Stop Being the Best Kept Secret (R)

Dr. Ron Stotts has spent most of his life studying how people reach higher states of awareness, and today he coaches founders and senior leaders. He and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about why the empathy many leaders showed during COVID-19 is fading, and where a leader has to start to get it back. They also compare how Boomer, Gen X, and Gen Z leaders show up, and how a coach works with a leader who resists change.
About the guest: Dr. Ron Stotts is an executive coach who works with founders and senior leaders. He holds a PhD in psychology, has taught meditation for more than four decades, and is a three-time bestselling author.Website: https://ronstotts.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-ron-stotts/
In this episode:Why is the empathy leaders showed during the pandemic wearing off now that offices have reopened?What does "integrated whole brain thinking" mean for how a leader makes decisions?Do Boomer, Gen X, and Gen Z leaders differ in mindfulness, empathy, and compassion?How do you coach a leader who believes the old way is what made them successful?Where should someone start if they want to grow their own self-awareness?
Stop Being the Best Kept Secret® is hosted by Dr. Tana M. Session, JD. Thirty years in HR before founding TMS Business Consulting in 2014. Executive coach, keynote speaker, author of four books, and foster care advocate.TMS Business Consulting: https://www.tanamsession.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refreshStop Being the Best Kept Secret®: https://www.stopbeingthebestkeptsecret.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refresh#TanaSpeaks newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tanaspeaks-6772176436947238912/

Dee-Dee Stout has worked in the addiction field for nearly 40 years, and she brings a harm reduction approach to substance use. She and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about why the words we use about addiction matter, why the question to ask is why someone is using, and why she supports legalizing and regulating cannabis. She also shares how harm reduction works for families, and why she calls herself a proud enabler of hope and love.
About the guest: Dee-Dee Stout is an author, professor, clinician, and trainer in harm reduction, motivational interviewing, and trauma-informed care. She teaches in the graduate counseling program at Saint Mary's College of California and has a private practice working with individuals, couples, and families. She is the author of Coming to Harm Reduction Kicking and Screaming.Website: https://www.deedeestoutconsulting.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dee-dee-stout-328b017/
In this episode:What counts as an addiction?Why does Dee-Dee avoid the phrase "substance abuse"?Why ask how come someone is using, instead of blaming the person or the substance?Why does she support legalizing and regulating cannabis?How can families use harm reduction instead of waiting for someone to hit bottom?What does "one day at a time" mean in harm reduction?
Stop Being the Best Kept Secret® is hosted by Dr. Tana M. Session, JD. Thirty years in HR before founding TMS Business Consulting in 2014. Executive coach, keynote speaker, author of four books, and foster care advocate.TMS Business Consulting: https://www.tanamsession.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refreshStop Being the Best Kept Secret®: https://www.stopbeingthebestkeptsecret.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refresh#TanaSpeaks newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tanaspeaks-6772176436947238912/

Wendy Sellers, known as The HR Lady, has more than 25 years in HR and has spent more than a decade consulting for small businesses. She and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, compare notes on how to break into HR, how the pandemic changed HR's place at the leadership table, and what younger employees expect from work. They also take on SHRM's 2024 decision to drop "equity" from its diversity work, and whether HR certifications are worth what they cost.
About the guest: Wendy Sellers is an HR consultant and trainer. Most of her clients are small businesses without a dedicated HR team, and she trains managers on the people side of work, from hiring through termination.Website: https://thehrlady.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/wendythehrlady/
In this episode:Do you need an HR degree to start a career in HR?How did the pandemic change HR's relationship with the C-suite?When should a company run an employee survey, and when should it not?What do millennial and Gen Z employees want from an employer?What did SHRM's move away from "equity" signal to HR professionals?How do the SHRM and HRCI certifications compare?
Stop Being the Best Kept Secret® is hosted by Dr. Tana M. Session, JD. Thirty years in HR before founding TMS Business Consulting in 2014. Executive coach, keynote speaker, author of four books, and foster care advocate.TMS Business Consulting: https://www.tanamsession.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refreshStop Being the Best Kept Secret®: https://www.stopbeingthebestkeptsecret.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refresh#TanaSpeaks newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tanaspeaks-6772176436947238912/

Join me in this episode as I chat with DeWayne Allen, a Black executive working in the engineering and business space for over 25 years. We talk about how there are not a lot of people who look like us in STEM or at executive levels within organizations, which makes it harder to foster diverse talent. This is why mentorship, sponsorship, and having coaches is so important to help build that talent pipeline. As executives in this space, we want to show up for others, help them determine their purpose, and teach the importance of investing in ourselves. Please connect with DeWayne over on LinkedIn, reach out to him through his website, check out his podcast, and subscribe to his newsletter.

