Everyday MAGIC Book Review

Hello everyone. I can’t wait to share another excellent book for Personal Development written by Mattie James, influencer extraordinaire. The title of her first debut book is Everyday Magic, The Joy of Not Being Everything, and Still Being More Than Enough. This is a beautiful personal development book, and in this book, I really love how she. Her message of MAGIC into her own acronym, and it means meaningful, aesthetically pleasing, goal-oriented, intentional, and consistent. How Mattie lays this book out, its efficient strategies, and the system you can do and elevate it into a new task.

Sometimes we get so overwhelmed. , even our to-do list has a to-do list. And how Maddie crafts this book makes you think about the people you’re serving daily, your family, your work, and your children. And I quote, think about the ideas that matter for herself, her family, home, life, and work.

And she says, the ideas that are meaningful to me, or someone who matters to me. And that is the goal that she’s going to take. And that’s a goal that we all can take. Maddie is a successful mother and influencer and c e o of her own business, and this book shows a culmination of her tips and tricks. On her Instagram, as well as all of her other social media platforms of practical strategies from fashion and how you dress in your go-to Blazer.

I even have my go-to Blazer and even meal planning for the week. So many of us have these big ideas and what we’re gonna do, and then we end up getting stuck by our fridge, right? So what I really want you to do is think about your prior. While you’re reading alongside this book, think about what you can do to make those magical changes.

See my little pun there and also contribute to it. Finding things to get rid of. Start to find prune things that are just taking up space. Taking up space in your mind, closet, or home life.

When you’re starting off a new year and starting a new plan, think about those things that matter. And I really love that. Mattie talks about her family life, her husband and beautiful children, her traditions with her parents, and their rituals. Saturday evenings with their family traditions and how she ties that into her new generation.

I can’t tell you enough. This book is such a great read. Anybody can read this book and put this book into practice, and she lets you take that breath. 

Thank you, Maddy. Girl, you let us take that breath because sometimes when we’re in the thick of it, you know, me as a brand new entrepreneur, working, you know, on my own, raising a family as a wife, and trying to deliver and do all the things, this book maps it out just perfectly. I’m going to have to buy a new charcuterie board. 

. So remember, get this wherever books are sold. I found this book in my tiny little town in Duluth, Minnesota. So you can see this book wherever books are sold. 

You can learn more about Mattie James’ work here:

https://mattiejames.com/about/

5 Tips to Engage Employees During Black History Month

Thinking about Black History Month,  I was reflecting on how to help you, to continue to be more engaged in this month with your Black colleagues, employees, and staff. Black History Month — also known as African American History Month — is a month-long celebration of the lives and achievements of African Americans. Every February, teachers, students, and families gather to learn about diverse historical figures who helped shape society.

The month began in 1926 as Negro History Week, an initiative by writer and historian Carter G. Woodson. Over the years, the excitement around Negro History Week programming grew too large to ignore, so many states started participating in Black History Month too! Even today, people are still striving to learn and understand the Black culture and the many contributors to our nation’s history as well as our contributors to our present society. Here are some constructive tips to keep you engaged authentically with your Black colleagues at work.

5 Tips To Keep Your Employees Engaged During Black History Month

1) Bring Speakers from your community and create a safe space for them to share and listen. Like Melody Hobson said, “You can purposefully invite diverse people into your life, and hopefully they will challenge you, and give you new insights into life. Be purposeful and respectful with your community members, you could learn a lot from them.

2) Highlight Black voices within your organization. We have wonderful resources that deserve to be recognized. You can do this in a way of recognizing their work and not their worth, clothes, hairstyle, or physical features (we’re not here to tokenize people, ugh).

3) Volunteer in your community. Take the time to be out in your community where Black people are and get to know your Black neighbors in an authentic way.

4) Support Black Owned Businesses. Black people are also small business owners. Your economic support helps them and their families thrive in our economy. Here’s a link to my favorite businesses here that you can support.

➡️ https://www.northlandbipoc.com/

5) Host a workshop by yours truly to teach you about Implicit Bias and Inclusive Workplace Strategies. If Implicit Bias & Inclusive Workplace Strategies is something that has been of interest to you, then this is your opportunity to learn ways you can help others maintain their identity while also interacting effectively with teammates and customers. Fill out my potential client questionnaire right here ➡️https://forms.gle/Eb7NpH6TewmBG8Bq6

Inclusive Workplace Environment: The Best Way To Create It And Maintain It

"Another thing I want you to remember when you are trying to be more culturally inclusive is that your colleagues of color are not hired to do the work for you."

