IM39: Speaking Truth to Power & Surviving Retaliation in the Workplace with Dr. Kim McLear

Dr. Kim McLear: Foreign M,

Archita Fritz: this is Archita. Uh, we are introducing impact moments, actionable insights that highlight the best and powerful learning moments and wisdom from M our past episodes of incredible guests. In this highlight reel, you'll hear leadership lessons from a combat veteran taking action to be anti racist, mastering workplace negotiations, leveraging your uniqueness for success. We'll take a topic and break it down in a short, snappy episode. Uh, so click on the link in the show notes to continue listening to these impact moments with our amazing guests.

Host: Can you tell the audience a little bit about how you earned the title whistleblower and how you feel about that label whistleblower? Is that something that you wear as a badge of honor or is that something that kind of holds a negative connotation in your mind?

Dr. Kim McLear: Yeah, that's a great question. That's a common question that I get. And unfortunately, the term whistleblower has a certain stigma that's carried with it. But, um, I personally am not, uh, offended if someone refers to his whistleblower, because that would be correct. So I'm certainly proud of that because to me, whistleblowing is really about having the courage to do what is right. And so that's not a dishonorable thing to do. It's actually an honorable thing to do. And also just the, uh, legacy of where did whistleblowing come from? And it dates back to the foundings of our country, 1777. And a lot of people actually don't even know that the first whistleblowers in the United States were actually the Navy. So whistleblowing actually has a sea service heritage in terms of making sure that we don't have abuse of power and to make sure that regardless of your rank and status, that you're not going to use that power to then abuse and harm other people. So without the protections to make sure that when people come forward, they're not going to be retaliated against, then that's how corruption continues to perpetuate. That's how harm continues to perpetuate. So I'm certainly, uh, proud that I had the stamina and the grounding and the support to do what was right. There was another label. I think truth teller is also an accurate term as well. And I've been in a Coast guard for about 18 years, and I certainly did not join the Coast Guard to be a whistleblower. I joined the military to serve my country and to serve the American people. And beyond that, just to be a good human being and doing my part to make the plan a little bit better for Me, this is just consistent with why I even wanted to serve in the first place. And I think that very few people are able to really demonstrate that level of integrity where words do matter, actions matter, lives matter. And, uh, so I really take all of those things to heart. So for me, I'm incredibly proud and I certainly have a lot of bumps and bruises along the way, but it's been a journey. And thank you for elaborating a little bit more in my bio as well. With different degrees and experience that I have. And unfortunately, in whether it's in a military environment or corporate environment, higher education environment, sometimes your professional competencies, especially if you are of color, if you're female, LGBTQ and so on, that can really be threatening for some organizations. And oftentimes bullying actually manifests in ways where it may not appear that it's. That it's happening on the surface, but essentially, if someone is insecure and they also happen to have power, then they can exert their power through their insecurities to cause harm simply because they're uncomfortable that you have a PhD and maybe they don't or whatever the variables are. It multiple years of being bullied certainly has had an impact on my self esteem, my sense of dignity, my sense of worth. So for me, speaking out to be a whistleblower was really encapsulating all of that to really just take a stand to say I matter, we matter. And we shouldn't shrink because someone else is uncomfortable with our PhDs, or our degrees or our accolades or just our authenticity, just our audacity to just have natural hair. So for me, it's really all just intertwined about having the audacity to be your full self.

Host: I love the way you phrase that. Having the audacity to be your full self. Those are pretty powerful words. And I think, uh, as we think about all the different types of people we have in the world, I think the folks that end up in the minority, whether it's due to your gender or your sexual orientation or the color of your skin, sometimes it does feel like just to show up as your natural born self, you have to have the audacity to challenge your environment just so that you can live comfortably in your own skin. It takes a tremendous amount of strength every day to. To fight those battles. So let me ask you this. You have obviously taken some bold steps, steps in the name of justice and truth. And that in and of itself must come with a fair bit of anxiety and fear and especially in your particular circumstance, just to give the audience A little bit more information. So you observed some things in your organization that did not sit well with you, and you spoke up about it and you kept speaking up and you kept standing up all the way to speaking in front of Congress about what was happening and, uh, what needed to change in order to better the organization so that more people could show up as their authentic selves. How did you manage that anxiety and that fear as you were going through that?

