In this episode of Transform Your Workplace, host Brandon Laws welcomes Dr. Ella Washington, Founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions and author of Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code. Dr. Washington, a DEI expert and professor at Georgetown University, addresses the significant portion of our lives spent working and the importance of finding fulfillment in our work. Drawing from her personal experiences and extensive career, she reminds us that “work shouldn’t suck” and shares insights on owning your story, leveraging strengths, managing weaknesses, and finding your niche in the workplace.
GUEST AT A GLANCE
Dr. Ella F. Washington, author of Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code, is the Founder and CEO of Ellavate Solutions and a Professor at Georgetown University. A DEI expert and organizational psychologist with nearly two decades of experience, she has consulted across various industries.
A QUICK GLIMPSE INTO OUR PODCAST
🔊 Podcast: Transform Your Workplace, Sponsored by Xenium HR
🎙️ Host: Brandon Laws
📋 In his own words: “The Transform Your Workplace podcast is your go-to source for the latest workplace trends, big ideas, and time-tested methods straight from the mouths of industry experts and respected thought-leaders.”
WORK SHOULDN’T SUCK
A significant portion of our lives are spent working. Our guest Dr. Ella Washington noted, “It’s more than a third, given the fact that we’re all interconnected with social media and the internet and emails all the time.” And while many of us aren’t finding fulfillment in our daily work lives, this doesn’t have to be the case. “Work shouldn’t suck,” Dr. Washington claims. “It should be an enjoyable part of our lives.” That’s why Dr. Washington’s work focuses on helping organizations create workplace environments where individuals can thrive.
Inspired by her personal experiences growing up in a single-parent household where her mother loved her career but often hated her job, Dr. Washington is passionate about seeing employees empowered by and walking in their unique strengths.
PODCAST EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
Owning Your Story
“Who we are outside of work has an impact on how we show up at work, right? So we may not be the same exact people. We talk a lot about bringing your authentic self to work, which is a whole different conversation. But you should bring your professional self, which should be a version of who you are, right? And if you’re not clear on who you are — how your identity has an impact on how you show up — it’s really hard for other people to get to know you. […] Many people have spent much of their lives trying to downplay their differences in whatever ways they may show up, so owning your story is the exact opposite of that. It’s understanding how your differences — whether it be your race, your gender, how you grew up, where you grew up, experiences that you had — had an impact on who you are today. All of that rolls into how you show up today.”
Leveraging Our Strengths
“One question I always ask [is] ‘What are those things that you do [where] you get lost in time, you forget to eat, or you look up and it’s been three hours of enjoyment?’ And not trying to paint a picture where everything that we do at work will be just so exciting and bring us joy, but hopefully, if you’re in the right career and your career is aligned with your strengths, you will have those moments of, ‘Oh, I really like doing that. I want to do more of those activities.’ And so those are the things that I would say give you clues of your strengths and only by testing those things will you really understand, ‘Okay, yes, this is a strength.’”
Managing Our Weaknesses
“It’s a mindset shift that we have to have — that we don’t need to try to be good at everything, but we do need to manage those weaknesses that may hold us back from success. And so management of weaknesses can look like putting structures in place to help you to be better at those things or to get partners. I always say that an individual doesn’t need to be well-rounded, but a team does need to be well-rounded. And so understanding your weaknesses helps you partner with the right folks or put the necessary structures in place […] to help you manage those weaknesses, so they don’t get in the way of your success.”
Trying to Fit In
“Code-switching at its core is changing some part of yourself to downplay your identity in order to fit into the environment that you’re in. Usually, it’s for the comfort of the dominant group. […] So, in the workplace, we see this with women, for example, downplaying maybe their feminine characteristics, downplaying maybe the fact they have children in order to fit in, let’s say, with a more dominant male culture. That is one example, but it could be those everyday things that you do, like how you wear your hair or the clothes that you wear. […] The research on code-switching is really, really clear — that people do it because it is a navigation technique, and for many people, it does help them advance. […] However, the research is also really clear that code-switching comes at a cost. It comes at a psychological burden and sometimes even a physical burden. It increases stress and anxiety and burnout in the workplace because it’s psychologically taxing to shift who you are in order to meet other people’s comfort, right?
Making Sure You’re Informed
“For me, when I think about code-switching, I want people to be informed about what they’re doing. So a lot of folks that have been code-switching all their lives, one, didn’t even have a terminology for it. And so one is understanding there’s this thing that I’m doing, and I want to be aware that I’m doing it, so I can decide, ‘Do I want to keep doing it, or is this something I’m actually not comfortable with? It makes me feel bad. It frustrates me.’ And then I need to make a different decision. Maybe I need to lean into my authentic self more, or maybe I need to find another organization. I am not of the belief that there’s a one-size-fits-all approach for everyone. I think you have to make an informed decision, but you can only make that decision if you are informed, if you have the language, and if you have the understanding that you’re not alone — you’re not the only one who has dealt with this.”
Finding Your Niche
“In order to find your niche, you really do have to have a strong sense of your strengths. You have to have a strong sense of your goals. You have to do some of those other skills I talk about earlier in the book. But as you kind of move throughout your career, it’s important for you to find ways to craft your own unique niche in the organization. What’s that thing that you bring to the organization that no one else does? And by the way, if you’re leaning into your niche, you should be connected with your strengths, meaning it’s that thing that you likely do naturally or without too much hesitation. And so [it’s about] understanding what’s important to the organization and understanding what’s important to you as well, and finding ways to marry that.”
LEARN MORE
Grab a copy of Dr. Ella Washington’s new book, Unspoken: A Guide to Cracking the Hidden Corporate Code, on Amazon or wherever books are sold, or connect with her on LinkedIn.