Episode 207: The Power of Emergence: Gender Identity, Trust, and Belonging at Work with Ella Samson

What does it mean for you or the people on your team to emerge as your true selves, and how does that authenticity change the way you work?

 

On this episode of The Future of Teamwork, Dane Groeneveld talks with Amazon bestselling author Ella Samson, a former Deloitte Consulting VP with 30 years of enterprise leadership experience, founder of Emerge Collaborations, and author of The Power of Emergence: A Memoir to Demystify Gender Identity and Inspire Belonging in the Workplace. Drawing on her own experience, Ella explains why there’s a gap between leaders’ intentions around belonging and how those efforts are experienced by gender-diverse and transgender employees. She also shares why closing that gap starts with understanding gender identity as something we all have.

 

Ella and Dane explore the connection between understanding, empathy, trust, belonging, and effective teamwork. Ella shares how emerging as her authentic self let her build deeper relationships and be more present with others, and how it led to two promotions and a more productive team. They also discuss why “emergence” describes her experience more accurately than “transition,” how language shapes the mental models we have about ourselves and each other, and why it’s okay for leaders to admit they don’t fully understand. This episode is for leaders who want every member of their team to feel they genuinely belong.

 

🔗 Connect with Ella Samson on her website
🔗 Get a copy of The Power of Emergence