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In order to coach others, you first have to be able to coach yourself. In this episode, Akua dives deeper into the engagement pillar of her three-step leadership framework. Engaging with yourself, also called self-regulation and management, is key to being able to support others as they explore their own areas of growth and boundaries. 

As a leader, you want to inspire your employees and motivate them to get their work done by making sure they are excited to come to work and problem-solve. Whil…

“...When I'm referring to inclusive leadership, I am talking about leading in a way that acknowledges the individual ideas and perspectives of a multitude of people. This is leadership that fully recognizes and appreciates diversity of thought and perspectives. And it actively seeks out and invites those new perspectives and voices and contributions into how we reach team goals, vision, and mission.”

--Marie Deveaux , Inclusive Leadership Coach

Last Friday, I had a great conversation with Ma…

Executive presence - all leaders want it, but not all know how to get it. Join Akua as she shares pieces of a recent conversation with Executive and Life Coach Kelly Lynn Adams. They talk about leadership, vulnerability and mindset, and how to regulate and manage your emotions to inspire confidence among your coworkers.

Conscious leaders like Kelly Lynn know that leadership starts from within. Kelly Lynn began her journey on Wall Street, climbing the corporate ladder for 18 years before startin…

…”Leaders need to be a lot more targeted when it comes to accessibility considerations... In accessibility considerations, you need to bring the people that you're designing for in to have a conversation about what works for them.”

-- Ngozi Ugoji , Accessibility, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Consultant 

A few days ago, I had a great conversation with Ngozi Ugoji, a diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant who also happens to be a certified Project Manager and qualified Architect. We c…

This episode of the Open Door Conversations podcast focuses on the second step in Akua's three-step leadership framework: the importance of engagement. In addition to self-awareness and setting expectations, engagement is a crucial part of becoming a conscious and effective leader in the workplace.

As a business leader, founder, or executive, sometimes your biggest barrier to engaging with your team is staring at you in the mirror. Find out how your own thoughts, emotions, and existing habits c…

"… If you want to actually have equity be something that's a lifestyle, you need to live out to the simple values that you've set, and then continuously do what you've always known to do. Which is to make sure you humanize the people, keeping the big picture, in sight as well as the small picture."

-- Tayo Rockson , Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Thought Leader

A few days ago, I chatted with diversity, equity, and inclusion thought leader Tayo Rockson. We spoke about pay scales, compen…

If you're interested in learning about a framework that can bring your vision, business, or startup to life, you don't want to miss this episode. It is jam-packed with actionable advice from Tomi Davie (T.D.), who was named one of the 100 Most Influential Africans of 2021 by New African Magazine. 

Harry ‘Tomi Davies (TD) is Collaborator-in-Chief (CiC)’ at TVC Labs, an entrepreneurship support organization in Lagos, Nigeria which he founded. TD is the co-founder of the Lagos Angel Network (LAN), f…

I think we've all grown new muscles in our empathy toolbox. I think we we've learned to be much more empathetic and open to the experience that sometimes, whether it's emotional, physical, mental, we need to take time off and we need to attend to our own mental health needs.

-- Rachel Kanarowski Founder, Year of Living Better

May is Mental Health Awareness month and to commemorate that, we continued our conversation on workplace and corporate wellness with Lauren ‘LC’ Wells and Rachel Kan…

Pausing and reflecting is something all leaders should prioritize. That's why Akua is using today's episode as a recap of the last several weeks as she's talked about the first step in her leadership framework: cultivating self-awareness. Learn to understand better your strengths, weaknesses, interests, and preferences so you can be the most impactful leader possible.  

Founders, leaders, and managers will benefit from listening to all the episodes around self-awareness, but If you don't have t…

… Leadership can be either bad or good. You can be effective at leading people to certain aims, but we want good leadership. Good leadership is leading people towards a goal that has a common benefit.

– Segun Olagunju,  Social impact educator and Leadership development guide.

A few days ago, I had a very interesting conversation with Segun Olagunju about leadership development across the world, the core elements of successful leadership, building leaders across all levels and ages, and muc…