Daniel Smith spent 20 years in tech before founding Keepingly, a platform that helps homeowners manage, maintain, and grow the value of their homes. He and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about what it takes for Black families to keep a home and pass it on, not just buy one. They also discuss the housing discrimination cases that made the news in 2024, the funding gap for Black founders, and how to hold companies to the commitments they made in 2020.
About the guest: Daniel Smith is the founder and CEO of Keepingly, which focuses on homeownership sustainability and generational wealth. He writes regularly on LinkedIn about equity and inclusion in business.Website: https://www.keepingly.co/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dopjs1/
In this episode:Why does keeping a home matter as much as buying one for building generational wealth?What do the 2024 housing discrimination stories, including actor Wendell Pierce's, show about how homes are bought and sold?Why is it still so hard for Black founders to raise venture funding?How can employees and the public tell real commitments from performative statements?Why speak up on LinkedIn when staying quiet feels safer?
Stop Being the Best Kept Secret® is hosted by Dr. Tana M. Session, JD. Thirty years in HR before founding TMS Business Consulting in 2014. Executive coach, keynote speaker, author of four books, and foster care advocate.TMS Business Consulting: https://www.tanamsession.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refreshStop Being the Best Kept Secret®: https://www.stopbeingthebestkeptsecret.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refresh#TanaSpeaks newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tanaspeaks-6772176436947238912/

Executive coaching changed the careers of both Aiko Bethea and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, and both found out late that it existed at all. Aiko founded RARE Coaching & Consulting, a leadership development firm with a bench of about 30 certified executive coaches, all of them people of color. In this conversation they talk about who has had access to coaching, what happens when coach and client do not share lived experience, and what it means to bring your whole self to work.
About the guest: Aiko Bethea is the founder of RARE Coaching & Consulting, which offers executive coaching, group coaching, and workplace culture support. Before coaching, she practiced law at a large firm and held a leadership role in philanthropy at the Gates Foundation.Website: https://www.rarecoaching.net/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/aikobethea/Street Lights newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/7072608970804236288/Instagram: @rare_coach
In this episode:Should a workplace adapt to who you are, or should you choose a workplace that fits your values?How do younger employees approach boundaries, asking for what they want, and leaving a job?Why has executive coaching been out of reach for so many first-generation professionals and people of color?What happens when a coach questions a client's experience instead of exploring it with them?How do toxic productivity and perfectionism show up at work, and where do they come from?What did years in litigation do to the way Aiko thinks and relates to people?
Stop Being the Best Kept Secret® is hosted by Dr. Tana M. Session, JD. Thirty years in HR before founding TMS Business Consulting in 2014. Executive coach, keynote speaker, author of four books, and foster care advocate.TMS Business Consulting: https://www.tanamsession.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refreshStop Being the Best Kept Secret®: https://www.stopbeingthebestkeptsecret.com/?utm_source=podbean&utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=podcast-refresh#TanaSpeaks newsletter: https://www.linkedin.com/newsletters/tanaspeaks-6772176436947238912/

Tune into this incredibly important conversation with Ernest Crim III, a public teacher, speaker, and advocate focusing on cultural empowerment and educating everyone on Black history. We need to fully understand how to bridge the cultural gap between students and teachers and unpack the biases we may have around Black culture. We talk about the importance of Black Male representation in the education space and how our goal should be to communicate better with each other, regardless of our differences. Ernest shares why we should be reading Black literature and the impact writing has on our culture. Check out his website at ernestcrim.com and find him on social media @mrcrim3. 

Listen in on this insightful conversation with Alison Hall, a Divorce and Business Coach primarily working with women to help them through divorce, both financially and emotionally. She is the Founder of The Boldest Me® and Mind Money Divorce® where she coaches women who are facing major life changes, such as divorce, career change, or starting a business, with the goal of empowering them to reinvent themselves and pursue their personal and professional goals with confidence and clarity. She discusses the need for supportive partners, dealing with an identity crisis, how differences in wage affect heterosexual couples, difficulties faced by single parents and much more. Make sure to listen to her top financial tips for women in relationships. Remember to advocate for yourself!
If you have any questions, you can reach Alison at: alison@mindmoneydivorce.com. 

Tune into this incredible conversation with Kim P, a passionate Anti-Racism Educator, DEI facilitator, and disruptor. She talks about the importance role white folks have as allies to BIPOC individuals, especially during these times of turmoil and uncertainty. We discuss the responsibility of an ally and why acknowledgment is key in order for folks to take accountability for creating such a society. The goal is not to feel guilty, it is to understand that we are all human. Whether or not you are impacted by racism, the truth is that it exists and you can choose to care about it. This is the work we need to do for our future generations. 

Join in on an invigorating discussion with Paul Ladipo, DEIA advocate, LinkedIn content creator, CEO of Critical Conversations Consulting, and professional Status Quo Disruptor. We talk about the importance of DEIB work, why it matters, and what it means for everyone. We discuss our hopes to build a better future for the next generation and how we need to learn to understand by practicing emotional intelligence and maturity. Let's keep having these conversations! Follow Paul on LinkedIn and turn on your notifications so as not to miss a post!