Black Woman Leading Laura Knights

In this episode, Laura answers pressing questions from our community on topics related to delegation, leading your team through organizational change, dealing with “Mom guilt,” advocating for salary/promotion increases, and dealing with fear about leaving an organization.
Tune in as Laura shares her wisdom and provides actionable insights to address these leadership challenges.
Resources:
S1E4: Navigating Salary Negotiations with Yakentha Britton (Black Woman Leading podcast) S3E8: Preparing for Performance Evaluations (Black Woman Leading podcast) Credits:
Learn more about the Black Woman Leading®  learning experience and upcoming retreat at https://blackwomanleading.com
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: laura@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Follow BWL on LinkedIn
Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Facebook: @blackwomanleading
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights 
Graphics: Olayinka Ajibola
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:
Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher iHeartRadio Podbay

At Black Woman Leading® we are all about exposing Black women to new opportunities and empowering them to increase their options. So we were so excited to welcome our special guest, Stephanie Perry, Founder of vaycarious.com, to discuss the option of taking a career sabbatical, or an extended period of time away from work.  
 In this insightful episode, Stephanie and Laura vision and explore the possibilities for using a career sabbatical for rest, self-discovery, adventure, and ease. Stephanie shares how her life changed after taking a one-year sabbatical to travel for a year (for just $1200 per month!).  From that experience, she chronicles how that experience led her to the work she does today to help Black women embrace more ease by taking a career break or moving abroad. 
Laura also shares her insights from taking an annual one-month rest sabbatical in December, and the journey to creating that option for herself.  And they discuss how even entertaining the idea of a sabbatical requires heart and mindset work for many Black women to disconnect our identities from work and labor.  
As Stephanie states, if you love your job, you still need a sabbatical! She champions making sabbaticals practical and accessible for more Black women, and the need for Black women to consider this expanded opportunity for ease and rest. Tune in with an open mind as Stephanie helps us explore our options with regard to the financial, practical, and emotional logistics of taking a sabbatical.
 
Guest Bio 
 
At age 41, Stephanie Perry quit her job as a hospital pharmacy technician to travel the world for a year on her savings. She visited 12 countries in 12 months all on just $1200 per month. Now she's a year-round house sitter and pet sitter who helps Black women embrace more ease by taking a career break, house sitting or moving abroad on her YouTube channel.
 
Connect with  Stephanie
 
Website: https://vaycarious.com Youtube: https://youtube.com/stephanieperry IG: https://instagram.com/vaycarious Twitter: https://twitter.com/vaycarious Facebook: https://facebook.com/vaycarious  
Credits:
Learn more about the Black Woman Leading®  learning experience and upcoming retreat at https://blackwomanleading.com
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: laura@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Follow BWL on LinkedIn
Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Facebook: @blackwomanleading
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights 
Graphics: Olayinka Ajibola
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:
Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher iHeartRadio Podbay

Research indicates that minority populations disproportionately experience insufficient sleep and sleep disorders.  We know that sleep is a fundamental health and wellness need for us to thrive as human beings, so we wanted to talk about Black women and our relationship with sleep.  
We welcome our special guest, Dr. Angela Holliday-Bell, Sleep Specialist and the Founder of The Solution is Sleep LLC, to provide more insights on this topic. In this enlightening conversation,  Laura and Dr. Holliday-Bell discuss the heart and head work of our relationship with sleep, including the connection to overcoming generational trauma and negative mindsets about sleep and resting. 
Dr. Holliday-Bell provides insights on the specific causes of insufficient sleep she sees in her Black women patients, and educates us on some of the short and long-term effects of chronic, insufficient sleep. She also shares her personal story of dealing with insomnia that led her on the quest to become the sleep expert she is today, and provides tips for creating healthy sleep habits and routines.
Guest Bio 
Angela Holliday-Bell, MD is Physician, Certified Sleep Specialist and Sleep Coach. I created The Solution is Sleep LLC to provide transformative, targeted and customized sleep coaching based on proven therapeutic techniques to help my clients take back control of their sleep lives
 
Connect with  Dr. Holliday-Bell
Website - https://www.thesolutionissleep.com/ LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/dr-angela-holliday-bell-466a1321b/ Instagram  - https://www.instagram.com/thesleep_md/ Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/thesolutionissleep  
Credits:
Learn more about the Black Woman Leading®  learning experience and upcoming retreat at https://blackwomanleading.com
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: laura@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Follow BWL on LinkedIn
Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Facebook: @blackwomanleading
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights 
Graphics: Olayinka Ajibola
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:
Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher iHeartRadio Podbay

In this engaging episode, we explore the term “imposter syndrome” with speaker and writer, Jodi-Ann Burey.  
The term “imposter syndrome” is often used to communicate a sense of inadequacy that an individual may feel in a professional setting.  After reviewing the original research that birthed this term, Laura and Jodi-Ann discuss why the term is an inaccurate portrayal of the experience of Black women because it does not account for the full environmental landscape that Black women have to navigate in the workplace and beyond.  Jodi-Ann offers a pointed take on reframing imposter syndrome and turns the responsibility of fixing imposter syndrome back to leaders and organizations. 
Additionally, Jodi-Ann provides rich insight on the power of Black women’s agency and why she embraces the term “disrupter.”  Ultimately, she encourages us to use more affirming language that more fully encompasses our experiences as Black women. Tune in and be enlightened!
Guest Bio 
Jodi-Ann Burey (she/her) has a mission to disrupt “business as usual” to achieve social change. She is a sought-after speaker, writer, and creator who works at the intersections of race, culture, and health equity. Jodi-Ann is also the creator and host of Black Cancer, a podcast that explores the cancer journeys of everyday people of color which was featured on POPSUGAR and NBC - Dallas.
 
