What is the mission of your business/organization?
Mindset Strategies is a woman and minority-owned leadership development firm that specializes in supporting companies and their employees to become more equitable and inclusive with a culture that fosters growth and engagement for marginalized identities.
What is the story behind your business’ success?
Mindset Strategies is successful because of the amazing companies and clients we have the opportunity to work with. Honestly, we couldn't do our work without them. The fact that they also believe in the importance of bringing more women of color to higher level leadership positions is power. They know that this will only support the growth of their business.
Can you offer one piece of advice to other business owners?
The one piece of advice I would give to business owners is the importance of building your network and building relationships. I would also add knowing you financial statements and being well versed in the finances of your business. Know your numbers!
What products or services do you offer?
The services that I offer are in leadership development training, mindfulness and emotional intelligence (self-awareness, managing emotions under stress, communication, motivation, values, empathy, compassionate leadership, having difficult conversations). We also offer experiential learning programs that help people better understand their own blindspots through experiencing it. We have a program called When Cultures Meet (WCM), which is an experiential learning workshop where two distinct cultures, each with their own rules "meet" to complete a task. This results in illuminating behaviors that normally would have been under the surface or a blindspot. Additionally, we have the Leadership Institute For Black women in which we help women of color get to the next level in their careers.
What distinguishes your business?
One of the major things that distinguishes our business from others is our leadership Institute For Black Women and in particular our Connections Sessions. Our Connection Sessions is where we bring white men c-suite executives and black women together to breakdown biases, stereotypes and see each other for our common humanity. It is one of the most POWERFUL things we do at Mindset Strategies. The learning, the bonds, and the perspectives that are formed are deeply moving. Both them men and women are inspired to take more action of inclusion, empathy and compassion into their workplace.
How do you define success in your organization?
We define success by the impact that we make in companies and organizations. We measure success by the fact that 30% of black women that have gone through our Leadership Institute have reached the next level in their careers, 95% of the women have increased their confidence level in their organization, and 95% of white men would recommend the connection sessions to a friend.
Why did you start your business? What drives you?
I started my business because of the hardships I had in business. After working in every sector except the government I felt that leadership could be done differently in the workplace. I also felt that leaders could be more supportive and have more empathy and compassion for their direct reports. Thus, I threw myself into leadership training, read dozens and dozens of books, and ended up getting certified in a mindfulness and emotional intelligence. Â I leverage this certification to support the work that I do now and in the Leadership Institute For Black Women.