For Our Edification

034 | An Announcement

Announcing Edify Ventures, LLC, a brand strategy and experiences company! Find out why I started this thing, and learn more about Edify Ventures by going to https://edifyventuresnola.com.
 
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

033 | Do the Followership, Y’all

Yes, there is such a thing as followership. So, I invited Sharna Fabiano to talk about it. She's the 2023 chair of the International Leadership Association’s Followership Member Community, host of the "Lead & Follow" podcast, a certified coach, author of "Lead & Follow: The Dance of Inspired Teamwork," and an internationally recognized tango artist. 
Sharna is great at using dance as a metaphor for the leader-follower relationship. We talked about the importance of trusting your partner, what it means to be a skilled follower, the importance of self-awareness (whoa, remember how that came up in episode 32 with P.J. Dixon?). 
Learn more about Sharna and connect with her at  https://www.sharnafabiano.com. 
Check out Kelley's Model of Followership at http://mbanicas.weebly.com/types-of-followership.html. 
 
 
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

032 | Overcoming Obstacles

If anybody knows anything about overcoming obstacles, P.J. Dixon does. Here's someone who has lived a chunk of his life in a wheelchair, yet that hasn't stopped him from living life to the fullest as a wheelchair athlete, international traveler, 10th degree black belt, and a martial arts and women’s self-defense instructor. So, how has P.J. done it???
In this energized interview, we go in about overcoming obstacles to strengthen personal leadership. From the power of awareness to dealing with baggage to choosing who we are in the moment to putting accountability in perspective, P.J. covers a lot of emotional ground.
Learn more about P.J. and connect with him at https://www.pjswisdom.com.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

031 | Lessons From Dogs

When my family talked about getting a dog, I talked about how much work it would be for us. What I didn’t anticipate is how much having a dog would teach us about ourselves. Who knew? Wilfred "Woofred" Hester knew.
As a professional dog trainer, Wilfred works with dog parents on helping them understand how their behaviors determine their dogs' responses. If things go well, the result is a host of personal leadership lessons that bring dog parents much closer to their pets.
My big three takeaways?
The thirst for instant gratification distorts vision.
Connect to life.
Know the capacity you have to fit things into your life.
Learn more about Woofred Dog Training at https://www.woofred.com.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

030 | Servant Leadership

Some of the people I admire most are servant leaders. These are folks who put others first. But they do so to help guide groups and communities in specific directions. One of my very cool higher ed marketing and communications colleagues, Jenny Petty, has a such a fascination with servant leadership that she hosts a podcast called "The Servant Marketer."
Jenny visited "For Our Edification" for a robust, energetic, nerd-out conversation about servant leadership. We find out what led to her fascination with it, how she infuses it into her marketing work, and how she practices self-care as an ardent believer in servant leadership.
Jenny also serves as the vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Montana.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

029 | HBCU Fundraising Disparities

WRITE TO BEAR ALMS
On May 27th, USA Today published the article, "How funders, school leaders can step up to combat philanthropic disparities faced by HBCUs.” The only problem is that I felt the article need a bit more fundraising and philanthropy meat on the bone. Cue our resident fundraising and philanthropy expert--Dr. Halima Leak Francis!
Having researched fundraising capacity-building at HBCUs, Halima talks about why these fundraising disparities in exist. She also discusses what funders value in their relationships with institutions and more.
References:
How funders, school leaders can step up to combat philanthropic disparities faced by HBCUs (USA Today): https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/05/27/hbcus-philanthropic-funding-continues-to-favor-white-institutions/70254668007/
Changing the Odds: Lessons Learned from the Kresge HBCU Initiative:  https://kresge.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/Changing-the-odds_lessons-learned.pdf 
Making Bricks without Straw: The Kresge HBCU Initiative and Fundraising at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (Halima's dissertation): https://www.proquest.com/openview/f7f14fea88534469d95891934e9ea01f/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750
Listen again:
Understanding Black Philanthropy:  https://forouredification.podbean.com/e/black-philanthropy/
What Is a Philanthropic Identity? https://forouredification.podbean.com/e/philanthropic-identity/ 
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

