S10-Ep5: Gender, Race, and the Leadership Obstacles Faced by this Canadian Member of Parliament

Guest: Celina Caesar-Chavannes

What’s your secret identity?

 

Our true selves are often buried so deeply that they’re a secret to us. It’s hard enough to lead authentically when you don’t know who you are – but how can you motivate your team if you don’t know who they really are, either?

 

The key is the praxis of humanization, a way of helping your coworkers bring their authentic selves to the office. Guest Celina Caesar-Chavannes discovered this truth in her own personal journey – a journey that took her to the halls of power as a member of Canada’s parliament, where societal stereotypes continued around her unabated. But her revelation on identity soon followed, with important lessons for other leaders!

Here's what Celina and Maureen cover:

1. Why titles don’t protect us from society’s sundry "-isms";
2. The many ways we’re conditioned to NOT be our best at work (or at home); and
3. How leaders can foster humanization, so people bring their best, unique selves to work (and you have a happier, more productive team).

 

Produced in partnership with the International Leadership Association: https://ilaglobalnetwork.org.

 

Other episodes you'll enjoy:

- The Power of Praise: Making People's Performance Positive with Ben Marcovitz

- Non-Traditional Leadership for Our New Era with Nathan Eva & Nicole Ferry

- Working & Living in Joy with Pamela Larde

 

For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn. We’re on Instagram, Threads, and Twitter, too!

 

RESOURCES:  

Celina’s website is https://celinacc.ca. Her book is Can You Hear Me Now; it’s available in hardback at https://amzn.to/494KzO9, paperback at https://amzn.to/49jrJmz, and audiobook at https://amzn.to/47QhWDm.

 

Books Celina referenced for further reading include Paulo Freire’s The Pedagogy of the Oppressed (paperback: https://amzn.to/48Knws6 or audiobook: https://amzn.to/3OeP0ho) and Robert Livingston’s The Conversation (hardback: https://amzn.to/3UbQahp or audiobook: https://amzn.to/42awCf4).

 

Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. 

 

Maureen’s latest book is Innovative Leadership & Followership in the Age of AI. You’ll find details about it at https://bit.ly/LeaderInAI. Her other 10 books are available on Amazon here. 

 

 

Books we’re reading for fun or personal development right now include:

• Becoming Superman: My Journey from Poverty to Hollywood by J. Michael Straczynski
• Own the AI Revolution by Neil Sahota
• Time and Chance by Kim Campbell
• Three Rocks: The Story of Ernie Bushmiller, the Man Who Created Nancy by Bill Griffith

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OUR PODCAST TEAM:  

Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf

Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko

Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko

Assistant Editor & Raconteur: Luigi Morelli

We Hear Them Now and Always: Jenna Reik & Mike Morrow-Fox

CONNECT WITH US: 

YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership 

Threads: @innovativeleaders

Twitter: @IL_Institute 

LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 

Instagram: @innovativeleader 

TikTok: @innovativeleadership

Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com 

 

Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! 

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About Our Guest:  

Celina Caesar-Chavannes is a highly accomplished author, speaker, and consultant, serving as Sr. Advisor of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiatives and Adjunct Lecturer at Queen’s University. She is a former Member of Parliament (MP) with the Government of Canada, who represented the Town of Whitby, a suburb east of Toronto. As a Liberal MP, she served as Parliamentary Secretary to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau from Dec 2015 – Jan 2017, and later as the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of International Development et la Francophonie from Jan 2017 to Aug 2018. 

 

Celina is also an astute academic with a commitment to service. She holds a Bachelor of Science from the University of Toronto, an MBA in Healthcare Management from the University of Phoenix, an Executive MBA from the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto, and is a [Deepak] Chopra Certified Health Instructor. She is currently pursuing a PhD in the Department of Neurosciences at Queen’s University, exploring the intersection of equity and empathy.