Return – by Deborah Levine and Cathy Light

How to Lead Yourself Through a Crisis – by Mary A. Moore

Real life, as we all know, is full of polarities: mountains and valleys; highs and lows; peace and war; happiness and loneliness; success and failure.

Though we, Earth’s human beings, are considered to be the wisest and the most powerful creatures on planet, there is a domain of control that we are incapable of. That domain is the control over the physical world. An Earthling like you and I can only control his or her inner self but not external dominions such as the direction to which the wind blows and where the current underneath the oceans flow. When the Earth sways and quakes rig off houses, when the sun blows its fire onto barren lands, we humans get physically hogtied and pushed to derangement IF WE ARE NOT WISE.

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Pandemic Thoughts – by Robyn Lebron and Sridhar Rangaswamy

A Light in the Darkness – by Robyn Lebron

Fear of the unknown is very common; something we’ve all experience, I’m sure. I remember when my daughter was leaving a 200-student middle school, and going to a 2,500-student high school. She was terrified that she would be “lost all the time” until I reminded her that her favorite mall was twice that size, and she was never lost there!

The “little child” in us rears it’s head when situations arise that we feel unprepared for. But as we pass through the eye of the storm, something miraculous happens! When human beings are faced with difficult situations, they rise to extraordinary heights! The spirit inside us blossoms and we become the beings we are meant to be. The sight of another person or community in need erases all those childlike fears, and we expose our “superman” uniforms!

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Remembering: A Woman’s Life Well-Lived – by Judy Kimeldorf

Reflecting at 80

Judy Kimeldorf was born in 1940 and witnessed or participated in world-changing events from the erection of the Berlin Wall to Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream” speech, and now the disappointing step back into nationalism and fascism. She spends her time in retirement on community projects including Food Banks, monthly standing out with Trump-GOP protest placards programs, coordinating a program providing back-to-school supplies for limited income families, and guiding her local home owners association. I (her husband of 40+ years) invited 50 of her close friends to celebrate her 80th birthday. Judy and I celebrate  birthdays by remembering and reflecting, and this year, Judy recalled experiences shaping her life across 80 years. This piece is built from that speech and contains lessons for us all about balancing our fears and disappointments with our hopes and blessings.
~
Martin Kimeldorf

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Bias: Diversity and Inclusion Trends 2020 – by Soumaya Khalifa

D&I – Intentionality

It’s exciting to start a new year and a new century with the hopes that this year will be better and offer many opportunities.  The work in Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) must be intentional and not a one-time activity to check-off the box. Successful organizations in the field tend to have D&I as part of their organizational DNA just like safety.  Some trends for this year include: intentionality and understanding for the business case for D&I, increase in unconscious bias awareness, and the expanding of the Muslim ban on its impact in the workplace. 

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Educating Tomorrow’s Spenders – by Dr. Beth Lynne

College loans, credit cards, mortgages—they all add up to a lack of disposable income, and worse yet, with the possible social security shortfall predicted by the year 2034, no extra funds to put away for retirement, so today’s high school students run the risk of not having enough money to live on through their golden years. Even worse, they may find it difficult to support themselves and their eventual families. It is difficult to predict what will happen to our economy, but if today’s high school graduates learn to arm themselves financially, they can live a comfortable life with a soft monetary cushion.

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