Addressing Tension with Crucial Conversations
Episode Notes
In this episode of 52 Humans, host Paul Wolfe interviews Daisy Auger-Dominguez, Chief People Officer of Vice Media Group and author of "Inclusion Revolution." They discuss human-first and empathetic leadership, highlighting the importance of managers in creating inclusive workplaces. Daisy shares personal and professional experiences, emphasizing the need for leaders to lead with care, transparency, and open communication. She recounts a story of resolving tensions between teams by facilitating a frank conversation and establishing clear rules of engagement. The episode emphasizes the significance of creating environments where employees feel heard, respected, and supported.
About the Guest
Daisy Auger-Dominguez
Chief People Officer
Vice Media
Daisy Auger-Domínguez is an accomplished executive and dynamic leader widely recognized for her ability to lead organizational transformations on the leading edge of culture. As Global Chief People Officer at Vice Media Group, Daisy oversees the end-to-end employee experience, DEI, ESG, and corporate facilities.
Auger-Domínguez started her career at Moody's Investors Service and has since served on leadership teams at The Walt Disney Company, Google, and Viacom. She also founded Auger-Domínguez Ventures, a workplace culture consultancy.
Daisy’s thought leadership extends beyond her professional achievements. She authored Inclusion Revolution, and has been published in outlets like Harvard Business Review and IDEAS.TED. Her contributions to the field have earned her prestigious honors, including Brooklyn Community Service's Social Impact award; Hispanic Executive's Top 10 Leaders; People en Español's 25 Most Powerful Women, ADCOLOR Legend award, Walter Kaitz Foundation Changemaker award, and the New York City Council Leadership in Community Service Award.
Daisy serves on the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and St. Ann's Warehouse boards. Her bold voice in elevating the importance of inclusive, courageous, and competent management in the workplace positions her as a sought-after speaker and thought leader in management, leadership, workplace culture, and the future of work.
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0:15
Hello and welcome to another weekly episode of 52 humans, the vlog cast on stories of human first leadership.
0:21
I'm your host, Paul Wolf and I've created the show to inspire us all to transform our workplaces by returning to the humanity that binds us today.
0:29
I'm excited to be chatting with Daisy Jo Dominguez about human first and empathetic leadership.
0:35
Daisy is the Chief People Officer of Vice Media Group, the author of Inclusion Revolution and an amazing human being who I call a friend Daisy.
0:44
Welcome to the show.
0:46
Thank you so much Paul for having me.
0:48
I'm thrilled to be here.
0:49
It's so good to see you.
0:50
It's been so long since I've actually like we, we saw each other in person, but now it's on Zoom, but it's been such a long time because you know, the pandemic has stretched everything out for all of us.
0:59
Talk to us a little bit about your book, Inclusion Revolution and kind of what that's about and how you, how you decided to write it.
1:05
Sure.
1:07
Well, Inclusion Revolution was the book, I think that many of us who have ever written books.
1:11
It's the book that's been in, in, in my head for a really long time and it's, it's, it's the accumulation of personal and professional experiences as a woman of color in the workplace who rose to senior leadership ranks.
1:24
And, you know, and often when people see you in these titles, they just see you in what you're doing now and, and don't, you know, don't, don't have that, that sense of what it takes to get there.
1:35
And, and I, I wanted to write the book that I wish I had when I started doing diversity and inclusion work.
1:41
And I wanted to have the book that I wish I had when I started thinking about building a career and what would be the challenges as, as a woman of color, as a Latina as a brown woman in America.
1:52
And so the book is very much of a a bit of a love note for managers because we both know managers are really the linchpin of organizations and, and, and who, whose, whose experience and, and behaviors and comments deeply impact the experience of an employee, you know, from the very beginning, from the very first time that you meet them through every day, through your everyday experience.
2:18
And so I wanted to give, I also wanted this note to this book, I'm sorry to be about a, a love note for managers that could be a resource guide and it, and it's written like an hr book.
2:30
So it, it follows the traditional course of hiring, developing retaining talent.
2:36
So if you look at it, you could think of it.
2:38
I was like, OK, I can go into each chapter and depending on the life journey that I'm on.
2:43
the sorry, the employee life cycle that I'm on, I can go there, but it really is intended to be also story driven and to, you know, to the work that you do.
2:52
You know, this is about humans, this is about about how we interact, the fears and anxieties that we all face, the moments that you know, shake us to our core and the moments that ground us.
