Creating a culture of transparency

I am so glad I get to spend this afternoon talking to my friend, Meralis Hood. If you want to talk about education and showing up in a way that really supports an inclusive environment, she is the person to talk to. She is a thought leader with the mission to change the way we invest in professionals who work with our young citizens every day. Meralis is the Vice President and Executive Director of City Year Milwaukee, which helps young people develop into leaders, problem solvers, and more active citizens.

In our conversation, she shares the importance of creating a culture of transparency, naming the values that you want to implement within an organization, and best practices for supporting young people to see their own potential. I know that there’s no way you can walk away from this without being inspired and I’m honored to share this with you today.

Topics in this episode

Convincing yourself and believing that you can achieve, even if you may not have the qualifications on paper
Creating a culture that is built-in, in order to support young people, and setting expectations on staff to perpetuate it.
Modeling the behaviors as a leader that you expect to see from your team
Naming your values.
- What are your values as a leader?
- What are the values you’re leading with and making decisions with?
- Be transparent.
Operationalizing our values so that they trickle down to every piece of the organization.
Questions leaders need to ask themselves:
- What are my priorities right now?
- Who is best served?
- How can I make sure I have the intention I want to have with DEI?
Service as a pathway to a career and to leadership opportunities