Interview Edition: Hope Is Not a Strategy. with Qiara Suggs, Chief People Officer

1 - > SPEAKER_01: Welcome back, Career Conquerors. 2 - > Look, I am so excited as you probably heard in the intro. 3 - > We are being joined by a personal hero, Kiera Suggs. 4 - > She is the Chief Human Resources Officer of TECU.

5 - > I look, beyond her title, I'm going to tell you something 6 - > about this amazing woman. 7 - > First of all, if you are in the Houston metro area at all, she 8 - > is everywhere. 9 - > She's, you know, the Houston Business Journal. 10 - > She's at all kinds of women empowerment lunches.

11 - > She gives back to the community as well as hasn't a very 12 - > impressive career. 13 - > And uh I'm just so fortunate that she and I have been able to 14 - > connect and we have this great, cool, collaborative 15 - > relationship. 16 - > And I'm just so happy to have her on the show. 17 - > So, Kier, welcome to the mic drop.

18 - > How are you doing, my dear? 19 - > SPEAKER_00: I'm doing so awesome. 20 - > Just it's awesome to be in good company. 21 - > So thank you for giving me this opportunity.

22 - > I really appreciate it. 23 - > SPEAKER_01: No, this is great. 24 - > You you have a really cool story to tell. 25 - > And I think one of the things we always want to try to offer our 26 - > community is just a no-nonsense look at what does it take to be 27 - > successful, defining what your type of success really looks 28 - > like, because everybody's path is a little bit different.

29 - > And let people understand that where we are right now didn't 30 - > happen overnight. 31 - > And it didn't happen alone, usually. 32 - > There's a lot of people that kind of helped us get to where 33 - > we're going to be. 34 - > So let's jump right into it, right?

35 - > So you are the chief human resources officer for the 36 - > largest credit union in Houston. 37 - > And I think you guys like the fourth, fourth largest in Texas. 38 - > I'm impressed. 39 - > Listen, I try to learn about my heroes.

40 - > That's what happens. 41 - > And so that's a massive, massive undertaking. 42 - > And just saying that you manage human resources for the 43 - > organization really does not do justice for all the things 44 - > you're asked to do. 45 - > Like most of us were asked to wear multiple hats.

46 - > So kind of talk about what your remit is, what it is you do, and 47 - > what brings you joy every day when you go into the office. 48 - > SPEAKER_00: Well, that's such a good question. 49 - > And thank you for doing your research because when most 50 - > people think about TDECU, they wonder what credit unions do. 51 - > And I have to tell you, coming from various industries, the 52 - > credit union space is a hidden industry.

53 - > And I wish I would have learned about it a long time ago. 54 - > And it's because we are in the business of impacting people's 55 - > lives. 56 - > And one of the reasons why I chose TDECU is because from a 57 - > values perspective, I firmly believe in helping people 58 - > transform them their lives just like others have helped me. 59 - > And I see you doing that, Jasani, and the way that you 60 - > create these various platforms.

61 - > But um, so my my role is chief human capital officer, and the 62 - > short end of what I do is I make decisions that impact people's 63 - > lives on a daily basis in a positive way. 64 - > And so I have sort of a non-traditional role where I 65 - > oversee human resources, corporate real estate, I've got 66 - > enterprise strategy, enterprise project management. 67 - > And the list goes on and on, but it's not about having this broad 68 - > spectrum of work. 69 - > My passion and desire has always been to impact folks in a way 70 - > that allows me to be in a non-traditional position.

71 - > Right. 72 - > And so as chief human capital officer, I actually have the 73 - > pleasure of working with some amazing people. 74 - > My CEO is such a blessing where he gives me the autonomy to make 75 - > decisions independently, but there's a lot of work that comes 76 - > with carrying that burden. 77 - > But I work across a team of peers that continue to be 78 - > lockstep in everything that we do.

79 - > But most importantly, every single one of my direct reports 80 - > down to my individual contributors are amazing. 81 - > And they too have the autonomy to make decisions that impact 82 - > our organization from a people perspective. 83 - > It doesn't matter if you're an HR or not. 84 - > Everyone knows that we are the heartbeat of the organization 85 - > and every decision that we make impacts our employees, which 86 - > then translates to our members.

87 - > So it's a blessing. 88 - > I have had a non-traditional um path in this space that I'm in, 89 - > but I love it. 90 - > And there's a story to be told about going a little rogue and 91 - > finding your space in your perfection. 92 - > So yeah, that's a little bit about what I do.

93 - > SPEAKER_01: So let's jump right into the aspect of, you know, 94 - > how you got here, your path to where you are, um, and and the 95 - > and some of those key moments, right, that that had you, that, 96 - > that brought you with you to where you are right now. 97 - > So I always talk about the power of networking, the power of 98 - > collaborating, the power of finding a mentor and things like 99 - > that. 100 - > So, how have those elements impacted your career in terms of 101 - > like getting to where you are right now, and it wasn't 102 - > recognizing that it's not a solo game?

103 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, everything that you just said. 104 - > So I firmly believe in having a village, both personally and 105 - > professionally in life. 106 - > And so you mentioned mentors, there's advocates, there's 107 - > decision makers, there's community leaders who can 108 - > further influence your path in life. 109 - > And I wouldn't be where I am had it not been for individuals 110 - > taking a chance on me.

111 - > So I'll tell you early on when I started my career in HR, I had a 112 - > chance to experience an internship with Burnett 113 - > Staffing. 114 - > And most people know Sue Burnett. 115 - > She is one of the largest woman-owned business staffing 116 - > agencies in the greater Houston area and beyond. 117 - > And her firm belief is giving people a chance.

118 - > And had it not been for her and her team giving me a chance back 119 - > when I was at University of Houston Houston over 20 years 120 - > ago, I wouldn't be where I am. 121 - > Yes, go. 122 - > I drink the U of H Kool-Aid, and thank you for representing U of 123 - > H on your shirt today. 124 - > SPEAKER_01: But it's just Again, doing my homework.

125 - > Doing my homework, I do what we're talking to. 126 - > SPEAKER_00: Thank you. 127 - > That matters. 128 - > But it's folks like Sue who make a difference in the world today.

129 - > And I've taken that on myself with ensuring that I give people 130 - > a chance. 131 - > So I've had challenges throughout my career where I've 132 - > tried to figure out what I wanted to do. 133 - > So I sort of fell into HR because Burnett Staffing 134 - > introduced me to what that looked like in the healthcare 135 - > space. 136 - > And then I also had others, when I got into healthcare, I would 137 - > say, hey, I want to learn a little bit more about this role 138 - > or what you do in your role.

139 - > And folks would say, All right, come under my wing. 140 - > I'll let you sit into these conversations. 141 - > Or others have said, you know what? 142 - > I'm gonna bet on you and I'm gonna allow you to work in this 143 - > position or work on this project or take on a little bit more 144 - > because I know your potential or I see your potential.

145 - > And again, I had to believe in my own potential, and others had 146 - > to give me those opportunities to be able to flex some of those 147 - > new muscles to navigate my career. 148 - > So it's been an exciting journey. 149 - > I've gone from individual contributor now to an executive 150 - > level role, and I certainly am intentional with ensuring that 151 - > whether you're an individual, you're a manager, or up through 152 - > the executive level, you too have that opportunity to flex 153 - > some new muscles and to try something new to expand your 154 - > scope and responsibilities.

155 - > SPEAKER_01: Like you have not been an HR long if you have not 156 - > heard of Subernet, right? 157 - > I think a lot of us owe our careers. 158 - > I actually did a temporary assignment for Burnett staffing 159 - > years and years and years and years ago. 160 - > Um, and so it's funny because, you know, people think, oh, a 161 - > temporary worker or you go through a staffing agency for an 162 - > opportunity and things like that.