Dr. Kim McLear: Yeah, I'm not sure. I'm not sure, to be honest. So this was the sort of that specific part of the timeline we're talking about from, um, 2014 through really present time. I, uh, think retaliation, uh, when you're still in the organization, it never really goes away. It just evolves into more social isolation and, uh, slandering of your reputation and things like that. But, uh, for me, I initially spoke up and spoke out, utilizing the organizational processes for my own survival. I couldn't breathe. And I was simply just trying to shout out to let folks know I need to breathe because I'm dying. And, uh, so for me, I think that I wasn't concerned about the anxiety because I was already experiencing so much anxiety and also depression and other things just from taking the daily pounding of the workplace, uh, abuses. And I intentionally used the word violence. And it was psychological violence that was inflicted upon me every single day. And I had to make a decision, uh, every morning when I woke up, what's today going to be like? And essentially how mitigate or avoid this psychological violence I know is going to happen. So for me, once I got to a position where I knew that I wasn't only speaking out for my own survival, I wanted to also speak out to address the system itself, to address why is this same system harbored so many people, yet the same system is also protecting and promoting other people, namely perpetrators, and kind of tapping into my systems engineering and just who I am as a human being, I wanted to do my part to try and break that cycle, to address the root of those issues. And so for me, it wasn't really about fear anymore. And even testifying, uh, before Congress, I remember when I got the call, the request to testify, I didn't even hesitate. To me, it wasn't even anything to question or think about. I just knew in my spirit, how could I not tell, uh, this story? Because my story is not just my story. This story is also the story of my ancestors. It's also the story of my grandmother. It's a story of my siblings. It's a story of so Many friends and loved ones that I know and so many people who I don't know. And I always tell people, uh, I'm lucky because I'm still here. And there's so many people who tragically have died by suicide. And so, again, testifying before Congress was not a fearful thing because it was just the right thing to do. And I just was really centered on how can I do my part to help others. And if telling my story in front of, uh, two joint committees was going to help someone, maybe save a life down the road, it was a no brainer for me. And if I can just elaborate for a quick second, specifically on fear, I also really love this quote by Audre Lorde. And it reads like this. She says, when I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid. And that just resonates with me every single day. I honestly don't think about fear. I don't think about. I don't give fear that much power in my life. I just feel tremendously blessed and lucky. I have air in my lungs, and I'm going to use that air in my lungs to keep, uh, vocalizing my story. Because again, it's not only my story. It's the story of so many other people.

Host: Kim, I can't express. I wish you could see me right now. All of the hair on my arms are standing up. Um, I have chills from what you just said. And I'm gonna ask you to repeat that quote again because I think there are so many people out there today that are paralyzed by fear and are having a hard time overcoming it. So I just, I'm just going to take a breath and I just want you to read that quote again.

Dr. Kim McLear: Yeah, absolutely. And I don't know if I was always completely, like, vesperless when I was a kid, but, uh, here's the quote. It's by Audre Lorde. And she says, when I dare to be powerful, to use my strength in the service of my vision, then it becomes less and less important whether I am afraid.

Host: Just beautiful. I feel like I'm gonna put it on a sticky note and attach, uh, it to my computer so I can

Dr. Kim McLear: look at it every day.

Host: Because I think the fear of doing whatever, not only were you going personally having this mental beatdown, but you had the wherewithal in the midst of that to say, not only am I gonna stand up for myself, but I'm gonna stand up for everyone else around me. That may be too afraid to do it for themselves. And this trend of standing up and doing the right thing is lined in your story. There's so many examples of that that I just feel like is so incredible because sometimes, myself included, we get so paralyzed by our own fear that we lose sight of the fact that we could be the change that we want to see in the world we struggle with. We have the power to. To change it if we're only willing to look past that fear and focus on your vision. Focus on the vision helps you get over the fear. I just love that.

Dr. Kim McLear: Sam mhm.

Archita Fritz: M.