BEHAVE

“If I'm not well, I don't listen well, I can't be curious well.” The enormity of injustice can keep the best of us from taking action if we don't slow down + notice what's needed right in front of us. Alfonso + Trina take 15 minutes to talk about how they come back to focusing on their own responsibilities + actions in organizing, activism, + work. They talk about not succumbing to helplessness + staying well enough to be effective. 

“I like being a part of groups that know why they're together and know how long they're going to be together.” Our goal-focused hosts take an episode to talk about patterns around groups + committees in workplaces. When do folks form a group? Do they know their goals, how long they need to exist, who should be a part of the group? Alfonso + Trina share some examples of short + long-term committees inside Team Dynamics, plus they advise a few risks to watch out for. 

“It's important to acknowledge that this wild stuff is happening. We cannot make it small. And we also don't need to decide that the way we feel is how everyone else feels.” Alfonso + Trina talk about how they felt watching a white, militant insurrection at the United States Capitol. They share suggestions on how to hold space for processing national events + domestic terrorism for their workers. And they talk about the importance of telling the truth at work. Truth/Space/Action

“It's not important that we know all the words. What's important is that when someone tells us what words they use we thank them and use those words for them, too.” It's Pride Month! Trina + Alfonso parse out Sexuality, Gender Identity, Gender Expression, + Biological Sex. They also speak into the inextricable linkage between race, gender, + sexuality.  If your workplace is working to support your queer and BIPOC folks, we're offering this BEHAVE Podcast LGBTQ+ Playlist as a refresher and primer for anyone who is curious about how to show up!

“What we're trying to trouble is the idea that there's a singular way to get ready to do any particular job.” Trina + Alfonso talk about their own education + work backgrounds + then get into the actual impact had by having degree requirements included in job postings. 

“A bunch of the workplace norms we practice now in the US were developed in a time when we did very different work.” Our hosts dig into the current conversation around where people need to be in order to do their work. Mental health, care giving, access to consistent technology, + so many more things to consider when planning schedules. Why don't we change behavior when we have data that tells us the way we're doing things isn't effective? Here are some questions to navigate that. 

"There are times when a focus on ethnicity keeps us from understanding the unearned advantages that come with whiteness." Alfonso + Trina dive into how exploring ethnicity can bring tremendous advantages + disadvantages when doing intercultural capacity building work. They name how race + ethnicity mean different things in different countries while reminding us that race is tremendously impactful in the United States. 

“What this would mean is that more people with uteruses are going to die because they don't have access to safe abortions.” Trina + Alfonso respond to the leaked news suggesting that Roe v. Wade could be overturned by the US Supreme Court. They talk about navigating things that have been politicized without telling employees how to vote. Listen to our hosts talk about the vast impact of attempts to control the bodies + behaviors of people. 

“How are we going to thread and embed equity principles?” Trina flys solo but welcomes in Kelly Fluharty to organizational change, equity, + Healthcare. Kelly brings her perspective as a white, middle-class woman working in healthcare in rural Minnesota to talk about how her organization fosters a belief in the possibility of change + how they do work that is org wide. 

Trina + Alfonso welcome Jovan Sage onto the show. Jovan is a guide, healing facilitator, doula, alchemist, plant tender, medicine maker, and has deep experience organizing community.  Sage talks about being Black, queer, & using ancestral growing practices in Savannah, GA. This episode features ideas about how folks can grow their own food, deepen their own self awareness, & learn past ways.  Visit SagesCircle

“Quite often, we experience folks really believing that their workplace culture and habits and patterns are happening to them.” The difference between what we want to do + what we're trying to change is where goals come alive so Alfonso + Trina give some goal setting frameworks. What future do we want to realize together? Is it a change in the mix? Is it a systemic outcome change? Is it a change for individuals around their feeling welcome or that they matter? Embodied Identity House worksheet AskBehave Behave@teamdynamicsmn.com