When we talk about an inclusive workplace environment, many words are thrown out to intimidate you. But that’s not what the process is about. When working with my business clients, my most significant push for them is to find ways of holding themselves accountable and sustaining this protocol when we move forward. Now, I will give you a taste of what I have proposed to my clients. I’m a big fan of Dr. Brene Brown, especially her hard work on vulnerability and shame and understanding us as humans. And I really love when she says, “I’m here to get it right. Not to be right.”

And that quote resonates with me to teach businesses and organizations how to get it right. And not to be correct. When we are working together, I feel that I don’t want to offend anybody or make it work. I want to make it right, which is excellent. But we know that, as human beings, it takes time. It takes a lot of self-reflection. And when we go through these practices, we must remember that we are all human beings. We will stumble. We need to give ourselves some grace. But then we also need to correct our behavior. So we’re not causing more harm to the people we work with. An excellent thing I want you to focus on when we’re talking about an inclusive workplace. It would be best if you thought about your own implicit biases in your own actions. How Let’s get inclusive at work.

Did your life experiences shape you into the person you are now? How have the attitudes you have perceived about different groups of people affected you in your workplace? So those are some questions I want you to take with you on doing your own self-work and understand that you need to be comfortable with being uncomfortable. This is a tricky subject. This is a difficult way of getting those further deeper connections with people. You also have to take into account your actions and be responsible for what you have done to move forward in the future.

Another thing I want you to remember when you are trying to be more culturally inclusive is that your colleagues of color are not hired to do the work for you. When it comes to being an ethnic month, it comes to being a particular subject in your staff meetings. It is not your employee or colleague of color that is supposed to take the reins and do the work for your office. Now, many people say, well, we’re trying to collaborate. We’re trying to get our people of color involved and have that voice. But there’s an emotional tax that people of color like myself face every day. It’s a lot of mental work. It’s a lot of mental energy; we have to put on that brave coat of armor when talking about subjects that come to intercultural relations when dealing with employees and customers. We can only bear that burden for so long and for so much. So it is up to businesses. It is up to school districts and administrators to hire out that work of someone who is not exclusively tied to your business. Who is not solely tied to your school organization? I can hear my colleagues of color around the world going. Thank you, Jeb. Yes, said what we have always been saying. I have been in those situations where we’re talking about these instances. And they’re quick to ask me. So Jeb, what do you have for us? What resources do you have for us? I am not usually the one that handles providing those resources.

If I’m a staff member and hired as a cultural consultant, I’d be happy to give you all the resources I have. When doing this work as an organization and as a business, do not expect your colleagues of color, your colleagues of those diverse backgrounds, to do the work for you, for you to go back and check. We got that done, and we aren’t usually the ones that handle that. And less we have been hired specifically to do that particular job. And I know, nine times out of 10, we are not.

We are not compensated extra for bringing up subject matter or resources, and we aren’t usually the ones that handle it. So moving forward, when you want to build that inclusive workplace setting for your business or your school organization, it is up to you to do your research, hire a different voice, and do additional research to come into your setting to do the work. I was hoping you could work on getting into this inclusive model to hire and recruit people who don’t look like you by getting those multiple perspectives. Those life experiences that we all have will lead to more innovation and more credibility. And there is research about having those multiple voices, those multiple representations in your workplace, moving many things forward.

I love when we get together. And we have our measured goals we are we got Oh, I love a good plan. You know, I’m a teacher at heart. And writing down the measurable goals I want to accomplish is all fine and dandy. But the thing is, you need to hold yourself accountable to those set goals, and you have your plans in place. It would help if you thought about, okay, these are the goals that I want for my organization or my school. But I also need to take it further and hold myself and my employees accountable for these set goals. It’s all beautiful on paper, but it doesn’t move the needle further to inclusiveness. If you’re not checking yourself periodically if you need to check your colleagues and your employees periodically on these set goals. With my business, I have an excellent format for businesses and school organizations with this model already in place.

It’s all well and good when you have a list of goals for getting your business or school organization up and running. I will walk you through those steps to make those goals actionable and hold you guys and gals accountable. And when we are talking about having that inclusive workplace environment, that your leadership is there, they are also saving themselves accountable. The employees feel like they have a space to go to their leadership if things are not working. You also need to ensure that when you are working together, you recruit people from all walks of life in your business.

No excuse anymore if we’re just not that diverse, Jeb. We don’t have these people you’re talking about. Here’s the thing. We do exist. We are everywhere. I come from a remarkable, proud immigrant Liberian family who grew up in the suburbs of Minnesota. We exist. There is no excuse for, “I don’t know, I don’t know where to begin,” or “I don’t know where to start, Jeb.” And that’s where I’m here, for I am here to get you started. I am here to set this model up for your business to get the ball rolling for your school setting.

