Wow, wow, wow. This guest. Her mission… Brit Barron is the co-founder of Other Dreamers Culture Consultants and  a speaker, writer and diversity and inclusion trainer. Brit spends a lot of time thinking about and talking about how race, gender and sexuality and spirituality interact with our everyday lives and our work. Brit is obsessed with finding new ways to connect people and things that have been told they should not go together. She has a bachelors and masters degrees in psychology and is probably already analyzing me as I type this!

Brit has spoken all over the country, she has a TED talk about Beyonce and race in America and she is ready to share her expertise with you! I was introduced to you by the women dynamo Emily Sexton (remember her LIFE CHANGING episode?!). Emily consulted Brit to ensure that her business was casting a wide net and ensuring that every woman felt heard, seen, and valued. And wow, is Brit the perfect person for the job! In this episode you will learn how to easily cultivate a network of connection and support, pioneer change and inclusion in your workplace (…and your life!), find genuine community, tackle the “hard” topics, and how to truly live a life that exemplifies “community over competition.” You in?

HER JOURNEY:

Brit’s journey has many twists and turns but she describes them with such eloquence and perspective. Brit grew up in a very religious household and community, and was confronted with the fact that she did not fit the “mold” of the typical Christian… and she had to make a choice. Hide who she truly was in her soul, or choosing freedom. Brit’s story of being fearlessly herself (and allowing others to do the same) is truly remarkable and something you can’t miss.

EMBRACE AWKWARD CONVERSATION:

So how did Brit take her personal experience and turn it into a career? “There’s a really great movement happening, where inclusion is being discussed.”, and she wanted to be charging the movement forward. Brit was the first to admit that “no one changes when they’re comfortable”, and we all have to be willing to embrace the “grey” area of change.

There is a resistance to even get into a hard conversation because you are worried about WHAT you might have to deal with emotions… and hard realities of the world. For someone to say “I see the world this way… and you see it differently” can be very disorienting because now, what is your next step? And Brit wants to help clarify what it means to be inclusive, open, and progressive in 2018. One thing I loved is Brit’s tangible steps to fostering awkward (but PRODUCTIVE) conversation on hard topics!

2 SURE-FIRE WAYS TO HAVE A PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATION:

1) “Come into a conversation and be proud of who you are”
2) 3 words to instantly make an intense conversation into something productive: “help me understand”

UNITING PEOPLE OF DIFFERENT PEOPLE:

“At the end of the day, we are BETTER TOGETHER than separate. Governments with more women involved have higher rates of peace. Companies with higher amounts of people of color in leadership, do better economically because they reach more markets… so yes, we are better together. But first, we have to deal with why those people weren’t at the table to begin with.” Simply put, Brit knows her stuff. She is an expert on inclusion: from her unique personal perspective to statistics all the way to tangible action steps, Brit is reminding us every day that “people matter.” Always, and in all ways.

This. Woman. Boundary-breaking, unifying, inspiring… every possible positive adjective I could write. She is something so rare and the way that she talks about things that matter is so inspiring to me. Goal Diggers, the magic in this episode could change your life- and I know I always say this, but you cannot miss it. Like really, click “play” now. Okay? Okay 🙂

WATCH BRIT’S “FREEDOM OVER FEAR” VIDEO HERE (…grab the kleenex)

TODAY’S SPONSOR:
SKILLSHARE