028 | No Shame in the Struggle, Part 2

Halima and I continue our conversation about how people struggle with shame. This part of the conversation goes deeply into leadership. We tackle how chaos aggravates one's feeling of shame while hiding others' feelings of shame. We also go into how organizational culture plays into individuals' feelings of shame and also how accountability can be weaponized.
So, how do we deal with feeling shame in the struggle? Halima believes that tapping into our creativity could be a great answer.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

027 | No Shame in the Struggle, Part 1

It's so refreshing to have Halima back on the mic with me! She had something serious on her heart and wanted to share it with the "For Our Edification" audience. Halima wants you to know that there's no shame in the struggle. 
She has ever so wise words about the importance of showing up when you're in the middle of the struggle and how she works through moments of struggle, even in her job as an educator. Finally, find out why Halima says it all comes down to your "why." This is part one of pure inspiration.
By the way, part of the inspiration for this episode is our good friend and mental health professional Leslie Brown who appeared on episode 4 to talk about the mental health benefits of giving and episode 12 to give her thoughts (along with Dr. Von Eaglin) about the psychology of fraternity and sorority hazing.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

026 | The Grind of Higher Ed Marketing, Part2

In this second part of my conversation with Joel Goodman, we talk a bit more about website strategy for colleges and universities. But, an interesting moment happens when we get real about how burnout looks for higher ed marketers and what it's like having to manage egos. Finally, we learn about Joel's new podcast, "Appendix B," which he co-hosts with his Bravery Media colleague, Kristin Van Dorn.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

025 | On My Brain: No More ’Soft Skills’

I had something on my brain. No more "soft skills!" Find out why I believe that term needs to go.
References:
LinkedIn: Why I Hate the Term 'Soft Skills'
Medium: Soft Skills: Origin, where it comes from and Concept
National Career Development Association: Why We Should Stop Using ‘Soft’ Skills
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not necessarily reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

024 | The Grind of Higher Ed Marketing, Part 1

Over the past few years, there has been an explosion of higher ed marketing podcasts that explore what it's like sitting in the seat of a higher ed marketer. It sounds like fun, right? The truth is that it is an incredibly fun job, but things also get quite real. One podcast that candidly explored the world of the higher ed marketer is "Thought Feeder," on which I had the pleasure of appearing. 
I invited, "Thought Feeder" co-host and principal/CEO of Bravery Media, Joel Goodman, to join me on "For Our Edification" to chat about what he heard from guests about the challenges and the victories of their work. Our conversation turned into a pretty interesting direction, as we also picked apart the internal politics that higher ed marketers endure in managing their college/university websites. It got so good, that this is a two-part interview.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

023 | Social Media Management

Doing social media for a brand can't be all that different from doing it for a personal account...right? A lot of folks, including hiring managers, still haven't gotten the memo. As a higher education marketer who has managed social media for three institutions, I know how different and emotionally taxing social media management can be for a brand.
Jon-Stephen Stansel, who is the director of social media for Chaotic Goods studios and who has managed social media in higher ed, also knows all too well. JS visited "For Our Edification" to put the role of social media manager into perspective. By the way, JS is also the co-host of the podcast "Thought Feeder." Learn more about him by going to jsstansel.com.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

022 | Change Management

When there are major changes in any company or institution, the focus is often on what the leaders will do. But how do major moves, such as leadership changes or mergers and acquisitions, affect the employees?
Change management expert, Dr. Robin M.L. Johnson, joins the podcast to provide insight about the very important role of emotional intelligence and how organizational changes affect those not in power. Robin is the founder and chief change leadership advisor for DesignOrg Solutions.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