There are many people of all races, ethnicities, and backgrounds in every facet of every career you can think of. We are innovators, doctors, and scientists. We are in the political field, and there are so many of us in these avenues that you can actively recruit all of us. We need to dig deeper to see where people are going and feel valuable for their time. They need to think that their voice will be heard if there is a concern. And our all begins with leadership. So, leaders must step up to the plate and open their doors for everyone to come in. Because the more you have a better representation of everyone, the more your clientele will go and be discerning of Wow, they are including everybody, wow, I see me in their ad. Wow, I actually see myself behind the desk working alongside. So it is up to us to move that needle forward and get going. And if you’re stuck, I’m here to help. So make sure we have our leadership holding themselves accountable. We have our measured goals. We have our recruitment in place. And we also have an evaluative piece to evaluate our business and our organization as a whole to become more inclusive. If you want more information, I am so proud to share my Let’s get inclusive at work. If you would love more information, you can visit my website at JebehEdmunds.com.

10 Steps for an Inclusive Workforce

Today’s blog post will focus on my top 10 steps to create a more inclusive workplace environment. One of my biggest pushes in life is to help people gain more cultural understanding of each other. We need to self-audit ourselves and self-audit the places where we work. Much of our transformative work starts from looking within with our own unconscious biases, which turned into more micro and macro aggression. Many of us can’t prevent the harm that we see today.

Step number one is your job description. The usual sentence and phrase we all are too familiar with are we are an equal opportunity employer, and that phrase just isn’t cutting it anymore. Your team needs to go back and check out the language that you’ve posted.

I want you to look at your job descriptions. See if the vocabulary that you have written is welcoming for all. But when you have that welcoming for all, make sure your workforce mirrors what you’re putting out there. And let’s say this if your ideal crew to have more BIPOC employees isn’t there yet. Put that in your statement. We are looking to diversify our Staff to be more accommodating to the people we serve. There. There you go. Free little information for you right there.

I want you to think about looking deeper into your job description. The second thing I want you to do is check where you are posting said job descriptions, okay. Are you going outside of the box and posting job sites that are in allyship with our BIPOC job applicants, alright, a lot of us are in our default, and we are doing the same traditional things that we did 25 years ago.

If COVID had taught us anything, it could tell us now that we can step outside the box people can work from home and do a fantastic job at what they do. So that also means you, as the employer, need to step outside the box and see where you are posting these job descriptions and these job postings.


Please make sure you meet them where they are, go to your community’s multicultural centers, and go to the universities with international student departments. Go to those universities. There are so many multifaceted groups on many college campuses that you need to step into those places and show us what you have to offer. Step three is to audit your website. Yes, I’m a solopreneur. And I am constantly checking and correcting my website. Does my language portray the message I want for my audience? Those are the questions you also need to ask yourself, business owners. Does my speech on my website provide a more inclusive allyship?


Step number four, language matters. And interviews. I can’t tell you how many job interviews I walked in, in did myself growing in my own as a grown Liberian American woman, and going through the interview process, having a great time feeling that I’m clicking with that potential employer. And before we leave, that individual shakes, my hand says to me that dreaded fate phrase. Oh, you are so articulate. I’d tell you that phrase still makes my toes curl. Oh, it’s so so wrong. It’s like,  nails screeching on a chalkboard. And the famous one that we always hear. I know, a lot of my BIPOC friends and people in a family can relate to that sentence that, uh, we don’t see color in our office? Oh, that’s a second double whammy. You know, these things. When the employer, future employer, the future colleague is saying these statements. They think that this is a compliment. But as the exact opposite is a huge insult to people of color. And of all groups. You know, when you’re thinking about me and my shoes and my perspective, I’m doing this interview. I feel like I have a good collaboration good energy with this prospective employer. when that prospective employer tells me that I speak so well, it gives a signal to me by saying, “wow, they have such low expectations of you, Jebeh, even looking at your resume, that the only compliment they could give you is how well you speak or write.”

When I am communicating with another human, speaking should be so not even in the stratosphere of your thoughts. Like, of course, I’m speaking, you understand what I’m saying. So telling me that I talk so well makes me feel that no matter what I show you of my accomplishments and accolades, the best thing you can say to me is how well I speak. Yeah, I don’t want to work for this organization. Okay. As I told you, the second point is that we don’t see color in this office, right? That is dehumanizing. When I say, dehumanizing is when you are a person of color. We take our identity as a badge of honor. I am a proud black woman, okay. You see me as a black woman. You don’t know me as a Liberian American because the first person you see first and foremost is a black woman in front of you.

