Marilyn Nagel: Championing Diversity and Communication for the Modern Workplace | S2 Ep. 148
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Welcome back everyone to Founders Story. Today we have Marilyn Yago, who is the co-founder and chief advocacy officer of Rise Equity. There's been a lot of talks around DEI, Marilyn, as well as a mentor of mine told me many years ago that a diverse working group will outperform a non-diverse working group in any type of work environment. And that has stuck with me since then.

But I'm really excited to learn about why right now did you start Rise Equity? Well, we actually started several years ago. And the reason we began this effort is because we believe and have been proven to find that the more diverse a company is and the more diverse leadership teams are, the better decisions are.

So we used to joke and say that if it was Lehman Brothers and Sisters, it probably would still be around. And that doesn't mean that if it's all women, it's a better thing or all men. It means that when we get a mix,

Women ask different questions than men. People with a background that they're new to a field ask different questions than people who have been in a field a long time. So diversity is not just things like gender, race, and ethnicity. Diversity is different ways of thinking. It's everything we bring to the table.

And we know that companies that leverage everyone who works there, all of the talent, do a better job. I've been doing this work for a very long time, but Rise Equity has come into being, really. We launched our company in order to meet the needs of companies today, companies that are dealing with AI in the workplace, companies that are dealing with

multiple generations in the workplace who are looking for a way to succeed in their careers. And that's what we help them do. Thank you for clarifying that. I really like how you've defined diversity as different thought process, not just one specific thing. Can you share with me the companies that are coming to you that you're helping

Do they share something similar as to the ones that are really looking to ramp this up or get better at it? We work with companies from all industries. We have consumer goods. We have a fast food product. We have food.

tech companies, we have STEM healthcare companies, we have small and large small firms, large global multinationals. The common element is these are companies who care about their employees, the communities in which they work, and the product. They want to ensure that their product resonates with the people who buy it, whether that's B2B or B2C.

There are companies that care about the employees, want to make sure that the employees have a rich experience and can grow their careers, want to stay with them because we know that younger and newer employees, the newer generations in the workforce tend to switch jobs every two years.

But it's possible to switch jobs and stay within the same company if you give people a rich experience. So companies are coming to us to say, how do we provide that rich experience? How do we provide an experience that gives people an opportunity to stay with us and grow their career? I'm really glad you bring that up because that's something when I was a leader, I always struggled with in the corporate environment.

because they didn't really look at strengths and putting you somewhere in your strength. And let's say you were struggling in your role. They just did, you know, performance improvement plan to get you out of the company versus finding you somewhere that maybe fit better into the strengths that you have. How do you look at this here in terms of, like you said, a person doesn't need to leave a company to change roles? Absolutely. I have...

I had a wonderful experience back when I was the chief diversity officer at Cisco Systems. I was struggling to find, to expand my team. So many people are because we're always doing more with less. This is not the first era when leaders are asked to do that. And someone said to me, I have someone who's struggling on my team, not performing well. I'm willing to give them to you.

And I believe we play, emphasize people's strengths, not their weaknesses. Look for what people are good at, find a role that plays to their strengths and let them go. So I took on this person, um, and this was back, uh, probably in 2005. They're still at the company.

They're a super performer now. They were just in the wrong role. I think it's incumbent on us as leaders to look at what are people good at, find ways to leverage those strengths. We use Strength Finders, the book. It's a great tool for folks. We all have strengths. We all have areas of opportunity. Don't focus on where your opportunities are. Focus on what you're strong at, what you're good at.

Play to that. Add people who are good at the areas that you're not good at and let them do those things together. That's teamwork. That's collaboration. That's what makes the team work. I love strength finders, by the way. And obviously it worked right. Like, could you imagine if you didn't take that person on? They might have been fired or they might have quit because it just it didn't fit how they're, you know, I was reading recently about how Iceland had implemented a four day work week.

And how a lot of generations now are looking at things in terms of working less, you know, not not wanting to do the 50, 60, 80 hour grind that, you know, we all thought we had to do, which I think is maybe creating a little bit of a clash between.

with older managers who were brought up in working a huge amount of time and working every day on a salary. How are you seeing this in the workplace with how these generations are looking at things? I love the four day work week concept, frankly, and we share we brought in a speaker to meet with the CHR, a CHR community and share with them the benefits of four day work week.