163 - > Uh a lot of us got our start that way, right? 164 - > Just to get our foot in the door. 165 - > And I hear that over and over again for people who are 166 - > interested in human resources, like, oh, it's just so hard to 167 - > get in. 168 - > And I warn people all the time, like, okay, be careful because 169 - > once you get in, you can't get out.

170 - > You're stuck, you're kind of stuck, you're kind of stuck with 171 - > it. 172 - > But how important is it for leaders to take a chance on 173 - > people when you see something in them that they don't see in 174 - > themselves? 175 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's a wonderful question. 176 - > And I think when you are in a position of influence, period, 177 - > title or not, it's important that you use that influence for 178 - > good.

179 - > There are so many people in our organization, for example, that 180 - > have so much potential, but they doubt themselves because maybe 181 - > they're in their comfort zone and they've been accustomed to 182 - > more of a traditional career path than one that is less 183 - > traditional. 184 - > And at TDECU, we're very intentional with showing people 185 - > how to not only navigate your career in a maybe a traditional 186 - > way, but also to expand your scope and look at a career path 187 - > that can sort of take you from one function to another.

188 - > What's been interesting is that when we have navigated crises, 189 - > which all organizations do, we ask people to lock arms and we 190 - > ask people to sort of step out of their comfort zone and focus 191 - > their effort on the crisis. 192 - > And what we've learned is that there are people that have so 193 - > many skill sets that they didn't even realize they had. 194 - > And they've been able to blossom in a space where, you know, 195 - > maybe they function in a branch, for example.

196 - > But we've got this crisis that needs support over here, and 197 - > they've worked on the technology space. 198 - > We have folks that have now been able to navigate their career in 199 - > a space where they've grown from working in a branch to another 200 - > function that is much more enterprise-wide. 201 - > So to your original question, we we need to help people 202 - > understand their potential, but it first starts with believing 203 - > in yourself. 204 - > So how do you help people believe in their self first and 205 - > then as a leader or as someone of influence, help to foster 206 - > those skill sets in a way that is exposed and it gives people 207 - > an opportunity to do more than what they could even imagine.

208 - > SPEAKER_01: So there's gonna be people who are gonna listen to 209 - > what you just said, and they're gonna be like, okay, here's two 210 - > HR executives, and they're talking this utopian, yeah. 211 - > Give people a chance and all this other stuff, right? 212 - > But there's another side of this. 213 - > There's a there's a side to this where, you know, employees do 214 - > need to kind of step up and make themselves seen and heard, 215 - > right?

216 - > Leaders who have an obligation to look for those hidden gems, 217 - > but at the same time, employees can't just sit back on their 218 - > laurels and expect promotions and things to be handed to them, 219 - > you know, in terms of in terms of doing that. 220 - > And now I was have it's funny, I was having a conversation with 221 - > an employee once, and she had this mentality of, I mean, I saw 222 - > it. 223 - > She had so much potential. 224 - > She had all these things going for her, but yeah, she had this 225 - > mentality care where I'm not gonna do it unless they pay me 226 - > more, right?

227 - > Well, they're not gonna get any free work from me. 228 - > And so that is a bit of a balancing act because let's be 229 - > honest, companies will, whatever you give them, they'll take, 230 - > they'll, they'll use it. 231 - > But at the same time, sometimes you have to stretch yourself. 232 - > You have to let people see you in those bigger roles before you 233 - > get the bigger roles.

234 - > So, how do you coach employees in terms of balancing that 235 - > feeling of really I should do all this extra work for free 236 - > versus let me show them what I can do first? 237 - > You know, that that's kind of a it's kind of a conflict at 238 - > times. 239 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I it's such a it's kind of the loaded 240 - > question, and and I'll start here. 241 - > I tell my kids on a daily basis, you can do anything you put your 242 - > mind to.

243 - > So if if you say you can't, you can't. 244 - > If you say you can, you can. 245 - > And so first you have to start with what am I trying to 246 - > accomplish and where do I want to go? 247 - > So you need to have a clear path and not necessarily depend on 248 - > someone else to build that path for you.

249 - > And that could be getting a new skill set. 250 - > It could be, you know, taking your career to the next level, 251 - > whatever that means, but you have to define it and you can't 252 - > expect someone else to define that for you. 253 - > With that being said, I'll be the first to say that hard work 254 - > doesn't always get you to where you want to go. 255 - > So back to your point earlier, your network is critically 256 - > important.

257 - > And I firmly believe that your network, it shows your net 258 - > worth, right? 259 - > So oftentimes people they try to compare themselves to other 260 - > colleagues and they'll say, I have much more than this other 261 - > individual and they got promoted to X. 262 - > Well, it could be they know the right people at the right time, 263 - > or they've been much more assertive in sharing the skill 264 - > sets that they even think they have, right? 265 - > And so if you're sitting back and waiting for someone to tap 266 - > you on the shoulder, that's not a good strategy.

267 - > You have to figure out a strategy that is going to help 268 - > to differentiate who you are. 269 - > And even if you don't have the skill set, speak to where you're 270 - > trying to go so that people can believe in who you are and your 271 - > potential. 272 - > With that being said, we all work harder than you can even 273 - > imagine, right? 274 - > And so I I tell people all the time, I'm working for every 275 - > penny that I make.

276 - > Plus, plus I need some more, right? 277 - > Because it's a job description, is just that it is a broad sheet 278 - > of paper or a broad description that gives you a general 279 - > assessment of what your role is. 280 - > If you stay within that box, you are gonna remain in that 281 - > position, or people are only going to see you in that role 282 - > because you're saying, well, that's not on my job 283 - > description. 284 - > However, if you're willing to go above and beyond and advocate 285 - > for yourself and show your potential and network with the 286 - > right people, typically your dreams and the possibilities 287 - > come to fruition.

288 - > But it's there's not always a dollar amount associated with 289 - > the hard work. 290 - > Now, you need to know what you're worth. 291 - > And frankly, I'll be the first to say if an organization isn't 292 - > paying you what you think you're worth, you have a decision to 293 - > make. 294 - > And so like either you stay and you continue to hope, which hope 295 - > is not a strategy.

296 - > You have to actively position yourself, or you can be 297 - > proactive and find another organization that you feel is a 298 - > better fit for you. 299 - > There's a mutual, there's a symbiotic relationship in an 300 - > employer and an employee relationship. 301 - > So you've you've got to take control of your career. 302 - > And that means that be active, proactive, and advocate for 303 - > yourself.

304 - > Position yourself to differentiate. 305 - > Do more than your job description. 306 - > And if if you're not in a space where you feel like you're 307 - > receiving what you need and you're giving your all, then 308 - > take the chance and go somewhere else to find another opportunity 309 - > that offers you what you need. 310 - > SPEAKER_01: I that is that is so true.

311 - > I, you know, and it's funny, you you said so many great things in 312 - > that in that uh segment. 313 - > I when I look back at my career, my career where I am right now, 314 - > and of me being able to do the things I do, there's like two or 315 - > three decisions I intentionally made that did not that require 316 - > me to take on more that did not directly lead to compensation 317 - > because mobility, you know, moving moving along your career 318 - > doesn't always is not always a vertical path.

319 - > Sometimes you got to go here and then here, and then you end up 320 - > being here. 321 - > And so it's one of those things where I'm always telling people, 322 - > look, it's like any relationship. 323 - > You know when you're getting used, you know when you're 324 - > getting misused, you know it, right? 325 - > But there is that symbiotic relationship, as you were 326 - > saying, it's it's a reciprocity.

