Now Look Inward (with Angela Connor)

Welcome back! It's Season 2 of Now Look Inward with Angela Connor. Angela  created the podcast in June 2020 shortly after the murder of George Floyd. It's just about a year later, and now she's back with "reflections." In this episode you'll hear the perspective of a friend of Angela's which  was shared on a women's panel she hosted and moderated at the end of 2020  as part of her Women Inspiring Women Conference.  It's a brief, yet candid reflection from a Black woman with a black husband and two black sons. She shares how she felt in the midst of everything we experienced last summer and even leading up to now, and how she believes we can move forward. If you'd like to submit a reflection for consideration on the podcast, viist Speakpipe.com/nowlookinwardpodcast.  -- To learn more about host and producer Angela Connor or to connect about the Now Look Inward Consultancy and DEI Services, visit: nowlookinward.com and select "Get Started." Still want more, click here.

In the season finale of Now Look Inward, Angela has a candid conversation with Dr. Lisa Brown, Region Marketing Manager at Volkswagen of America and DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) Practitioner. The topics range from traumatic work environments and the stress they yield, particularly for African-Americans to alleviating toxic workplace experiences and working toward what she calls “organizational justice.” Lisa also offers expert advice and words of encouragement to those in the DEI space or seeking it as a future career path.

In this very short solo-cast, Angela reflects on the aftermath of sharing such a difficult personal experience with racism and bullying in episode 6, and reveals what she plans to do next to help corporate leaders move towards building a more inclusive work environment and taking deliberate yet mindful steps to get them there. She also touches on what to expect from her next guest, Dr. Lisa Brown.

As a woman in the white, male-dominated IT, web development and network administration industries, today’s interviewee has done her fair share of adopting and adapting. As a woman who is also black, that adopting and adapting evolved over the years into something much bigger: constant filtering.In this interview, Danielle Baldwin shares some of her innermost feelings about being unable to bring her true self to the workplace, having white men consistently take credit for her work and even steal her ideas and how she has continued to thrive in spite of it all, even during the low points. Danielle also has excellent advice for corporate leaders on how and why they must place a strong emphasis on and commit to true inclusion. “It is an actual hard series of changes and it never stops,” she says of diversity and inclusion. 

In this solocast, Now Look Inward host Angela Connor opens up about an experience at a company leadership dinner that left her feeling bullied, disrespected and disregarded in a room full of her white male colleagues, none of whom showed any support, or spoke up on her behalf - including the CEO.

In this episode, Angela spends time with DeShelia Spann, Worldwide Marketing Campaign Manager at Lenovo. With a ton of experience in corporate America and within national volunteer organizations, she sheds light on some of what these organizations are experiencing as they too attempt to effectively address systemic racism and support African Americans while facing many of the same challenges as corporate America. DeShelia touches on the importance of having a diverse friend circle, how it has shaped her own life and perspective and why she believes it could very well be a key to creating some of the change needed. In an interview that spans a myriad of topics, you'll hear stories from Angela and DeShelia that will make you think, and that you'll likely bring to conversations of your own.  

Employee satisfaction and opinion surveys are a great place to start for companies really seeking to understand the experiences of employees, particularly minorities. Often overlooked, ignored or written off as diatribes from disgruntled employees, these surveys may hold a treasure trove of data and personal anecdotes outlining issues - some of which go back many years - that reflect company culture. In this solocast, Angela discusses the value of reviewing the data and shares another helpful tip for making real change and ensuring that black voices matter in your organization. Want to reach Angela? Send an email to angela@changeagentcommunications.com. 

In a conversation spanning an array of topics, including the pressure many African-Americans are feeling in the workplace to step up and lead discussions on diversity and inclusion, or educate the masses on what it’s like to be black in America, Angela speaks candidly with Surayyah Harris, MBA –  Senior Director of Digital Activation at a large, global professional services firm. Surayyah speaks from personal experience, shares strong opinions and also touches on how she’s asserting her influence in the organization to create safe spaces for difficult conversations. 

In the first solo-cast, Angela incorporates components of an email received from a listener sharing how unaware she was of the prevalence of racism in Corporate America. This heartfelt, honest admission from a corporate leader who knew racism existed, but had not tied it to the workplace is an important part of creating lasting change. Angela also moves into the stereotype of the ‘angry black woman’ and another relatable story about hurtful assumptions.

In this bonus episode, Angela shares a microaggression she experienced in the workplace back in 2016 that still sits with her today. Angela felt compelled to revisit this incident, which is published on Arianna Huffington's Thrive Global, and share it on the podcast as a teachable moment and raise consciousness around such matters which are common among African-Americans in the workplace. 

In the first episode of Now Look Inward, Angela Connor talks to a veteran HR professional who spent 20 years in HR at a large, global company. In the interview, she shares stories and gives insight into what it’s like to witness racial disparities when you’re trying to be both a liaison for employees while also supporting the management who may be creating issues for employees, particularly African Americans. She also shares what often happened when she tried to educate some managers on how to create a more equitable environment. In a poignant moment, she unveils a truth that isn’t easy to swallow - a turning point that can occur when realizing the best thing to do is encourage an employee to take their talents and skills elsewhere. It’s an eye-opening interview that many African-Americans working in HR will relate to, and may even find themselves nodding in agreement. Please note that for this episode, Angela made the decision to allow the interviewee to remain anonymous so as not to affect her future employment opportunities, and to promote a more open dialogue. 

In the trailer of Now Look Inward, host Angela Connor, Founder and CEO of