DEI conversations often seem hard and heavy. This year during our annual staff retreat at TGR Foundation, we were joined virtually by Farzana Nayani, a recognized Diversity, Equity & Inclusion specialist, Intercultural practitioner and author of Raising Multiracial Children: Tools for nurturing identity in a racialized world. Her presentation was a refreshing look into DEI and her personality made it easier to think about and engage in dialogue around practices that can help us all understand and grow together.
Seeing her passion and smile throughout the session changed the atmosphere even though we were all in separate rooms. I loved how she provided specific examples, personal stories and practical tips that we can implement with ease. While addressing a topic that can be easily be "preached," she opened the door for engagement and encouraged it. I think anyone who did not gain value from the session wasn't paying attention. Although there were several valuable insights, I wanted to share four tips and quotes from Farzana to help you lead with a DEI Mindset.
Read MorePerformance reviews are usually a requirement at every stage of your career. Sometimes they are effective and useful and other times a matter of protocol and waste of time. Because I love giving and receiving feedback, performance reviews are exciting to me. They allow me and my supervisor uninterrupted time to talk about me and how I can be better in my role.
If you haven’t had your mid-year review, answering the following questions will help you prepare. And if you’re reading this after your review, connect with me in the comments or on social media to share what you would add or wish you’d read before it happened.
You should always prepare for your review with your supervisor by assessing your performance honestly through honest self reflection. If there’s a rubric in place that your supervisor will use, it’s best to sit down in advance of the day or week before your review to truly analyze your performance. By doing this you can be proactive in identifying wins and losses, strengths and weaknesses and areas for improvement. It can also prevent you from facing surprises and give you something to compare your scores to. By answering the following questions you can also gauge your overall fulfillment and growth in your role, which I find to be beneficial at any stage in your career and multiple times per year.
Read MoreAs a student in college and grad school, I always dreamed about the days I would dress up for work and walk into my workplace feeling like a model on a runway. Clear a path and cue the music....
When I started my journey as a full-time professional, I was excited to strut in the office with heels each week, and I did! I knew my feet would be elevated most days of the work week, but early on I would stand in my closet staring at all my apparel options changing my mind countless times or wishing I had more. After repeating that cycle for many months in the beginning of my career I thought back to grade school where uniforms were required and the most variety of options were purple or white top and pants, capris, skirt or skort. I would have fun dressing up our uniform with shoes and accessories. After analyzing my style and options based on the clothing I already had, I adopted a strategy to help me narrow my options and spend less time deciding what I would wear, whether I was preparing the night before or the morning before work. Since adopting it I continued until we reached remote work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and it helped tremendously. My work life uniform options work for me. Follow the steps below to create your own.
Read MoreMay 15th will mark three years since I began my journey at Tiger Woods’ nonprofit organization, TGR Foundation. In those three years a lot has changed in my personal and professional life. Living in California and working for a professional sports team was once a dream, and although work life looks a little different than I imagined it would, I’m grateful for the experiences, lessons and relationships I've built since I joined Team TGR.
While it's pretty cool to work for one of the world's greatest athletes, the impact the Foundation makes in the lives of students and educators is what I love most. It's been a great honor to tell their stories and shine a light on the great programs and resources we offer, especially as we celebrate 25 years since Tiger launched the Foundation in 1996.
Today in advance of my anniversary date, I'd like to share some of the most significant memories and experiences I've had throughout my career at TGR Foundation, starting with meeting Tiger Woods.
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