327 - > We're all mercenaries, right? 328 - > Yeah. 329 - > We are where we are because what that company offered from 330 - > compensation and benefits and the total rewards, you know, 331 - > mesh with what we needed, and we had skills that the organization 332 - > needed needed at the time. 333 - > And so right now, there's, you know, like I said, there's a 334 - > give and take.

335 - > But you always have to reevaluate. 336 - > You always have to reevaluate is where I am right now going to 337 - > get me to where I want to be. 338 - > And you hit it so well a minute ago, like you have to have that 339 - > vision because you won't know where you're going. 340 - > And if you're just thinking about that paycheck, if you're 341 - > just thinking about uh, you know, the short term, then 342 - > you're really missing out on creating this beautiful, 343 - > beautiful story called Your Career that can take you places.

344 - > I mean, listen, I am a black man from a small town in central 345 - > Louisiana. 346 - > At the time I was growing up, we probably had 50,000 folks. 347 - > And I have been so blessed in my career to put my feet down in 348 - > almost every continent to meet so many cultures, right? 349 - > And I tell people all the time if my country tale can make it 350 - > happen.

351 - > Yeah. 352 - > There are people way smarter and way more creative than me out 353 - > there. 354 - > You can totally do it. 355 - > But as you said, Kira, you have to be your own career manager.

356 - > You have to figure out what that vision is, and you sometimes 357 - > have to make decisions that will put you on that path. 358 - > SPEAKER_00: I just I want to add a little bit more to that 359 - > because I thank you for sharing your personal story because I 360 - > think what happens is people see where you are and they don't 361 - > necessarily see the struggle that comes in in your journey, 362 - > right? 363 - > And so I I firmly believe that as a professional, you have to 364 - > stay in the driver's seat.

365 - > And so back to the whole mentor, mentee relationship that you 366 - > mentioned, I'll tell you, there was a point in my career where I 367 - > was extremely frustrated. 368 - > And I had, I sort of plateaued and I could do my job like the 369 - > back of my hand, I knew how to navigate my employer. 370 - > Anyone could ask me any question, and I knew exactly how 371 - > to navigate these challenges across the organization. 372 - > And I was talking to one of my mentors in a moment of 373 - > frustration, and I was sort of going through everything that 374 - > was wrong, and yeah, but you know, I continue to get it 375 - > exceeds expectations.

376 - > And here are some of the things that I'm trying to navigate. 377 - > And and they're saying that I'm the epitome of a perfect HR 378 - > professional. 379 - > And my mentee said, or my mentor said, All right, Kira, what are 380 - > you gonna do about it? 381 - > You can either complain or you can do something about it, 382 - > right?

383 - > You can stay and you can sulk or you can do something about it. 384 - > And fast forward, I did something about it. 385 - > I I chose to explore other opportunities because I was 386 - > ready to be challenged. 387 - > I had a vision for where I wanted to go.

388 - > I knew that I could do more. 389 - > And it's nothing against my previous employer, but it was 390 - > important for me to get in the driver's seat and take control 391 - > and then sort of nestle on what does it mean to do something 392 - > about it? 393 - > Right. 394 - > And so I had to elevate my brand.

395 - > I wanted to differentiate. 396 - > I had to be clear and thoughtful in my path. 397 - > So I would just challenge your listeners and for anyone who 398 - > finds themselves in a similar situation. 399 - > One, don't get stuck in where you are.

400 - > Embrace what you're experiencing that moment, but use that energy 401 - > for good and do something about it. 402 - > Don't get stuck in your situation because you're not 403 - > courageous enough to take a chance and bet on yourself and 404 - > stay in the driver's seat. 405 - > SPEAKER_01: There you go. 406 - > So I want to go down kind of a kind of a different path for a 407 - > moment.

408 - > You know, we talked about having to make those decisions. 409 - > And sometimes those decisions are like crazy scary, right? 410 - > They're scary. 411 - > They take us out, take us out of outside of our comfort zone, and 412 - > there's risk and all these other things.

413 - > Because at the end of the day, we all got bills to pay, right? 414 - > We got bills to pay, we got families to support, we got 415 - > dreams to fulfill, we got all these things going on. 416 - > And sometimes the decisions that we make could impact some of 417 - > those, one or all of those things. 418 - > I remember in my career, there was one time uh at a former 419 - > employer where I did not get a promotion that I knew I 420 - > deserved.

421 - > I've talked about this a few times on my podcast. 422 - > It was one of the most frustrating things because at 423 - > the end of the day, they it was a, you know, sometimes in HR, a 424 - > lot of HR organizations are very flat. 425 - > There's not a lot of levels of management. 426 - > So when that those management positions became available, 427 - > you're like, oh, it's really sought after.

428 - > And although on paper care, I it supported these three particular 429 - > business units. 430 - > And over the seven years I had been at that company, I had been 431 - > the HR business partner for each one of those business units. 432 - > And so this management role was gonna oversee it. 433 - > Long story short, I didn't get it.

434 - > And actually, they gave it to somebody who had maybe a third 435 - > of the tenure that I had. 436 - > And no knock to that individual, because he and I are still 437 - > friends today. 438 - > Um he applied, I applied to the Victor goes to spoils. 439 - > But I gotta tell you, I was pissed.

440 - > I was mad, I was frustrated, I was hurt. 441 - > And it was back, it was back in the day before taking a mental 442 - > health date was even a cool thing to do. 443 - > Right. 444 - > Um, back in the early 2000s, it wasn't about I need to take a 445 - > mental health date.

446 - > There was none of that. 447 - > But I took a I took two or three mental health days, and I 448 - > remember I took my badge off, I put my company phone down, and 449 - > when I walked out of the office, I didn't tell my boss. 450 - > So they could have easily got me for job abandonment. 451 - > They could have totally, they could have totally got me for 452 - > it, but I think they kind of knew, and they did give me a 453 - > couple of days to kind of figure that out.

454 - > But over those two or three days, to your point, I had to 455 - > make a decision. 456 - > I had to figure out can I get past this? 457 - > Is this something that I want to deal with and continue to work 458 - > through? 459 - > Or do I put my, do I go look somewhere else and go to another 460 - > organization and things like that?

461 - > And I ultimately did decide to go to another company, no knock 462 - > to the performer employer at all. 463 - > But it was that time in my career when I wanted to manage 464 - > my own HR department. 465 - > Can you talk a little bit about a frustration that you had to go 466 - > through to evolve you into the amazing professional that you 467 - > are now? 468 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I your story resonates so much where I have 469 - > been there and done that.

470 - > And the energy, as much as I'm telling everybody to channel 471 - > that energy at the time, I was in a vulnerable, vulnerable 472 - > space where, you know, my career path looked as if it was moving 473 - > up the organization at the time. 474 - > I'm like, oh, they're betting on me. 475 - > You know, they they see me as that next person. 476 - > All of my performance evaluations are showing that I 477 - > am shining.

478 - > So when that next opportunity opens up, I know they've got me. 479 - > There's no doubt. 480 - > Like they're telling me everything that I need to hear. 481 - > I've asked for constructive feedback, and I'm like, I'm not 482 - > getting constructive feedback.

483 - > They're saying keep doing what you're doing. 484 - > And unfortunately, life doesn't work that way. 485 - > Life is not always fair. 486 - > And I've had a situation exactly what you said.

487 - > The opportunity surfaced. 488 - > I put my name in the hat, went through the interview process, 489 - > sort of saw some red flags through the interview process. 490 - > And if you're an HR, you kind of know like when the organization 491 - > has already decided on someone else, but you still hang on to 492 - > that hope. 493 - > It's just you live in a world when you you sort of know behind 494 - > the scenes what's happening.