Connect with Jodi-Ann:
Website - https://jodiannburey.com/ Personal LinkedIn -https://www.linkedin.com/in/jaburey/ Jodi-Ann’s TED Talk - The Myth of Bringing Your Full Authentic Self to Work Jodi-Ann’s podcast -https://www.blackcancer.co/  
Credits:
Click here to complete our survey for Black women early career professionals.
Learn more about the Black Woman Leading®  learning experience at https://blackwomanleading.com/program/
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: laura@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Follow BWL on LinkedIn
Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Facebook: @blackwomanleading
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights 
Graphics: Olayinka Ajibola
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:
Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher iHeartRadio Podbay

From side hustles to those who desire to trade their 9-to-5 in for the CEO title, our community has shown increased interest in learning more about entrepreneurship.  In this episode, our special guest, Dr. Shakenna Williams, Executive Director of the Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership at Babson College and Founder of Babson’s Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership Program, comes to share her insights on why Black women are increasingly pursuing entrepreneurship and how they can do it successfully.
Dr. Williams shares about Babson’s unique approach to supporting Black women entrepreneurs, shares advice on navigating entrepreneurship while working a full-time job, and outlines practical first steps for those just getting started.
Further, Dr. Williams shares a bit of her journey as a Black Woman Leading, and vulnerably shares how she overcame professional challenges with her four-part system for effective self-advocacy and negotiation skills.  Tune in and be inspired as we explore entrepreneurship as one an option for further economic and personal empowerment.
Guest Bio 
Dr. Shakenna K. Williams is the Executive Director of the Center of Women Entrepreneurial Leadership (CWEL) and founder of the Black Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership (BWEL) at Babson College. She is an adjunct faculty member in Babson’s MBA Program, owns Kenna Business Solutions, and previously served as Deputy Academic Director and Lead Faculty Director of the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Program.
With her passion to propel women entrepreneurs to new levels of success, Dr. Williams is the proud recipient of the Babson Entrepreneurial Thought and Action Award, the Martin Luther King, Jr. Changemaker Award, and the African American Female Professor of the Year Award. She authored The Mark (excerpt) and is writing her first book, Hooked: Entrepreneurial Leadership Skills Learned While Fishing with My Dad.
Dr. Williams received her doctorate from Capella University (dissertation, Talent Management and Retention in Small Family-Owned Businesses: A Multiple-Case Qualitative Study), her MBA from Oklahoma City University, and her B.S. (Finance; Investments) from Babson. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., The Links, Incorporated, and the Academy of Management. Dr. Williams cherishes being a foster mom, and loves to travel, spend time with family, cook, and paint.
 
Learn more about Babson’s Center for Women’s Entrepreneurial Leadership:
CWEL Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/babsoncwel CWEL IG - https://www.instagram.com/babsoncwel/  Connect with Dr. Williams here:
Personal LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/drshakennawilliams/  Personal IG: https://www.instagram.com/drshakennawilliams/   
Credits:
Click here to complete our survey for Black women early career professionals.
Learn more about the Black Woman Leading®  learning experience at https://blackwomanleading.com/program/
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Email Laura: laura@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Follow BWL on LinkedIn
Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Facebook: @blackwomanleading
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights 
Graphics: Olayinka Ajibola
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:
Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher iHeartRadio Podbay  

 

The end of the year is a common timeframe for companies to facilitate annual reviews.  In this tactical episode, Laura shares points to help you reflect on the last year of your professional journey, and prepare to communicate the contributions you’ve made in your annual review. Laura provides a practical approach for you to guide the narrative of your review meeting and confirm your “asks” to advocate for yourself in the workplace.
Download the BWL performance evaluation prep packet here >> https://bit.ly/bwlpefreebie
Credits:
Learn more about the Black Woman Leading™ learning experience at http://blackwomanleading.com/
Email Laura: laura@knightsconsultinggroup.com
Connect with Laura on LinkedIn
Follow us on Instagram: @blackwomanleading
Join our mailing list and download a free Black Woman Leading journey map!
Learn more about our consulting work with organizations at https://knightsconsultinggroup.com/
Podcast Music & Production: Marshall Knights 
Graphics: Olayinka Ajibola
Listen and follow the podcast on all major platforms:
Apple Podcasts Spotify Stitcher iHeartRadio Podbay