"Culture change requires community organizing." Trina + Alfonso respond to an anonymous listener question. A white, straight, man who helped move some internal equity work forward at an organization has changed organizations but still feels connected to the work + isn't sure if he should stay directly involved or not. Our hosts offers ways to talk about shared leadership when doing workplace equity work + share some key questions to ask oneself about the role you can + should play at work.  Got questions? AskBEHAVE BEHAVE@teamdynamicsmn.com @BEHAVEpodcast  

“When I make that shift in behavior + thinking, what's next? Not, now I'm done.” Trina + Alfonso share a zippy, lightening round episode focused on continuing to build + learn in equity work rather than wanting to reach a finish line. BEHAVE@teamdynamicsmn.com Ask BEHAVE

“Doing new stuff is uncomfortable… until it's a pattern.” One of the challenges of discomfort is that it can remind us of other kinds of pain, other kinds of trauma, other kinds of fear, and sometimes it can remind us of times we have felt unsafe. Alfonso + Trina share some ways of noticing when we are experiencing discomfort as a lack of safety and reminders of the choices + opportunities those experiences offer.  BEHAVE@teamdynaicsmn.com Ask BEHAVE

“Of course, any time smart women of color put out brilliant content, there is a critique from all angles.” Our cohosts dig into an oft-occurring pattern where conversations centering race are met with a desire to focus solely on economic solutions. 

“We are not subscribing to a false binary where you should be hiring people you dislike.” Alfonso + Trina take questions from listeners + share answers, suggestions, + stories.  Check out our Tools page HERE

"It almost feels like folks with do anything to not talk about race and gender." Can you use your skill at studying the past or picturing the future and notice what's happening in the present? Trina + Alfonso do a zippy episode looking at the ways we get excited to dig into our own marginalized identities but often avoid paying attention to parts of us that aren't marginalized. 

“When we're defending something there is likely something worth defending. But likely not at the scale or with the volume or with the intensity that we want to defend.” Trina + Alfonso dive into the ways some folks equate antiracist with a loss of something they value. They talk about the ways the term 'antiracist' is being used and who is using it. And they discuss how part of anti-racism work is about decreasing our obsession with control of other people and of resources.  Plus, Alfonso talks about the interaction of non-violence and anti-racism Ibram Kendi article - The Mantra of White Supremacy

To start the 4th Season of BEHAVE, Trina + Alfonso each share three areas or issues they are giving some attention as we shift into the new year. 

Alfonso + Trina hop into a snappy episode focused on getting clear on goals when considering how worker's bodies are policed. They focus on an overemphasis on cleavage + dreadlocks in workplace policy. 

"Folks tend to try and think about and imagine all the possible race and gender mistakes." Trina interview Alfonso about the ways workplace leaders try to feel ready for what's coming + how they could shift what readiness really means. They share a futurist tool + name some common mistakes bosses make.

"The old way of doing things isn't producing the results that we want." Trina + Alfonso's new book, Hiring Revolution: A Guide to Disrupt Racism + Sexism in Hiring, is officially on book shelves!  In this episode of the podcast, they share an overview of the what's and why's of the book. Check out these insights + then head to Hiring Revolution Dot Com to buy your own copy.

"It's not knowledge, it's about the ability to think different and act differently." Our co-hosts dig into why + how organizational change work is not about bystander training or a one off seminar to get you ready for every possible scenario. They share five core areas where we have to build muscle in order to build capacity.

"Don't look for the perfect candidate, look for the perfectly capable candidate.” Alfonso + Trina welcome Program Director + Senior Researcher for the Harvard Business School's Project on Managing the Future of Work + The project on US competitiveness, Manjari Raman.  They discuss the recent report released by the Harvard Business school on "how leaders can improve hiring practices to uncover missed talent pools, close skills gaps, and improve diversity." 'Hidden Workers: Untapped Talent' report Also, you can now buy our new book 'Hiring Revolution: A Guide to Disrupt Racism + Sexism in Hiring.'

In this mini episode, Alfonso + Trina spend time on how workplaces could approach finding + welcoming in new workers who have been forced out of their home countries. 