495 - > And so it was just being in a space where you know what 496 - > happens behind the scenes and you're the candidate, there's 497 - > still this glimpse of hope where you're thinking, nah, they like 498 - > I am going to be strongly considered. 499 - > All the evidence shows that I'm ready. 500 - > And in this particular incident, I wasn't chosen. 501 - > And I was told that one leader said, You know what, you weren't 502 - > chosen, but I'm gonna take you under my wing and help you get 503 - > to where you need to go.

504 - > You'll You'll be considered next, and essentially. 505 - > What I've learned is every no is a yes for somewhere else. 506 - > And it was because of that incredibly hard time that 507 - > crippled my confidence in that moment that I then decided I I 508 - > literally told this leader, it's time for me to take control of 509 - > my career. 510 - > Like you had to do what was important for this organization, 511 - > and I fully respect it.

512 - > We had an amicable relationship. 513 - > But personally, I knew it was time for me to take control of 514 - > my career. 515 - > And sometimes it takes for you to get knocked down a couple 516 - > times for you to shift your strategy to bet on yourself. 517 - > And what you see today is me shifting my strategy, betting on 518 - > myself, differentiating my brand.

519 - > And to be frank, I can't be more happier than I am today than I 520 - > was, you know, if 10 years ago, if you would have asked me, you 521 - > know, are you gonna go anywhere? 522 - > I would have said, no. 523 - > I love what I'm doing. 524 - > I am so glad that I was told no.

525 - > I'm so glad that I was knocked down because I now have a level 526 - > of confidence that shows that I can do anything I put my mind 527 - > to, which is what I tell my kids, right? 528 - > So it resonates. 529 - > I'm preaching to my kids. 530 - > I need to take my own advice.

531 - > But it's interesting because earlier you said, look, I travel 532 - > the world. 533 - > There's certain things that I probably wouldn't have 534 - > experienced. 535 - > I the same thing right here. 536 - > So just a quick story.

537 - > Like with my organization, there's certain perks that come 538 - > with having sponsorships and relationships with U of H, with 539 - > the Texans. 540 - > So we work hard. 541 - > We work incredibly hard and we're really trying to transform 542 - > how our members experience us. 543 - > But yesterday we were in a board meeting and CJ Stroud walks into 544 - > the meeting.

545 - > We had a chance, the board meeting stops. 546 - > We all have a chance to step out. 547 - > And I've had a chance to interact with his mom through 548 - > some community events. 549 - > So I tell his mom all the time, you're my friend, you just don't 550 - > know it, but you're like you're a part of the family now.

551 - > But literally had a chance to step out and take a picture with 552 - > CJ Stroud and his mom. 553 - > And so had I been in the same role that I was in, you know, 554 - > years ago, I wouldn't have those opportunities. 555 - > So there's some perks, tangible or no non-monetary perks that 556 - > come with shifting, betting on yourself beyond the paycheck 557 - > that you bring home. 558 - > So bet on yourself.

559 - > SPEAKER_01: So look, look, I noticed a subtle Texans flat 560 - > flex on that one, right? 561 - > That was which, I mean, I don't know if you can see back there, 562 - > but you see my like my Texans chapter chip. 563 - > Massive. 564 - > So look, I can be bought, right?

565 - > So just be clear. 566 - > Like next time you and CJ just hanging out at Starbucks, you 567 - > know, just say, hey, can I call my close, close personal friend 568 - > Josani, who's a massive fan. 569 - > We're gonna put him on uh FaceTime real quick. 570 - > Just just just put it out there.

571 - > SPEAKER_00: I got you. 572 - > I'm gonna send you a picture so we can see the crew. 573 - > SPEAKER_01: I think your message, Kier, resonates with so 574 - > many people in terms of the frustrations. 575 - > And and here's what's funny.

576 - > When you have to make those decisions to step out there, it 577 - > usually is at a vulnerable time, right? 578 - > It is it there's very rarely a, you know, paradigm shifting, 579 - > career adjusting decision that you have to make that's at a 580 - > perfect time. 581 - > Very rarely is that. 582 - > But it's funny because now you you reflect, now you have the 583 - > benefit of time passing, and you have time to reflect, and you're 584 - > like, man, I just couldn't see my career turning out any other 585 - > way.

586 - > And I think what I really want people to take from this point 587 - > of this portion of the conversation is that you know in 588 - > your spirit, right? 589 - > You like I said, it's like any relationship. 590 - > You know when you're valued, you know when you're growing, you 591 - > know when you're evolving. 592 - > You know, if you're getting what you need, you're getting 593 - > developed, you're getting paid fair, and you're getting to 594 - > experience things that's gonna that's gonna get you to the next 595 - > point, you know, consider yourself blessed and continue to 596 - > do that.

597 - > If you if you're not getting that and you're asking for 598 - > feedback and you're asking for opportunities, and you get the 599 - > same lame excuses, and the reality doesn't mesh with the 600 - > data that you're seeing, again, your mind and your body and your 601 - > spirit tells you like, brother, sister, you got some decisions 602 - > to make. 603 - > But the truth of the matter is let you know, whether or not you 604 - > choose to remain at your current company or you decide to explore 605 - > other opportunities, you have to decide what is best for you.

606 - > And I guess where I like to go also is a lot of times I have a, 607 - > I've I talked to a lot of friends and family. 608 - > And, you know, shouts off to blue-collar workers, folks who 609 - > have hourly roles and things like that, because that 610 - > decision-making process is a little bit different because 611 - > they like to factor in overtime and things like that. 612 - > But I'm always begging my friends and colleagues who are 613 - > in that line of work is do not get tantalized with another 614 - > quarter an hour, another dollar an hour and things like that, 615 - > and look long-term into your look, look long-term before you 616 - > decide to jump ship.

617 - > Because especially in roles like that, tenure means a lot. 618 - > Tenure gets a lot of perks and things like that. 619 - > Have you ever coached people on like trying to have a long-term 620 - > perspective? 621 - > And like every nickel, you know, everything that glitters ain't 622 - > gold, right?

623 - > Everything, you know, jumping for another quarter an hour 624 - > seems great, but trying to have that long-term perspective to 625 - > really have fulfilling careers. 626 - > Have you had to mentor people along those lines? 627 - > SPEAKER_00: Absolutely. 628 - > I think there's there's the element of uh the monetary view, 629 - > but there's also not allowing one negative experience to tank 630 - > your career.

631 - > And so I'll tell you, so being in HR and working behind the 632 - > scenes, for example, to advocate for the best benefits for our 633 - > employees has given me a different perspective. 634 - > And so healthcare, for example, healthcare is skyrocketing in 635 - > some cases 40 plus percent. 636 - > And that cost burden is transferring to employers, but 637 - > also the employers having to share that cost with the 638 - > employees as well. 639 - > So overseeing our total rewards department and working, we shout 640 - > out to Willis Towers Watson, but that's that's our broker.

641 - > And we meet on a monthly basis to talk about what's happening 642 - > in the industry. 643 - > And because we're self-funded, we haven't had to pass those 644 - > funds to our employees. 645 - > Our insurance benefits went up at this year about two to three 646 - > percent, which compared to others who are not self-funded, 647 - > it's been, yes, ridiculous. 648 - > But I I share that to say sometimes people are only 649 - > looking at their take-home pay and they're not always looking 650 - > at total compensation plus experience, like work 651 - > environment that people are in.

652 - > And I challenge people always to think about okay, you might be 653 - > leaving to you're making$20 here and you want to go over here to 654 - > make$22. 655 - > Make sure you're looking at their benefits. 656 - > And we offer we coach leaders all the time to say, help them 657 - > understand everything that we're offering so that if if this is a 658 - > regrettable loss, they understand what they're walking 659 - > away from. 660 - > And I've actually had a couple people under HR who have thought 661 - > about testing new waters and they've slept on it and said, 662 - > you know what?