3:05
And so throughout the book, there are teachings and learnings and research backed information around how to, you know, not just the traditional recruiting more inclusively, but what is it that is holding us back from creating the right conditions to build workplaces that are truly diversity?
3:22
Yeah, I, I love it.
3:23
You, you do such amazing work and you're such a, such a voice from an inclusion perspective.
3:28
That's why I admire you.
3:29
And you're right.
3:30
Like, you know, there, there, there's the, the same employees don't leave companies, they leave leaders and I I, you know, having done the job that you do for a long time, that's, that's a true statement.
3:39
Like people will leave a company they love because they've got a boss that just does not really get them or, or listen to them as a human being and that's such and, and bosses are humans too.
3:49
Like we're all humans.
3:50
We all have our own stuff that's going on and your experiences growing up have helped shape you and the kind of the work that you do the same goes for me too.
3:57
So, it's so interesting and I'm sure you've got tons.
4:00
Tons.
4:01
I, I know, I always know C hr Os and CPO s have tons of stories about everything about leaders.
4:07
Some good, some not so good because that's the nature of the job.
4:10
But can you, can you share with us your experience or your story about human first and empathetic leadership?
4:16
Absolutely, Paul.
4:18
you know, I, I, I often, I'm often the first person that people come to address or try to resolve interpersonal tensions and, you know, and it's, it's something that I, I take great pride in.
4:32
It's a lot of, it's a lot of work to I'm sorry, Paul, can you sign it for me?
4:39
I'm sorry, I'm sorry, Paul.
4:41
just one second.
4:50
Ok.
4:55
Mhm.
5:41
Yeah, Paul, I'm so sorry.
5:56
Don't worry about it.
5:57
It's fine.
5:57
It's what editing is, what editing is for.
6:00
Sorry, I'm gonna, I'm gonna pick it up from when I throw it to you or talk about CPO cho s have stories about leaders good and bad and then I'll take it to you and then we'll get a single shot and I, I just made a note of the time so they'll know.
6:12
All right.
6:13
Ok.
6:15
So as, as, as chief people, officers, chief of chief hr officers, we both know their stories.
6:20
We have lots of stories about leaders, the good, the bad kind of and the ugly, but we want to focus on the good today.
6:25
Can you share with the audience, your story of human first and empathetic leadership?
6:30
Oh, thank you, Paul.
6:31
And you're absolutely right.
6:32
We, we do get a front row seat to the, the most complex and the the most joyous and sometimes the saddest of human moments.
6:43
But let's talk about, let's talk about a a positive one today.
6:47
You know, I was recently asked to address a matter that was causing a lot of anxiety and this, this function among two teams and there was one senior leader who was unhappy with the support that he was receiving from.
7:02
what, what, what is a shared service model?
7:05
And in that shared service model, he had someone that was supporting him who he did not directly manage, right?
7:12
This person did not report directly to him.
7:14
And he was making a lot of noisy demands to replace that employee who did not report directly to him.
7:21
And everyone was getting really upset and agitated and all of a sudden I started getting a lot of calls from the, the, the, the manager who was making the request, the, the, the manager of the employee who was in question here, The not only the leader that was making the accusation, but also then I got a call from the accused employee and here's what I knew before this eruption.
7:46
There was no evidence that this senior leader had shared constructive feedback with this employee.
7:52
I knew that information, I knew that this leader had a history of demoralizing peers and junior colleagues with what were perceived, but also proven unreasonable expectations and a lot of micromanagement.
8:07
And I also knew that all of these individuals, no matter what their interpersonal tensions were, had to work together and they had to work together cross functionally.
8:14
So we had to figure out how they could deliver a strong product and still like each other and still respect each other and still appreciate each other.
8:22
So to resolve the matter as efficiently as I could, we ended up bringing everybody together.
8:28
We brought all the critical stakeholders and then some I, I initially began having all the individual conversations with everyone and then I brought everybody together and I, I was very here at the outset of the conversation that we were there to have a frank conversation and what would be a potentially uncomfortable conversation about what was getting in the way of this team, this group of people working effectively together, right?
8:52
What was the root cause of all of this tension.
8:55
And before that meeting, I have to say that the junior members of the team were really worried and they were talking to each other and somehow this is how it usually the information usually comes to you through like whispers and a little thread of, of different people, trying to reach out to you and initial and, and eventually, a few people came to me and said, hey, such and such does not want to be part of this group because they're really worried that as the most junior members of the team, they're not gonna feel their voice is not gonna be heard.
