The Power and Potential of Authentic Connection cover art

The Power and Potential of Authentic Connection

The Power and Potential of Authentic Connection

Listen for free

View show details

About this listen

 True connections must first be rooted in trust. In our latest Authentic 365 podcast episode, our hosts Dani Jackson Smith and Delicia Tan are joined by a panel of external experts to discuss the power and potential of authentic connection and how it can help build bridges to partnerships, sponsorships, new opportunities and more. Featured in this episode: Carlos Correcha-Price, Chief Communications and Marketing Officer at eMed Digital Healthcare; Janaye Ingram, Director of Community Partner Programs and Engagement at Airbnb; Donald Knight, Chief People Officer at Greenhouse Software; and Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel, Intellectual Property Lawyer, Partner and Registered Trademark agent at Gowling WLG. Transcript Dani Jackson Smith [00:00:01] It's who you are to work after hours and back at home. Exploring every layer. Finding out what makes you uniquely you. And letting that shine back out into the world. It's authentic. 365 A podcast that takes a glimpse into how some of the most inspiring people among us express themselves and make magic happen. I'm your host, Dani Jackson Smith, VP at Edelman by day, community enthusiast and lover of the people, always. For a global day of belonging, me and my fellow co-host, the newly appointed Edelman, Hong Kong CEO Delicia Tan, explored the power and potential of authentic connection with an all star panel. This conversation highlights the process of building true connections and how to remain authentic as they shift at different phases in your career. Our guests include Carlos Correcha-Price, Chief Communications and marketing officer at Image Digital Health Care. Janaye Ingram, Director of Community Partner Programs and Engagement at Airbnb. Donald Knight Chief People Officer at Green House Software. And Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel, intellectual property, lawyer and partner and registered trademark agent at Gowling, WPLG. Delicia Tan [00:01:21] I'll kick off with our first question. True connections must first be rooted in trust. What are some of the ways that you've worked to build trust with colleagues, partners, or even communities? Perhaps, natalie, would you like to get the ball rolling? Natalie Rizkalla-Kamel [00:01:36] I work as an attorney in an international law firm, and there are so many different kinds of relationships in that environment where building trust and connections are so important. One connection that I do dedicate a lot of time to is building connections with associates who are junior to me. I try not to be just that work provider, but I try to be a mentor by action and not just by name. What I mean by that is, as I was growing up in this law firm, I had those formal mentors that were assigned to me. But then I chose who those informal mentors would be, and those were people that I trusted. And so what I do to try and be an effective mentor is make it known that both my physical and virtual door is always open. I reach out to them for catch up sessions. I get them involved in interesting initiatives and look for ways to advance them by maybe sending a note to management on what a great job they've done or nominating them for awards. Internal and external to the firm. And these kinds of connections are so crucial in such a high stress environment, because you need to feel like you're a part of a team. And it increases morale and keeps people in this field of law where we're seeing the great resignation and so many people leaving. So I do really value and spend a lot of time on that kind of relationship. But what I wanted to talk about a little today is this new way of making connections that I started with two of my partners. We started a LinkedIn newsletter called Taking Up Space. We're three female, diverse partners with seven kids between us, and we all have distinct experiences about being diverse women, trying to make it in our careers, about parenting. And over the years, we noticed there's a lot of obstacles, a lot of struggles and inequity in the field of law. But we really didn't do anything or say anything, and we just wanted to fit in and not really show we're different because we're just sort of grateful to be part of this profession. But we finally had the courage this year to launch this newsletter without getting express permission from our law firm to do it and to just break the silence on being open and honest about the struggles that we faced and continue to face being diverse, female partners in a large law firm. We talk about our successes, but also setbacks and give advice to a younger audience. And I have to say, being transparent and open about our struggles in a profession that doesn't really encourage that was scary. We were worried about backlash from our firm and from the profession as a whole, but we decided that this is what we're going to do as our own personal brand and being authentic and really trying to effect change. And we would go for it, and it's turned out to be a pretty gratifying ...
No reviews yet