663 - > I'm sorry, I want to stay. 664 - > Like I now recognize that experience. 665 - > So that's sort of the monetary perspective. 666 - > Don't always leave for a couple dollars.

667 - > It's not always worth it. 668 - > And frankly, while an organization may be competing 669 - > with salary, you can't always compete with culture. 670 - > So that's something that we focus on at TDECU. 671 - > How do we differentiate your culture and your experience at 672 - > work, even if we're not the highest paying organization in 673 - > the market?

674 - > At the same time, back to brand. 675 - > If just because you experience a negative interaction with 676 - > somebody, I always tell people, step out of that situation, 677 - > don't lose your cool. 678 - > Don't allow someone to fluster your emotions openly to where 679 - > you might tank your career, right? 680 - > Because it's like the easiest way to find a job is when you 681 - > have one.

682 - > But when you are terminated or you get in some in a nice way I 683 - > say it, when an organization frees up your future. 684 - > If your future is freed, I will tell you that it is so difficult 685 - > right now in the market to find a job. 686 - > And just fresh off of uh Greater Houston Partnership meeting, 687 - > they were talking about the number of jobs that were 688 - > surfacing across the Greater Houston area. 689 - > And while most industries are predicting to hire more folks 690 - > for the year, there are many at this point, oil and gas, they're 691 - > cutting jobs and retail, they're cutting jobs.

692 - > And all of this is correlated to what's happening in the economy. 693 - > So I'm going off on a tangent, but I'm simply saying that you 694 - > have to think about the situation that you're in right 695 - > now and determine if it's worth it to leave what you have. 696 - > And if you're in a toxic environment, by all means, 697 - > please don't stay. 698 - > But if you're looking for a dollar, if you're chasing the 699 - > dollar, every organization has frustrations.

700 - > Every organization has some um challenges that you're gonna 701 - > have to experience. 702 - > Every organization has bad leaders. 703 - > It's up to you to figure out how to escalate appropriately, 704 - > appropriately to determine if you want to work in an 705 - > environment that offers you a broader experience that fulfills 706 - > your expectations. 707 - > SPEAKER_01: I think that's so it's so important for people to 708 - > remember that, right?

709 - > Look long term. 710 - > Like your career needs to be a long game. 711 - > It's not about jumping from job to job to job. 712 - > You know, especially in a world where, you know, you tell 713 - > people, oh, I've been at a company for 10 years.

714 - > They look at you like you got three heads. 715 - > You're like, really? 716 - > 10 years. 717 - > You know, but it's it comes down to, again, is your career being 718 - > fed?

719 - > Is your spirit being fed? 720 - > Are you, you know, all these other things. 721 - > Like, even when I like my wife and I, we talk about going, if 722 - > we say, hey, I'm gonna go, we're gonna look at a church, right? 723 - > We move to this side of town and we're like, okay, our spirits 724 - > being fed, right?

725 - > You know when that's when that's happening. 726 - > Same thing with your employer. 727 - > And and you said it right. 728 - > Don't let one bad experience, all of a sudden, you act 729 - > emotionally off of it, right?

730 - > Yes. 731 - > Managers can be jerks. 732 - > And there are some pretty bad ones out there, uh, 733 - > unfortunately. 734 - > But I always look at my career and the decisions therein as a 735 - > business transaction, right?

736 - > I will never make a decision off of emotion unless it becomes so 737 - > toxic or it just violates one of my moral codes or something like 738 - > that. 739 - > But if if you get into it with your manager and you have a 740 - > conflict, you have a disagreement, don't do the 741 - > whole, I'll show you, because here's what's gonna happen. 742 - > Okay, yeah, you quit. 743 - > And yes, there is that initial shock and awe that you did it.

744 - > Um, and people will text you and they'll call you, like, oh my 745 - > God, I can't believe you left or you did this thing. 746 - > But your company's gonna be like, all right, well, cool, 747 - > let's backfill it and we'll backfill it. 748 - > And in three or four weeks, they've backfilled that role. 749 - > And now you're struggling.

750 - > You put yourself at a disadvantage just to show 751 - > somebody. 752 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah. 753 - > SPEAKER_01: You need to treat those decisions as business 754 - > decisions. 755 - > And you and you don't make a business decision when you're 756 - > emotional.

757 - > You just simply don't. 758 - > Um, and I think it's really important for people to listen, 759 - > especially when you got a lot of employees dealing with difficult 760 - > managers, dealing with sometimes toxic and toxic environments. 761 - > And you're absolutely right. 762 - > You should never, you should never work.

763 - > If you're if it's a toxic place and it's destroying your mental 764 - > health and you're on medication and you you know, all of a 765 - > sudden it starts manifesting in the physical ailments because of 766 - > the stress, yeah, get the hell out of there. 767 - > Don't don't be anybody's punching bag, but don't let one 768 - > bad interaction cause you to make a rash decision. 769 - > I think that's what we're kind of saying, right? 770 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'll also say that stars your friend, right?

771 - > And so it w to your point, you know, HR, my friend in HR, you 772 - > know, often people people are afraid to go to human resources. 773 - > And we have a job to do. 774 - > We also serve as a neutral party to make sure that we mitigate 775 - > risk across the organization. 776 - > I encourage people to come to HR if and when they've followed 777 - > appropriate protocols to escalate appropriately.

778 - > And so that means if you have an issue at work, escalate to your 779 - > manager. 780 - > If it's with your manager, escalate to the next level. 781 - > If you've exhausted all resources, if you've addressed 782 - > it through maybe there's a third-party hotline or whatever 783 - > the case is to report anonymously, perhaps it could be 784 - > if it's a peer that you have an issue with, maybe you need to 785 - > address your peer. 786 - > Sometimes you don't need a mediator, but if you've 787 - > exhausted all resources to try to make the situation better, 788 - > come to human resources.

789 - > We we're happy to support some of the challenges that an 790 - > employee might experience. 791 - > SPEAKER_01: So you just said something that's gonna really 792 - > set some people off. 793 - > And I'm I'm can't wait for the comments, right? 794 - > The comment, and so I intentionally call my program my 795 - > friend, my friend in HR.

796 - > Because, you know, honestly, it's if we, you know, HR, it's 797 - > so easy to villainize HR, right? 798 - > It's it's so easy. 799 - > The number of managers who love to say, well, I wanted to 800 - > promote you, but HR said I couldn't. 801 - > I'm like, are you kidding me?

802 - > Like, I wish HR had that kind of power. 803 - > I wish we had that kind of authority. 804 - > Things probably wouldn't be as bad as they are. 805 - > But there's a lot of folks, there's a lot of folks, a lot of 806 - > videos on TikTok and Instagram, and folks just have their whole 807 - > social media about talking about how crappy HR is and HR isn't 808 - > your friend.

809 - > And I'm gonna say this and I would love to get your feedback. 810 - > I always say, say, you you know, you know who else ain't your 811 - > friend? 812 - > Labor attorneys, which are half the people who are putting that 813 - > stuff out there, right? 814 - > All they see you is billable hours.

815 - > Accounting ain't your friend, marketing ain't your friend, 816 - > operations ain't your friend, right? 817 - > They're all departments made up of people who are imperfect. 818 - > And just like in just like in any other profession, there are 819 - > some really, really great people, and there's some crappy 820 - > ones. 821 - > There's some great HR people who really believe in the mission in 822 - > terms of supporting people, and there's some folks who probably 823 - > should never talk to people ever again in terms of that.