“The reason we need these celebratory moments, is because of the legacy of violence, it's because of the legacy of white supremacy, it's because of the legacy of genocide and colonization and slavery.” Alfonso + Trina are joined by Team Dynamics' Storyteller Alfred Walking Bull to dig into things like Indigenous People's Day + Hispanic Heritage Month. Alfonso share's his relationship to Hispanic Heritage Month as a third- generation Mexican-American raised in Minnesota. Alfred talks about how growing up on a reservation shapes his relationship to time + curiosity. And the trio gets into the ways colonization shows up in the modern, US workplace + offers some ways to take action. 

“Data does not, in face, change hearts + minds.” Alfonso + Trina dig into the various ways we both take in and absorb the latest information gathered from the 2020 census. Alfonso breaks down developmental mindsets + then they both move through how each mindset is likely taking in and pushing out information. 

“There has always been a mixture of pain and celebration at the same time.” Trina + Alfonso take some time to notice what's bringing them joy in work + life. They talk about building capacity to experience joy & the importance of joy in justice work. 

“If I'm being invited in, my comfort may not always be central.” Urban, Rural, and Suburban areas are often pitted against one another politically. Alfonso + Trina take these perceptions about place + share some of their own work on noticing + disruption assumptions. They offer up tools + ways of thinking for folks who want to be in real + right relationship with people from all varieties of place. 

“If you want to diversify your candidate pool across lines of race and gender, you're going to have to diversify your questions.” Trina + Alfonso share a peak at some myth-busting featured in the upcoming 'Hiring Revolution' book. This conversation focuses on the ways a focus on fairness in hiring gets in the way of our goals. 

"I'm in this work to make my life better." With Alfonso out of town, Trina invites podcast producer Levi Weinhagen to have a conversation. They talk about the expectations for do or don't have for white men when it comes to anti-racism and equity work. Levi shares his experiences leading equity work from the identities of a white, straight, cis-gendered man who is raising a daughter. 

“Don't trust your instincts, test your instincts.” With Alfonso on vacation, Trina welcomes friend + colleague Anil Hurkadli. Anil shares his journey of understanding + building a practice of investigating his instincts. They talk about how brains work, the impacts of colonialism on assumptions, and Anil cites influence from the work of Ron Heifetz. You can read the article Anil wrote for Education Week HERE.

“Everybody's attempts to do fair has actually made things way fucking worse.” Trina was summoned to jury duty. Alfonso asks about the jury experience & they dig into the ways race + gender are present & are both talked about and not talked about. Trina shares four prompts to consider from the individual to the organizational. 

“There are people in the United States who have always wanted to do right by us, and they are always overruled.” Team Dynamics' Storyteller is Alfred Walking Bull + he connects with Trina + Alfonso to talk about being Lakota from South Dakota. Alfred shares his lived experience of family structure which leads to a conversation about the assumptions folks make about what family can mean. The three of them dig into the capacity to both learn + unlearn plus power of saying 'I don't know.'  

"Being from a colonized country, you have to learn more about your colonizer than the other way around." Trina + Alfonso welcome Team Dynamics' Director of Client Experience Andrea Pérez-Maikkula. Andrea talks about being from Puerto Rico, what it's like to grow up in a place colonized by the United States and to now live in one of those states. Alfonso + Trina share ways they learned they had assumptions around their capacity to work across geographically different lived experiences. 

“Repair can start when we stop pretending that everything is okay.” Trina + Alfonso begin by reflecting on recent conversations + narratives around Critical Race Theory & the Nikole Hannah-Jones led 1619 project. They dig into why telling truth is so often politicized & what ways folks may be protecting + preserving the comfort of white people. The episodes ends with a focus on how to engage with resistance to Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion initiatives at work.

“Who is doing gay right?” Trina + Alfonso talk about some patterns in workplaces happening to & around LGBTQ employees. They share some do's and don'ts that can be practiced to disrupt unwanted behaviors and impacts. 

“There's a difference between harming somebody by misgendering them and being uncomfortable about learning how to use pronouns correctly." Trina + Alfonso welcome two guests to this PRIDE month podcast. Jesus Lucero is a community organizer speaking through experiences as a non-binary, pansexual, first generation, Latinx person. Erin Maye Quade is a queer, Black, mixed-race, suburban, millennial, woman who works as an organizer + Advocacy Director.  Together, they talk about the complexity of the LGBTQ experience at work and share some hopes for the short and long-term future. 