So when you tell me you don’t see my skin tone, you don’t know who I am. That means that you don’t see all of me. For example, get this phrase out of your brain-“you are so articulate.” Okay? Phrases like this. Oh, what a wonderful conversation we had. Thank you for your in-depth analysis of data, data data, or thank you for contributing to this beautiful conversation on data, data data. Alright, those are the types of things you’re setting starters. See, as a teacher, I got my sentence starters right there for you.
Now, when it talks about that phrase that we all can’t stand, we don’t see color in this office, I was hoping you could change that sprays to we are welcoming to all people in this office, okay. I value my ethnicity and my heritage, my blackness. So when somebody thinks that they are giving me comfort by saying that it doesn’t have any value, that does not want me to be motivated to work for a business that doesn’t see all of me. So language matters. So very much.

Number five, retention through mentorship is vital. All too well, we know the ceiling of achievement for BIPOC Staff. Okay, more opportunities for advancement through mentorship from our upper management will lead to higher retention rates. Now, if your work culture is negative, your BIPOC Staff will feel like there isn’t any room for advancement, so they’ll go. So when you have these mentorships in place, it will give us more feelings of Wow, this company has confidence that they want me to move up. They don’t want me to stay in this lane. They want me to advance by giving me more mentors to see what it’s like to be at this next level. That is what I mean by mentorship is essential.


Step six set the right DEI goals. If you’re not sure about it, D is diversity, Equity, and Inclusion goals. So many times, we get the motivation to write these goals out. But then we leave to revisit it on a particular month, and you all know that month. Yep. February, you do your work. In February, you have your one diversity training, and then you’re done. No, no, no, not working today. As I said, we are in a movement, not in a moment. Alright, for cultural understanding. So what I want you to do business owners, even you solopreneur I’m a solopreneur. And I do this to make sure when you’re working on your DEI goals that you revisit them quarterly. We are already reviewing our budgetary goals quarterly. We are already revisiting our use O’s quarterly and our other plans. Add that to your list because the more we can check and correct our practices, the better off we are will be for more positive

 

. Step seven is provide more training opportunities for advancement that goes hand in hand with our mentorship opportunities.
The old saying of Jeb, we can’t find any. That means we can’t find any individuals of color who will cut it anymore. We’re here. We exist. I always tell people that my Liberian parents did not move to the states for the weather. Okay, they did not come to America to see snow. We are at your football fields with our kids screaming and shouting because our kids are on the same team. We’re at your places of worship. We are literally in your neighborhood. There’s no excuse you can’t find us. We are here. To provide more training opportunities for your Staff to continue learning how different groups are and their distinct cultural differences and getting more opportunities of your existing BIPOC staff.

Your ideal future workforce will provide them the skills needed for advancement because as small business owners, even big organizations, it is way more economical to retain your Staff of color than going through the systems and processes of hiring out a right. So we need to focus on that.

 

Step eight, survey your organization and your public. If you want to know how your business is faring with cultural competency, you got to look within survey your Staff with Google Forms, anonymously, please. There have been so many Google surveys out there for our organizations that expect you to have your email address and name. Suppose you want that authentic, straight-to-the-point opinion where your staff members and employees feel that they’re in a safe space. Leave that anonymous. Make sure they feel comfortable sharing what they think will be best to help your business move forward. Also, survey your client and consumer base. I know we have a lot of feedback forms and things.

See if you can add some culturally specific questions to understand what your consumers need at this time. And to keep moving forward.

Step nine-Show and Tell. I know you’re thinking, it’s like hiding behind that cloak of disappointment. You might think, “Jeb, we don’t have enough women in our workforce,” or “Jeb, we don’t have enough LGBTQ people in our workforce, or We don’t have enough BIPOC Staff .”I get it, but you need to show and tell us where you are because we’ve got to go and start moving somewhere. Don’t feel that your vulnerability and guiding us and telling us your demographic numbers will hinder; it will be more positive. Because you’re telling me as a consumer, you’re telling me as that future business partner, that this is where you are. And that’s okay. I want you also to recognize that share who you are as an individual because that also speaks volumes of who you identify. And that will also gain more cultural understanding and acceptance.

And step number 10. Prove it. It will hold your organization accountable to get it to the number that reflects your goals. And also, it will show us, the consumer, the employee, the future collaborator, that you know what you need to do to be that beacon to be that authentically for your workforce and show us what your organization represents