824 - > But there's this whole thing about HR supports the 825 - > organization, not you. 826 - > And I think the thing that's missed a lot of times that 827 - > people don't talk about care is that the organization is made up 828 - > of people. 829 - > It's not just made up of managers, it's made up the 830 - > employees and the managers. 831 - > And our job is to mitigate the risk, figure out what's wrong, 832 - > and then address it for the organization's sake, not 833 - > necessarily for the employees or for the managers, but for the 834 - > organization as a whole.

835 - > When you hear people say try to villainize HR in the difficult 836 - > position that we're often in, well, I mean, what is your 837 - > initial response and feedback to all of that? 838 - > SPEAKER_00: I'll say this. 839 - > You know, people love us when things are good, people hate us 840 - > when it doesn't work in their favor. 841 - > And so I, you know, HR has transformed over the last few 842 - > decades to where we must be more strategic in our business.

843 - > So we're not paper pushers, we're not transactional, we're 844 - > not call us when there's an issue. 845 - > What we do offer is transforming how people experience an 846 - > organization. 847 - > So what does that mean? 848 - > We're here to develop, we're here to assess skills, we're 849 - > here to work with the business to understand your needs and 850 - > your strategies so that we can align talent to your 851 - > organizational outcomes.

852 - > We're also here to do the hard work. 853 - > And so that means that again, you said it earlier, we are a 854 - > business. 855 - > We are a part of the business. 856 - > So sometimes it means that if the business is not running 857 - > effectively, efficiently, in a way that drives towards 858 - > outcomes, guess what?

859 - > That means that we have to help to make hard decisions, which 860 - > means that sometimes that means it's exiting talent out of the 861 - > organization. 862 - > And on the most extreme case, it could mean that it requires a 863 - > reduction in force. 864 - > Now, hopefully that doesn't happen often across 865 - > organizations, but the highest cost in most organizations is 866 - > compensation. 867 - > So if organizations aren't managing headcount in a way 868 - > where they're thinking about skills versus looking at this in 869 - > a widget perspective, I need 10, 15 people as opposed to here's 870 - > the skill set that I need and HR partner with me to find this 871 - > skill set.

872 - > Well, if you look at peer data and it shows that your head 873 - > count is heavier than others, sometimes you may have to make 874 - > harder decisions. 875 - > So there's a business side to human resources that is not 876 - > always exploited or shared with others who only see us in a 877 - > traditional light. 878 - > And frankly, sometimes when you're not in the strategic 879 - > conversations and you're only thinking about what's in it for 880 - > me, it's easy to villainize HR.

881 - > So I would, I would just offer that HR has an obligation to 882 - > position ourselves as strategic partners, which means that we 883 - > have to embed ourselves in the business and not be 884 - > transactional at the same time as an organization. 885 - > You've got to appreciate us in the good and the bad and the 886 - > hard times. 887 - > It's not even really bad times, it's the hard times. 888 - > So I love that your, you know, your business is called My 889 - > Friend and HR because if you have a really good friend, your 890 - > friend is gonna tell you when things are good, and your friend 891 - > is also going to be brutally honest when things aren't bad 892 - > and help you navigate and make some of those decisions.

893 - > So, you know, maybe that's your, I don't know what, you know, my 894 - > friend and HR and what the root of that is, but I love that you 895 - > call it that because people who have really good friends, my 896 - > best friend today will tell me when I'm wrong. 897 - > My best friend today will also help help me to think 898 - > differently about how to navigate maybe some life 899 - > challenges or things that I'm experiencing. 900 - > Experiencing. 901 - > So if people see HR in that manner, they can appreciate what 902 - > our intent is and what we're trying to accomplish.

903 - > SPEAKER_01: Yeah. 904 - > I mean, and and you know, the other thing I would like to also 905 - > say about it is understand that when a lot of times the biggest 906 - > complaint that employees have about HR sometimes is like 907 - > they'll bring an issue, right? 908 - > They'll it's a toxic manager, there's a mean manager, oh, this 909 - > manager's disrespecting me, all these other things. 910 - > And it's very real to the employee.

911 - > And they feel like a lot of times, because they don't 912 - > actually see the transaction or how it was dealt with, they feel 913 - > like HR doesn't do anything. 914 - > And a lot of times those personnel actions, if we, you 915 - > know, let's say a manager does get some kind of disciplinary 916 - > action or written up or whatever, unless they're like 917 - > suspended, you don't see it. 918 - > You don't see it because it's confidential, right? 919 - > You don't, you don't go out and put it on the, you know, on the 920 - > billboard.

921 - > And that's what I sometimes I tell them, I tell employees. 922 - > Well, no one ever got back to me on this investigation. 923 - > No one ever came back and told me what was done. 924 - > And and, you know, and I'm like, so what did they actually say?

925 - > Well, they say we resolved, we, we dealt with the matter. 926 - > And unfortunately, depending on what we're talking about, that 927 - > might be the most they can tell you because, you know, they I 928 - > ask people it all the time, think about if you got ridden 929 - > of, or think about if you received some kind of 930 - > disciplinary action. 931 - > Do you want HR telling everybody about that? 932 - > Well, so we have to, there's there's a balancing act in terms 933 - > of that, but it's just all these things where this that HR is so 934 - > involved in with the behind-the-scenes things.

935 - > 80% of what we do, a lot of people don't see. 936 - > So it's really easy to assume nothing is happening. 937 - > When a lot of times HR loses so much sleep over like dealing 938 - > with an issue or frustrations with managers when there's a 939 - > poor decision coming down the pipe because we know the impact 940 - > to employees. 941 - > It's really hard sometimes.

942 - > And again, I want to be balanced. 943 - > I know there are some crappy HR people out there. 944 - > I know a couple. 945 - > There's there's one person the other day, I told them at happy 946 - > hour, I was like, you should get out of this.

947 - > You are gonna get somebody sued. 948 - > I just tell it like it is. 949 - > I'm telling you like it is too. 950 - > You should get out of HR.

951 - > SPEAKER_00: So it's not the profession that you want to be 952 - > in. 953 - > Yes. 954 - > SPEAKER_01: I will also say this, and I'm this is really 955 - > quickly. 956 - > A lot of times, like if I interview a junior, a person 957 - > who's like just got out of college or university, and they 958 - > I want to get into HR.

959 - > And I ask the question, so why do you want to be in human 960 - > resources? 961 - > To me, if a person I love people. 962 - > I love people. 963 - > Well, people don't love you in HR.

964 - > What do you do? 965 - > What do you do with no say people don't love you back? 966 - > But I always say, like, if a person tells me, like, I'm in HR 967 - > because I love people, I'm like, either one, you're too junior to 968 - > know any better. 969 - > Or two, there might be a little disin being a little 970 - > disingenuous here, right?

971 - > Okay, so because HR people, once you've been here for a decade, 972 - > you can't help but be a little cynical. 973 - > So All right. 974 - > I want to move on to a last topic that you and I kind of 975 - > have in common. 976 - > And, you know, we don't shy away from difficult conversations 977 - > because we ground our discussions in reality and what 978 - > people are facing.

979 - > You and I both are black executives. 980 - > We work, we we have leadership roles in our organizations. 981 - > And outside looking in, people will look at us and they'll say, 982 - > these individuals have made it. 983 - > They've arrived, they've, you know, all these, you know, the 984 - > idea of what success typically looks like.

985 - > But it's a challenge a lot of times, just being, that some of 986 - > our colleagues don't necessarily understand or have to deal with. 987 - > And, you know, you being a black female executive at a very large 988 - > organization, um, I would assume there's a lot of times, Kira, 989 - > that you are the only one of something in that room. 990 - > And the pressure to deliver twice as much or be twice as 991 - > good, sometimes self-imposed, sometimes it's judgment from 992 - > others.