9:27
And so I said, I hear you and I'm going to moderate this conversation.
9:31
So I want this person to know that I have their best interest in hand and that I will moderate this as fairly as possible and that we're gonna have an honest and fair and thoughtful conversation about what is going on, but we need to have a conversation.
9:46
I just want, I want this person to know that we're gonna talk about not just the quality of the service, but also the ways that we work together, the rules of engagement, the communications process.
9:55
And I will do my very best to protect everyone's dignity and everyone's respect in that conversation.
10:03
And so we started having the conversation and Paul within 15 minutes, we had already diagnosed what was the problem?
10:10
And it wasn't the individuals per se or there were elements there.
10:14
But even in the 1st 15 minutes, we diagnosed that the rules of engagement for this, relationship had never really been established.
10:21
We didn't have a set, a tiktok, if you will, a list of items that needed to be addressed before you actually delivered the product that had to be reviewed.
10:32
And in the midst of this, which we all realized were operational tensions that could be easily addressed.
10:37
We also uncovered, I I won't say that we uncovered it.
10:41
We knew that was what was happening.
10:42
But this is what conversations bring to light.
10:45
What we what we uncovered was that you had a creative product that needed to be developed and a lot of different creative voices along the way with very different opinions.
10:57
And this leader who had been the, you know, the, the voice of anger and frustration at the very beginning.
11:05
His check was necessary at every step of the process or was proceed to be necessary at every step of the process.
11:13
And as we were going through the conversation, we all agreed.
11:16
No, no, we need you at the beginning and we need you at the end in the middle.
11:21
These are the stakeholders that need to be making decisions.
11:24
They are the ones who are responsible.
11:26
I offered to create a racy model, but these are creative executives and they do not like those.
11:31
But, but we use the language about responsibility and accountability.
11:35
And at the end of the conversation, we got to a place where we all agreed verbally and then later in writing, because I had the, I had one of the senior managers send out a note afterwards saying this is what we agreed to, this is what we did on how we were gonna proceed as a team going forward.
11:52
And by we, I mean, they, but I always insert myself because as a human, I, I'm part of a collective process.
11:58
And at the end of that conversation, I have to tell you that the junior members still felt a little wobble and, you know, and then he emailed me afterwards and said, Daisy, is it ok if I still keep you in the communications?
12:08
And I said, ok, for just a couple of weeks because at the end of the day, you need to run this without me.
12:14
But did you feel heard?
12:16
Yes.
12:16
Did you feel respected?
12:18
Yes.
12:19
Do we know what we need to do in the future when you feel that this may not be the case, you know, where to go?
12:27
And the last conversation that I had, Paul was with the senior manager and I, and I started that conversation because I've known him for many years and he, this is someone that I have a lot of these conversations with.
12:37
And I said, here's the thing, this conversation could have been avoided if you had led with care from the very beginning and with full transparency, we did not have to reach this point where everybody's angry and everybody's frustrated and you're blaming all the wrong people.
12:54
And he saw some of it.
12:55
He didn't see all of it, but I want to believe that his approach to caring and humanizing his teams will be a little better next time.
13:03
Oh, I, so off camera, I was nodding and smiling the entire time you were talking because every C hr O or CPO or V P of hr business partner listening and watching this has had that same experience and the beauty of you and any t people officer that's as good as you.
13:21
Like you leaned in like let's level the playing field.
13:25
So it wasn't about time because sometimes a bigger title, their voice gets heard more, takes more, more, more, you know, if you will, that wasn't the case.
13:36
Not surprisingly the junior members were concerned and didn't want to attend the meeting.
13:39
It's like I got you.
13:40
Yeah, you, you, you, you assured them and then, you know, you're right your conversation with him at the end, the last conversation, like none of this had to happen.
13:49
And if the other thing is thinking about it, if he wasn't just thinking about it from his perspective, but he was thinking about it from the junior employees perspective.
13:57
I've got a senior leader, a senior executive who's upset with me and talking to my manager about me and trying to get me replaced.
14:03
Like that is a terrible, terrible feeling for anybody, but especially when it's somebody more junior in the organization.
14:09
And so just imagine, I can just imagine, I'm sure you thought about this too, the angst and the, the nervousness and the feelings that person was going through during whatever period of time that was.
14:20
Well, that, that actually Paul, that's, that is what human leadership is about, is, is instantly putting myself in the of the other person and knowing I need to center on this person right now, right?
