Podchaser Logo
Home
Episode 3: Dr. Kristen Albert

Episode 3: Dr. Kristen Albert

Released Friday, 28th August 2020
Good episode? Give it some love!
Episode 3: Dr. Kristen Albert

Episode 3: Dr. Kristen Albert

Episode 3: Dr. Kristen Albert

Episode 3: Dr. Kristen Albert

Friday, 28th August 2020
Good episode? Give it some love!
Rate Episode

For all intents and purposes, Turning Points President Dr. Kristen Albert was living a life many aspire to live. She had earned a doctoral degree, was working as a professor in a University setting, was a leader in her work and in her church, was well liked, and was an inspiration to many. Her work was excellent, but not wholly satisfying. She was highly successful in her field, yet she knew she had gifts to explore. She had created a success story, yet things didn’t feel right.  What was going on and what could she do to figure it out? Our conversation covers this journey from then to now, where Dr. Albert is finding new creative outlets to use her skills fully, owning her own business where she can coach people through the same "turning point" she reached when she decided to leave academia and strike out on her own.

So often people are asking us: “What do you want to be? What do you want to do?” So often we don’t dwell on the questions: “Who am I? What are my gifts? What are my passions? How can I contribute to this world and how am I going to do that?” We say, “What job can I get so I can make a living?”...  That big lie that you get a PhD … and once you get it life is going to be this imagined thing. … I was there [teaching] for 12 years in the institution of higher education and realized that it was confining. … There were lots of great things about it and lots of opportunities but the creator that I am, the dreaming and the positive spirit that I am … was snuffed right out. It was what they wanted me to be and do in that position and it was not … allowing me to offer what I had in that domain. It was the difference between what they thought I should be and what I knew I could be.   

Dr. Albert and I also explored the journey she has been on over the last several years that led to her new awareness of our racially divided society and the racism that BIPOC face on a daily basis. This prompted her to say to herself:

“Stop reading the books Kris! Get going and do something! And so I created, in collaboration with her, [Lana Jenejev] Introduction to Power, Privilege and Leadership. … I believe that each and every one of us has the responsibility in leadership, whether you are the burger flipper at Burger King (which I was, so that’s not a pejorative statement) … no matter where you are, everyone has a responsibility for leadership. … So, [white] people have an opportunity in this private setting to unpack what is whiteness and what it means to be white, implicit bias, racism, white fragility, allyship, all brought together within a leadership framework with actionable steps and accountability. At the end of the 7 day challenge a 90 minute unpack with others who have been through the 7 day challenge to name your learning and to declare your intentions going forward... I’ve been offering it to hundreds of people at no charge. … The next step for people who want to take it a step further… is to come up with actionable ways to respond within their organizations. That’s an 8 week group coaching where they work individually but have the accountability each week and can work with each other, talking through the challenges. The third [step] becomes an ongoing affinity group … where those folks who completed the second level can continue to have these conversations and hold each other accountable.”

Some of the people and orgs Dr. Albert mentioned:
www.dramandakemp.com
www.bethebridge.com
https://episcopalchurch.org/beloved-community
www.liveworksatisfied.com
https://www.facebook.com/pg/QuintEssentiallyBrass/about/ 

Show More

Unlock more with Podchaser Pro

  • Audience Insights
  • Contact Information
  • Demographics
  • Charts
  • Sponsor History
  • and More!
Pro Features