993 - > But it's a very interesting and challenging place to be, 994 - > especially when you balance your role as a senior executive for 995 - > an organization. 996 - > But you're still a black female with needs and challenges and 997 - > things like that, everything that goes with that. 998 - > Talk to me a little bit about that journey. 999 - > And even as an executive, the challenges that you still face, 1000 - > experience, feel-I don't know which word is appropriate, but 1001 - > talk to us a little bit about that.

1002 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I so I get this question quite often, and I 1003 - > don't take for granted that I represent various populations, 1004 - > young, black, female, you know, you name it. 1005 - > And and I I'm honored to serve in a capacity where I have an 1006 - > opportunity to represent so many folks. 1007 - > Growing up, I I went to private school, Catholic private school. 1008 - > Shout out to my parents who sacrificed to send me to the 1009 - > school that had the best education.

1010 - > And so growing up, I was accustomed to and frankly was 1011 - > introduced to being one of the only ones at my from elementary 1012 - > all the way through high school. 1013 - > And so I think innately I build sort of this thick skin and this 1014 - > tolerance for being different in a room. 1015 - > So fast forward as I move into my profession, particularly at 1016 - > the executive level, I think the one thing that stands out is 1017 - > often I'm the youngest one in the the room.

1018 - > In this case, my so my CEO believes in diversity. 1019 - > And so as he rebuilt his team when he moved into his role, 1020 - > we've got an incredibly diverse executive team. 1021 - > With that being said, that's not always the case when I'm in be 1022 - > in other rooms, but I I embrace it and I welcome it. 1023 - > Now, there is a burden that comes with that because I love 1024 - > that you said sometimes things are self-imposed because I often 1025 - > overprepare because I want to ensure that when I present, when 1026 - > I speak, I show that I am more than prepared for whatever topic 1027 - > is at hand.

1028 - > So when questions are thrown. 1029 - > Way, I'm able to navigate those questions in a way that shows 1030 - > that I'm more than qualified for this role. 1031 - > As far as um challenges in terms of like, again, be it race, age, 1032 - > things of that nature, I've always believed in standing out. 1033 - > And to the point of like when I said, you know, my roots in 1034 - > terms of how my parents raise me, I embrace the differences, 1035 - > but I'm also very intentional.

1036 - > So I actually I use it as a part of my brand and who I am. 1037 - > My hope is that we're gonna live in a world where people don't 1038 - > necessarily just see me as the only one, which then allows me 1039 - > to continue to not it when I walk in the room, I I wanna 1040 - > stand out, but it's not because of my color or because I'm a 1041 - > female. 1042 - > I want to stand out because people see my brand and the 1043 - > level of influence that I have and the value that I'm bringing 1044 - > to a room.

1045 - > And so I I teach my kids this. 1046 - > And when I talk about private conversations in my family and 1047 - > with others who may be experiencing this, sometimes 1048 - > it's about embracing that difference, but not from the 1049 - > standpoint of age, race, sex, things of that nature. 1050 - > But it's really more so how do you embrace who you are so that 1051 - > when you walk in the room, people see you for who, you 1052 - > know, for what you bring and the value that you bring to an 1053 - > organization.

1054 - > Have there been experiences where people have sort of 1055 - > labeled me absolutely? 1056 - > And I'll just this a little, I'll be a little facetious right 1057 - > now, but you know, being the the youngest in the room, I've had 1058 - > board members say to me, Man, you're young. 1059 - > So I'll what I I've learned is that when people, man, you're 1060 - > young. 1061 - > Yeah, and I will take that compliment as long as I can.

1062 - > Now, when you start calling me old, that's when I'm gonna right 1063 - > now I embrace people saying that I'm young. 1064 - > My kids think I'm old. 1065 - > You know, it there's sort of this dichotomy of like, you 1066 - > know, how the world sees you versus the people that are most 1067 - > important to you, your your family and how they see you. 1068 - > But honestly, Jasani, I've learned to embrace differences 1069 - > and standing out in a room.

1070 - > Have there again, there have been difficult times where I've 1071 - > had to reflect on what this means or any labels that have 1072 - > been given to me, but I try to reverse those in a way that 1073 - > leans into my brand as opposed to, you know, young black female 1074 - > in the room. 1075 - > SPEAKER_01: You know, and I was a very similar story. 1076 - > Um, we have so many similarities in my background. 1077 - > You know, I, you know, I don't have a sob story.

1078 - > I only had a single mother. 1079 - > No, I had both parents, and they worked very hard to give me a 1080 - > quality education. 1081 - > And and what came with that quality education sometimes was, 1082 - > you know, between, I want to say between kindergarten and 1083 - > probably up through sixth grade, they put me in private schools. 1084 - > And um, and a lot of times in a lot of my classes, I was one of 1085 - > the few black kids in the class.

1086 - > And then you elevate, you go on, and I when I went to military 1087 - > college. 1088 - > So I went to miss so I went to military college. 1089 - > My first two years of U in the university, it was at 1090 - > Milledgeville, Georgia. 1091 - > It was at Georgia Military College.

1092 - > Now, for those who aren't aware of their Civil War history, 1093 - > Milledgeville, Georgia was the original headquarters of the 1094 - > Confederacy before it moved to Atlanta. 1095 - > As a matter of fact, our administration building was 1096 - > literally called the Old Capitol building. 1097 - > So that brought some challenge, some very unique experiences and 1098 - > challenges that I will share over Happy Hour. 1099 - > But it's one of those, but it's one of those things where, yeah, 1100 - > sticking out and being different has always been that way.

1101 - > Like a lot of times I have been too black to hang out with the 1102 - > white kid white colleagues and too and acted acted too white to 1103 - > hang out with the black kids. 1104 - > Growing up, I was the one kid on my block who really didn't play 1105 - > basketball. 1106 - > You didn't really want to pick me because I kind of sucked at 1107 - > it. 1108 - > But you know, oh, you know, black guy, you should be playing 1109 - > basketball.

1110 - > I should pick you. 1111 - > And so that's just kind of been an experience. 1112 - > I think folks that have kind of been our shoes have experienced 1113 - > in terms of like embracing the difference, embracing our 1114 - > uniqueness, but at the same time recognizing, as you said very 1115 - > eloquently earlier, recognizing that we represent more than 1116 - > ourselves. 1117 - > Because unfortunately, we do live in a world that people love 1118 - > to stereotype folks and they love to say, well, they got that 1119 - > role because of X, Y, and Z, or that self-imposed judgment that 1120 - > sometimes still plays in my head sometimes in terms of having to 1121 - > prove myself.

1122 - > That that thing kind of echoes, still echoes in my head even 1123 - > after all these years. 1124 - > What is your thought about that? 1125 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I mean, uh, I'll say this. 1126 - > You know, there's been private experiences that I've navigated 1127 - > where I feel like I um, you know, I wasn't chosen for 1128 - > various reasons.

1129 - > And I'll tell you that during COVID, when we started seeing 1130 - > some of the injustices happening across the world, that was the 1131 - > first time that I had a chance to share my stories and my 1132 - > experiences in an open forum. 1133 - > And I'll never forget I was a part of a DEI panel with HR 1134 - > Houston. 1135 - > Um, and I think it was at a period where Gulf Coast 1136 - > Symposium was virtual. 1137 - > And one of the team members from HR Houston tapped me on the 1138 - > shoulder and said, Hey, Kira, you know, I'd love for you to be 1139 - > a part of this panel, but you know, can you talk to me about 1140 - > your experiences?