But you have to couple that with getting rid of things that are taking up leaders' and employees' time that doesn't add value. How many hours a week are we spending in meetings where we...

rehash the same information over and over again and come out, you know, we talk about it, but we don't take the action that comes out of the meeting. And then we meet again to talk about it again. And so the only way a four-day work week can work is if you cut down on things that are not productive in the workplace. And that doesn't mean that

working 50 hours in four days. That's not the goal. The goal is to say, what are we doing that isn't adding value? And let's eliminate those things. If there are 10 people sitting in a meeting and only really three or four of those people are needed for making a decision,

then let's only have three or four people sit in on that meeting. Let's not have the rest of the people sitting there on their phones or on their laptops trying to get, you know, surreptitiously do emails or do other things. Let's not copy the world on an email that doesn't need to be copied. But by the same token, let's make sure we communicate transparently with people that need information and not hold it as something

for power. So both things have to happen. Organizations have to be more efficient and more effective and look at what's, you know, what is needed, who is needed in the room, do we have the right people in the room, and how can we save time and energy and not

not expect people to work 24/7. The 24/7 on culture isn't going, it is not sustainable. People are not working at their best when they're always on. Needing to respond to an email on, you know, Saturday afternoon or Tuesday at midnight doesn't work, even when we're working in global scenarios. I worked with a global team for years, but that didn't mean that I had to be available

all hours or that my team needed to be. And you have to model those behaviors. As a leader, you have to model that you don't expect people to respond to you on the weekend or in the middle of the night. I've talked to too many people who say meetings are called and I have to be there and it's 3 a.m. my time. And, you know, it's a global multinational and the U.S.,

folks schedule a meeting and they expect me to be there and it's just, you know, and then I have to work all day my time. So we have to be more thoughtful. I can't help but laugh because I remember when I had gotten promoted and I all of a sudden had like 12 managers underneath me and I would send emails at 3 a.m. because I just woke up and they were all very stressed.

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Well, because if we want our best and brightest thinkers and we want the best and brightest thoughts from everyone who works, then we need to not burn people out. And we need to know that if you don't get a break from work, you're not going to bring creative thoughts and innovation to the forefront. And we want innovation.

Well, Marilyn, this has been amazing. I know you have a webinar coming up, which I think is going to be absolutely necessary for all of us to attend. So if you can tell everyone how can they check out the webinar and how can they find out more information about you and the company? Absolutely. Well, you can email me at Marilyn at RiseEquity, one word, RiseEquity.co, C-O-N-T.

And our webinar is with Sherry Browning, who's brilliant, and her specialization is communication. And this webinar is communicating on civility in the workplace,

in turbulent times. And I can't think of a more turbulent time than that which we are currently experiencing. But in particular, we thought we'd do this on November 12th. It'll be noon Pacific time. So you can email me if you'd like to attend and I will make sure that you get registered. Before your Thanksgiving dinner, um,

As I was mentioning to you, if you have that weird uncle or strange neighbor who's going to be at your Thanksgiving table and you want to know how to navigate those dicey conversations about is climate change real or whatever,

This is a good webinar for you. Also, just what do you address in terms of communicating in the workplace? How do we work with people who have very different perspectives than we do as we become more polarized and as things have become a little more turbulent? I believe in AI. I don't believe in AI. All kinds of things have come up. And so,

Come here, Sherry Browning, on November 12th at noon. Email me at riseequity.co or just go to the Rise Equity website and you can sign up for it.

Well, Marilyn, this has been great. I think as we become more and more diverse in the workplace, we need to learn how to communicate better and communicate with each other. And that's how we get things done. The world is a better place if we learn how to communicate. So thank you so much, though, for joining us. I can't wait for the webinar. I hope everyone checks that out. And I'm really appreciative and thankful for you joining us today on Founders Story. My pleasure. Thank you.

HBCUs, they're more than just schools, right? They're where we learn, grow, and build. It's a place where we're free to be ourselves, innovate, and live our best lives while chasing those dreams, and yes, securing that bag. But the journey to success is not always easy. That's why Walmart is here for you every step of the way. From late night study sessions to game day celebration, Walmart's got your back, helping you manifest those big, audacious dreams.

Whether you're starting a business, climbing the career ladder, or figuring it all out, Walmart is here supporting Black excellence at HBCUs. At the end of the day, your hustle, your creativity, and your journey matter. Walmart, we're all about empowering you with the spark to keep pushing forward. So let's get to it together. Learn more about how we are amplifying your story at Walmart.com slash Black Unlimited. It's your journey, and we're proud to be a part of it.

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