PODCAST

Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring in the Workplace (The Leadership List | June 2020)

Lisa Fain, co-author of, “Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring: Lean Forward, Learn, and Leverage,” provides the definitive guide for overcoming cultural differences for more effective mentoring. American workplaces have never been more diverse and understanding differences is vital for developing strong relationships. When mentors and mentees make genuine connections, the mentoring experience becomes more powerful and productive. If you’re a mentor, or thinking of becoming one, the four-step mentoring model explored in Fain’s book is a must.

Andres Tapia, author of, “The Inclusion Paradox,” says, “This book exposes one of mentoring’s biggest blind spots…mentors and mentees who assume similarity rather than difference…and provides insightful and practical advice for how to mentor and be mentored across all forms of diversity.”

Fain is the CEO of the Center for Mentoring Excellence and has a passion for leveraging differences in the workplace. She earned her certification as a Life Coach through the International Coach Academy. She holds a JD degree from Northwestern University School of Law and a B.S. degree in Social Policy from Northwestern University.

Hosted by George Maurer, Ed.S., THE LEADERSHIP LIST is a production of the American Forces Radio Network and the Defense Media Activity.

 PODCAST

Lisa Fain of CME (Work From Your Happy Place | May 2020)

Lisa is CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, a Seattle, WA based business that helps organizations create better leaders and more inclusive cultures through mentoring. She is a global keynote speaker and an expert in the intersection of mentoring and inclusion and is passionate about the power of diversity and inclusion to create better workplaces, better teams, and better results.

 PODCAST

Speaking With Attendees at the 2020 Forum on Workplace Inclusion Conference (What’s the Difference? | April 2020)

The 32nd Annual Forum on Workplace Inclusion Conference was held from March 10-12, 2020 at the Minneapolis Convention Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Conference brings together attendees from across many industries and from many different backgrounds who all share a passion for and focus on diversity and inclusion in the workplace.

 PODCAST

Mentoring As Part of Your Diversity & Inclusion Strategy (What’s the Difference? | March 2020)

What you’ll learn in this episode:

• Lisa shares how she found her passion for diversity and inclusion work when she brought her mother Lois to her workplace to help set up a women’s mentoring program
• Why mentoring programs can help build meaningful business relationships across differences and help empower people to thrive in their careers
• Why Lisa feels that diversity and inclusion training by itself doesn’t work, and why it needs other programs to support it
• Why successful diversity and inclusion initiatives create a fundamental cultural change throughout all levels of an organization
• Why a mentorship needs to be a two-way relationship between the mentor and the mentee, and why the mentorship needs ground rules and clear communication
• Why it is important to measure the success and progress of a mentorship through mutually established and agreed-upon goals
• Why leadership skills don’t necessarily imply mentoring skills, and why developing your mentoring ability is an important ongoing process
• Why listening is a cornerstone skill that an effective mentor needs to have, and why leaders may struggle to listen effectively
• Lisa shares an experience she had with a well-meaning senior partner while working at a law firm after returning from maternity leave
• Lisa shares an important takeaway from her book, Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring

 PODCAST

Lisa Fain on Inclusion and Diversity (Culture Matters | March 2020)

Lisa Fain is the CEO of Center for Mentoring Excellence, and an expert in the intersection of cultural competency and mentoring.

Her passion for diversity and inclusion work fuels her strong conviction that leveraging differences creates a better workplace and drives better business results.

Lisa brings her energy, enthusiasm and engagement to any group, facilitating lively workshops and training and delivering interactive speeches with practical steps that can be implemented right away.

With Center for Mentoring Excellence founder Dr. Lois Zachary, Lisa is the co-author of the recently released Bridging Differences for Better Mentoring, a book that brings to life the stories, tips and tools for communicating effectively across differences in mentoring.

“Trust is made by building relationships and really understanding the other person.”

Her tips on becoming more culturally competent are:

1. Become the owner of your own responsability. You are 100% responsable and so is the other.
2. Become aware of the other culture, but also of the other person as being a person.
3. Check your assumption; ask, ask, ask.