1141 - > So we shared some private experiences, and she was like, 1142 - > Kira, I actually saw you as different. 1143 - > Like I never thought that you experienced some of these 1144 - > injustices that others of your race or your sex or your age 1145 - > have experienced. 1146 - > And so I had to openly share that, you know, discrimination, 1147 - > it doesn't matter how you grew up, where you grew up, it 1148 - > happens across, you know, all experiences in life. 1149 - > And discrimination um doesn't, you know, discrimination 1150 - > discriminates, right?

1151 - > Uh across all areas. 1152 - > So having those opportunities during COVID to be able to 1153 - > openly talk about some of my experiences, but also lessons in 1154 - > overcoming uh was sort of therapeutic for me. 1155 - > So I agree with everything that you said, Josani. 1156 - > You know, we have to figure out how to not let these things uh 1157 - > hold us back, but also lean into who we are, who we believe.

1158 - > I can't emphasize enough the value that we're bringing in any 1159 - > room that we walk in and recognize that we're 1160 - > representing something bigger than ourselves and bring others 1161 - > along so that when folks are stuck, we're helping them 1162 - > overcome some of these challenges so they can show up 1163 - > and be their best. 1164 - > SPEAKER_01: And I think the last thing I'll say on that topic is 1165 - > I think it's really important, regardless of where what your 1166 - > background is, is that you have to be courageous when the time 1167 - > calls for it, right?

1168 - > And it could be anything like you're in a room full of peers, 1169 - > executive peers, and an off-color joke is is made, 1170 - > right? 1171 - > And you know, there's that pressure, do I say anything or 1172 - > do I rock the boat? 1173 - > When you see someone basically making a stereotype saying, 1174 - > well, she may not be able to do this role because you know she 1175 - > has three or four kids, and you're like, hmm, really, is 1176 - > that really a factor of the job?

1177 - > You know, and we have to, whether again, race, gender, 1178 - > whatever, age, when we see these conversations happening, it's in 1179 - > the heat of those moments that culture is forged, not in a 1180 - > vision statement or a mission statement. 1181 - > And that is how we bring people along. 1182 - > That is how we represent, you know, the folks who have helped 1183 - > us get to where we are. 1184 - > And that's how we bring people along, is that in those rooms 1185 - > where most people aren't allowed, when we see whether 1186 - > it's intentional bias or anything like that, we as 1187 - > leaders, regardless of who we are or what we look like, we 1188 - > have to have the courage to say, wait a minute, guys, I 1189 - > personally believe we're better than that.

1190 - > And so that comment we just made probably is not is it's probably 1191 - > not appropriate. 1192 - > Um, and I want to make sure that we kind of stay where we need to 1193 - > be in terms of walking down that path that we know our 1194 - > organization should be. 1195 - > unknown: Yeah. 1196 - > SPEAKER_01: That that tends to be a very it takes courage.

1197 - > It takes courage because everybody's like everybody's 1198 - > worried about their bonus, everybody's worried about their 1199 - > current. 1200 - > And if I say anything, maybe I will make myself a target. 1201 - > But I think nowadays it's even more important for the leaders 1202 - > to do just that lead. 1203 - > SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I just don't be a part of the problem, right?

1204 - > Just speak up. 1205 - > When you see something injustice happening in any shape or form, 1206 - > speak up. 1207 - > And I'll I'll just add this to this topic that you just 1208 - > mentioned. 1209 - > Everybody has a story, right?

1210 - > And so nobody's life is perfect, everybody's life is imperfect. 1211 - > And so when you bring humanity to work and to life every day, 1212 - > you have a little bit more empathy for people who have a 1213 - > story. 1214 - > Everybody is fighting a battle in some shape or form. 1215 - > And so that's what keeps me humble because it boy, do I have 1216 - > a lot of personal things that I've experienced this year that 1217 - > we can talk about one day.

1218 - > But there's been some humility in navigating, you know, health 1219 - > challenges with my son and other things that have opened up my 1220 - > eyes to people's private stories that you may not even have 1221 - > visibility to. 1222 - > So we need to assume positive intent with people, bring 1223 - > humility and humanity to conversations and to your 1224 - > experiences so that you can allow people to just be. 1225 - > SPEAKER_01: Well, I mean, this has been a great conversation.

1226 - > And Kira, I appreciate your honesty and throughout the 1227 - > conversation, vulnerability to share aspects of your story. 1228 - > Um, I think these are the kind of moments that makes HR and 1229 - > just leaders in in general become more human, right? 1230 - > To share, like we do have concerns, we do have 1231 - > vulnerabilities. 1232 - > We didn't all just get here overnight.

1233 - > There was a journey, and we skinned our knees a few times 1234 - > along the way. 1235 - > But because through the power of networking and collaboration and 1236 - > mentors and just people bringing us forward, it not only helped 1237 - > us get to where we are, but it puts us in a position to pay it 1238 - > forward and bring people along on the journey with us. 1239 - > And I think that's really, really important. 1240 - > And I want to thank you so much for joining us today and having 1241 - > that discussion with the community.

1242 - > I I know folks, some folks got fed through this conversation. 1243 - > I know I did. 1244 - > I know I gained a couple of pounds getting fed on this 1245 - > conversation. 1246 - > SPEAKER_00: I did as well.

1247 - > Just only thank you for creating a platform for professionals to 1248 - > come in and just talk openly about their experiences. 1249 - > I think this is important. 1250 - > By the way, shout out to your 10,000 plus followers. 1251 - > I'm so proud of you.

1252 - > I'm excited to be in that circle of your followers. 1253 - > I follow your journey, continue to make a difference in 1254 - > everything that you do. 1255 - > Very, very proud of you. 1256 - > Keep killing it.

1257 - > SPEAKER_01: Thank you so much. 1258 - > I appreciate it. 1259 - > Again, it's great when one of your heroes gives you a 1260 - > compliment. 1261 - > So I'm gonna, when we get off camera, I'm gonna go put that in 1262 - > my diary and we're just gonna, you know, I'm gonna do all that.

1263 - > Um, but Kara, thank you so much for joining us. 1264 - > And folks, remember, authenticity is not just 1265 - > important, it's critical, right? 1266 - > This journey that we call our careers, every decision we make 1267 - > matters. 1268 - > Have a long-term perspective.

1269 - > Don't always chase the grasses greener, make good 1270 - > business-related decisions. 1271 - > And remember that as we evolve and as we grow in our careers, 1272 - > that we have an obligation to bring people along on that 1273 - > journey with us. 1274 - > Because just like we needed help at some point, somebody 1275 - > somewhere needs that assistance as well. 1276 - > And we'll continue to pay that forward.

1277 - > We'll help our organizations thrive because I personally 1278 - > believe, I know Kira believes this too, that providing 1279 - > fulfilling careers for our employees and business results 1280 - > aren't mutually exclusive. 1281 - > Sometimes they go very hand in hand. 1282 - > So I want to thank the community for going along this journey and 1283 - > letting me go on this journey with you. 1284 - > We're gonna continue to come out with great content going into 1285 - > the new year.

1286 - > I got some really cool projects. 1287 - > By the time this airs, we will probably have already done it, 1288 - > but we're getting ready to do our first webinar that Kiera is 1289 - > going to be front and center on. 1290 - > So I thank her for volunteering to do that. 1291 - > And we're gonna talk about how do we charge into 2026 boldly 1292 - > and just go ahead and conquer this thing and set ourselves up 1293 - > for success, provide value to our organizations, and have 1294 - > fulfilling careers.

1295 - > So, from all of us at My Friend and HR, be well. 1296 - > Not just to yours, not just to others, but to yourself as well. 1297 - > And remember that your job is meant to support your life. 1298 - > Your life is not meant to support your job, and we'll see 1299 - > you soon.