“Let’s practice not knowing and being comfortable with not knowing.” This is the kick-off of a series of Pride-themed episodes. Alfonso welcomes new Team Dynamics Capacity Builders Tisa Mitchell and Sam Blackwell onto the show to talk about the ways in which gayness impacts dominant culture inside the company. 

"Assuming a universal experience across lines of race, gender, etc, feels like forcing." Trina + Alfonso dig into some ways to get ready for post pandemic work life by assuming less, and digging into self awareness more. They offer tools for tackling questions like: What if some folks you work with cannot or will not get the vaccine? What’s possible when it comes to where work happens? What are the boundaries + edges?  

“Good news, you’re going to mess up. Better news, you can come back and try again.” Vice President of Capacity Building Tyrai Bronson-Pruitt joins Trina to talk about micro + macro goals when it comes to identity + leadership development. Plus, they share the news that Team Dynamics has a new mini-series starting in July! For more info on the mini-series, head to: http://bit.ly/TeamDynamicsMN2021MiniSeries

“We know that a very real and persistent anti-blackness exists within the US as a construct.” Alfonso + Trina welcome Senior Strategist Pearl Dobbins to the podcast. Pearl shares her experience + learnings on colorism in the United States + its colonies. Trina talks about the way a preference for whiteness encourages a preference for lightness + how that shows up in media.  In this episode, Pearl references Resmaa Menakem + Dr. Yaba Blay as well as many other writers + activists. 

“Folks conflate being nice with being inclusive.” Alfonso + Trina dig into the ways Christian dominant culture shows up in workplaces that may or may not be in our awareness when we are part of that culture. They share some questions to ask + some things they are trying in running their own company.

“Is employee satisfaction with DEI or anti-racist initiatives a good indicator that we’re on the right track?” Alfonso + Trina share their current thinking on what it means to measure progress inside an organization when it comes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion work. 

“Any kind of body can perform masculinity.” Trina + Alfonso dig into the ways that current US workplaces demonstrate a preference for behaviors associated with masculinity. Alfonso asks Trina to unpack her experiences with performing masculinity in a female-body, and Trina walks Alfonso through a game to identify how to understand the ways masculinity + femininity are expected + received. 

“The preservation of white people’s comfort is not a good goal.” Alfonso + Trina have almost completed co-writing their book, 'Hiring Revolution: A Guide to Disrupting Sexism + Racism,' & take this episode to share what it's been like writing something together amidst a global pandemic, racial uprising, + the many other dynamic changes happening in the past year. 

“The idea that time is neutral is only true if we don’t get really judgey and hierarchical about how other people relate to time.” Trina + Alfonso dig into concepts of and relationships to time. They talk about ways folks are taught about time and how identity plays a role in how folks are viewed around time. And Trina shares her clarity around the difference between being timely + being timeful. 

Alfonso + Trina talk about how they felt watching a white, militant insurrection at the United States Capitol. They share suggestions on how to hold space for processing national events + domestic terrorism for their workers. And they talk about the importance of telling the truth at work. 

What are we building from and what are we building towards? Trina + Alfonso share some of where they’re building from as they walk towards a new calendar year. They dig into the idea of not just taking things apart but building upon what's come before. And Trina shares the importance of specificity while Alfonso reflects on some ways he's slowing down in his work. 

A 30-minute workshop pulled right from the content we at Team Dynamics share with our clients. Trina + Alfonso talk through the ways our identities are always impacting our workplaces. 

“I might be experiencing marginalization or inequity, and I might be reinforcing it at the same time with how I think or how I behave.” Trina + Alfonso take this episode to share some of the ways' they're currently doing their own self-awareness work around some of their identities. Alfonso talks about doing deep-reading to connect with his Mexican-American identity. Trina talks about work she's doing to continue deepening her relationship to her whiteness, while also sharing her ongoing complex relationship to the #Metoo movement.