14:37
Because they are the most vulnerable.
14:39
They are the, the most, the most afraid and they are the ones that are walking into in their minds, the lions then because in most organizations and to most of our experiences, a senior leader, whatever they say goes right.
14:52
And so, you know, and I've had that, I've, I've had colleagues, you know, more junior members say, well, I don't, I don't bring this up because they're such and such and they're your peer, they're your colleague.
15:02
And I said no one is exempt from being a good human in this organization.
15:09
I was just like that, that is, that, is, that, is that, is it, that's the nail on the head is we are all human beings first before any title.
15:19
It doesn't make a difference what our title is or what our paycheck looks like.
15:22
We all get up in the morning, we all need food and water to exist.
15:25
We're all humans.
15:26
We all have our own stuff going on.
15:28
But like you like that is like a case that should be a white paper and hr one oh one white paper, you should document it because like any new business partner coming in, hr business partner coming in, that's, they're gonna go through what you, what you just described.
15:42
And that's why off camera.
15:43
I was like, oh yes, yes, I was trying not to interact.
15:45
I was like, I just don't want to be like, oh my God, like I've been there.
15:50
That's such an amazing story.
15:51
You, you, this is why you are so amazing at what you do and, and a voice for inclusion is you level the playing field, you listen to them all, you made sure they were all heard because a lot of times people just when you come to employees and their disagreement, even between two employees, sometimes they just want to get it out and, and like just let somebody hear them and let them sit out there for a minute.
16:14
Yeah.
16:14
A lot of times like I don't, I because I often ask people, what role do you want me to play?
16:20
You know, what, what are you trying to get out of this?
16:22
And for some of them, it's just, I just want it out like I just, I just need to get it out of my system.
16:27
I'm like, ok, we can do that too.
16:29
That's it.
16:30
And sometimes it's as simple as that.
16:31
Sometimes it's really thorny and messy and difficult, but sometimes it really is just as simple and any leader doesn't have to be an hr leader can just sit and listen because I think listening is a, you know, we all can, we all can listen.
16:43
But because of life and work and technology, I think sometimes we don't lean into that skill and just listen and acknowledge.
16:51
is, is there, there are amazing things that you can do that don't cost you anything and only take, take a little bit of a little bit of your time.
16:57
It's not like it's gonna be a big time suck.
16:59
And I think it's so important to remember that such a great story.
17:03
I, I adore you.
17:04
I could talk to you all day, but you know, I appreciate it.
17:09
Thank you, honor part of this series and I can't wait to hear it all.
17:13
Oh, thank you so much for being on today Daisy.
17:15
I appreciate you.
17:17
Appreciate you.
17:18
Good luck with everything.
17:19
Take care.
17:19
Bye.
17:21
Thanks for joining us on 52 humans.
17:23
If you enjoy this, please give me a follow to be notified of future episodes.
17:27
I so appreciate all of your support if you want to watch past episodes or you have a story of human first leadership that you'd like to share on an upcoming episode.
17:36
Please go to Paul wolf dot com forward slash 52 humans.
17:41
And lastly as I do each week, please reflect on one way that you can bring greater empathy into your.
17:49
Oh, sorry about that, Daisy.
17:53
My husband has uncanny timing to call me.
17:56
He's in where is he Croatia?
18:01
So I know it's late.
18:02
I'm sorry, I'm gonna do that over.
18:04
Give me one more second.
18:07
Thanks for joining us today on 52 humans.
18:10
If you enjoyed this, please give me a follow to be notified of future episodes.
18:13
I so appreciate all of your support.
18:16
If you want to watch past episodes or you have a story of human first leadership that you'd like to share, please go to Paul Wolf dot com forward slash 52 humans.
18:27
Hey, Drew, can I call you back?
18:29
I'm in the middle of recording.
18:32
Sorry, Daisy one more time.
18:36
Thanks for joining us today.
18:37
I'm 52 humans.
18:38
If you enjoyed this, please give me a follow to be notified of future episodes.
18:42
I so appreciate all of your support if you want to watch past episodes or you have a story of human first leadership that you'd like to share.
18:49
Please go to Paul Wolf dot com forward slash 52 humans.
18:53
And lastly as I do each week, please reflect on one way that you can bring greater empathy into your workplace.
18:59
This week.
18:59
It's these small acts of humanity and kindness that make for a better work culture and ultimately a better world.
19:05
I'm Paul Wolf and I'll see you next time on 52 humans.