021 | Bigger Than Deion

Deion Sanders' leaving Jackson State University to take the football head coach job at the University of Colorado inspired lively debate on social media and sports talk shows. And, somehow, quite a few folks decided that Sanders "saved" HBCUs!
I brought in Jackson State alum and PR professional, Eddie Brown, to discuss the bigger issue--how Jackson State and other HBCUs provide opportunities to the Primes of the world and also why HBCUs don't need heroes. Learn more about Eddie's agency, Brown Public Relations, at http://www.brown-pr.com/.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

020 | Son of a Saint

On January 1, 2022, the mentoring organization, Son of a Saint, celebrated its 11th anniversary. It came from the vision of Bivian “Sonny” Lee, III who wanted to help young men without fathers in their homes. Lee's vision resulted in one of New Orleans’ most respected nonprofit organizations.
On the old Eddie Francis Podcast Show a few years back, Halima and I had a chat with Sonny about Son of a Saint’s work and the road that he personally traveled to change the lives of the young men his team serves. What started as Sonny simply doing what he thought was right has grown into a fully functioning nonprofit with a diverse staff of case managers, finance people, mental health specialists, marketing professionals, etc. as well as a diverse class of mentees.
Want to see where Son of a Saint is headed? Enjoy this video.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

019 | Mental Health in Sports

My dude David Grubb paid the podcast a visit again to talk sports. This time, we had a rich conversation about mental health in sports. David is a sports reporter who has been in the locker room with pro athletes after crushing defeats and he has seen the effects that injuries have had on athletes' mental health. He is even open about managing his own mental health. David commented on Naomi Osaka, we chatted about what athletes don't own us, and I explain why I am no longer a sports fan.
Check David out on "Crunch Time" on 103.7 The Game, "Hard in the Paint," MLBbro.com, The Bird Writes, and The Bird Calls on Spotify.

018 | To Be Creative (and Black)

There is no doubt that creativity is ever-present in our lives, but how much do we take away from ourselves when we don't invest in our creativity? And do we take creativity seriously in the Black community? After watching the documentary "The Creative Brain," I had questions.
I turned to a couple of great, creative friends, Khalilah Elliott and Jamal Sterling. Khalilah is the founder and chief disruptor of Gafford Communications, and Jamal is an actor and educator. Both also host the arts and entertainment podcast "Whatever We Want with Jay & Kay." Besides creativity in the Black community, we talk about the creative process, barriers to creative output, finding creativity in whatever you do, and why it's good for creativity to make people nervous.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

017 | Apple Fried Apple

When 6th grade teacher, Dee Holt, told his class that he was a member of Alpha Phi Alpha, they joked that he was a member of "Apple Fried Apple." Then Holt decided to take it further and turn seven of his students into a "line" of "Seeds." Apple Fried Apple captured the hearts of many Divine Nine members and even the nation. 
My fellow Alpha brother did me the honor of joining me on "For Our Edification" to talk about how Apple Fried Apple. Most importantly, we chatted about how D9 members in education leverage their memberships to expose their students to higher education, especially HBCUs.
The views expressed on "For Our Edification" do not reflect the views of any entity with which the hosts or guests are affiliated.

016 | Motivational Speaking

Does motivational speaking get you...motivated? With so many motivational speakers out there, some question whether or not they hold real value. At the same time, maybe there isn't enough motivation out there. 
To talk this out, I turned to an old speaking colleague of mine, Mark Wiggins. Mark is a speaker, author, trainer and host of the "Off the Bench" podcast. We talk about how he got into the business, when he realized that his words were reaching people and what motivational speaking does for folks' identity and value. And Mark also talks about why the word "until" is special.

015 | On My Brain: My Obsession with Narcissism

If you follow me on Twitter, you may have noticed that, at times, I reference narcissistic leadership (#narcissisticleadership). You may even believe that I have somewhat of an obsession with narcissism. The reason narcissism tends to be such a big deal to me is 1) my professional experiences and 2) I researched narcissism in leadership for my master's degree. What a revelation! In this episode, I break down what narcissism does to followers' identity and value and I also explain why narcissism is an actual epidemic.
RESOURCES
The Narcissism Spectrum Model
"Why Is Narcissism Increasing Among Young Americans?"