Stop Being the Best Kept Secret®

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/

DeWayne Allen has spent more than 25 years in aerospace and defense, moving from engineering into program management, mergers and acquisitions, and business development. He and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about why so few Black executives hold senior roles in STEM, how one Black executive he met at a National Society of Black Engineers event recruited him into Raytheon, and why he has set a goal of helping create a thousand Black STEM executives. They also discuss what mentors, coaches, and sponsors each do, and why he decided to pay for a coach of his own.
About the guest: DeWayne Allen is an aerospace and defense executive from Memphis, Tennessee. He holds a degree in industrial engineering and business from Tennessee Tech University and an MBA, and he has worked in engineering, program leadership, site leadership, and business development at Raytheon, UTC, Collins Aerospace, and RTX. He cohosts the podcast Brothers in Aerospace and Defense with Robert Wesley and writes a leadership newsletter called The Storyteller.Website: https://demalo-ent.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dewayneallen/Podcast: https://brothersinad.podbean.com/
In this episode:How did a Black executive at a National Society of Black Engineers event set the course of DeWayne's career?What was it like for a young engineer from Memphis to start his career in Tucson?What five roles belong on a career "cheerleading squad," and do they need to share your race or gender?Why do some Black leaders hesitate to sponsor Black talent, and how does DeWayne answer that worry?What changes when a senior leader learns that others see them as proof of what is possible?How is coaching paid for by your employer different from a coach you hire yourself?Why did DeWayne start a podcast that explains aerospace to the people who call him with questions?
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/

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/

Ernest Crim III taught public school for 12 years and now uses Black history to educate communities, schools, and companies. He and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about how one college Black history course changed his path, why Black male educators matter so much to students, and why books at home still count in a digital age. They also discuss implicit bias in school discipline and what teachers were never taught about the cultures their students come from.
About the guest: Ernest Crim III, who goes by "your favorite Black history teacher," is a former public school history teacher of 12 years. He speaks to schools, companies, organizations, and churches, trains educators to bridge the cultural gap with their students, and posts Black history videos on TikTok and Instagram as @mrcrim3.Website: https://ernestcrim.com/
In this episode:How did one Black history course keep Ernest from dropping out of college?What does the Sankofa bird teach about reclaiming history?Why do Black male educators matter to students of every background?What does research say about racial pride and how Black children do in school?Why do books at home still matter when children have screens?How does implicit bias shape which students are disciplined?What were teachers never taught about the cultures their students come from?
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/

Alison Hall spent 25 years in corporate America, with a background in finance, before she became a coach for women affected by divorce. She and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about the financial and emotional sides of divorce, the question of identity after a long marriage, and what changes when a woman earns more than her partner. They also cover prenuptial and postnuptial agreements and the money habits that protect a woman before any crisis.
About the guest: Alison Hall is a CPA, a certified divorce financial analyst, and a trained coach with an MBA in finance and marketing. She is the founder of The Boldest Me® and Mind Money Divorce®, where she coaches women through divorce, career change, and starting a business.Website: https://www.mindmoneydivorce.com/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alisonhall-coach-women/
In this episode:How did a finance career lead Alison to coaching women through divorce?Why do most people come out of a divorce worse off than they expected?What is gray divorce, and what does it mean for empty nesters and retirees?Why is identity such a hard question for women after a long marriage?What happens in a relationship when a woman earns more than her partner?Why does Alison recommend a prenup, or a postnup if the wedding has already happened?What should every woman know about her own money, credit, and home?
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/

Kim P is an anti-racism educator who works with white people, including the ones most reluctant to talk about race. She and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about what allyship asks of white people, why acknowledging the problem has to come first, and how her first teaching job in Compton during the Los Angeles riots after the Rodney King verdict shaped her life's work. They also discuss what speaking out online has cost her and why the work lasts a lifetime.
About the guest: Kim P is an anti-racism educator, DEI facilitator, and self-described disruptor. She began her career as an elementary school teacher in Compton, California, and specializes in hidden history. She has run book clubs, weekly live shows, and interviews online.
In this episode:What did Kim sense about racism as a child raised in an era of colorblindness?How did teaching in Compton during the Los Angeles riots change her direction?Why does Kim describe allyship as a verb?What is the difference between having a Black friend and knowing a Black person?Why does she choose to work with the white people who are most reluctant to learn?What has speaking out on social media cost her?Why should white allies avoid deciding for themselves what counts as racist?
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/

Paul Ladipo calls himself a "status quo disruptor," and he writes on LinkedIn about race, equity, and the backlash against DEI. He and Dr. Tana M. Session, JD, talk about performative DEI, why so many Black women are leaving corporate roles to build their own firms, and what lies behind claims of reverse racism. They also discuss emotional intelligence, the parts of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s message that get left out, and why the next generation gives them hope.
About the guest: Paul Ladipo is a DEIA advocate, LinkedIn content creator, and CEO of Critical Conversations Consulting. He has done DEI work in higher education and nonprofits, speaks and trains virtually and in person, and is writing a book.LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/paul-ladipo/
In this episode:What made Paul step away from a nine-to-five DEI job?Why are so many Black women choosing to build their own tables?Why do terms like white privilege and white supremacy provoke such strong reactions at work?How does Farah Harris's book The Color of Emotional Intelligence explain who has had to learn emotional intelligence to survive?Which parts of Dr. King's message are left out when people quote him?What did earlier generations of Paul's family face at work, and what does he want for his sons?Where does Paul find the ideas for his LinkedIn posts?
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/