Lessons on Allyship, personal empowerment, and organizational change
Terrasmart is a devoted supporter of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in our company and our industry. Most recently, we sponsored a Women in Cleantech and Sustainability (WCS) event called Embracing Your Power (for Good) on December 5th, 2024.
This event featured a panel of knowledgeable and inspiring industry leaders, including our own KC Rose, VP of Human Resources at Terrasmart. Read on to hear insights on ways you can use your superpowers at work, act as allies for other groups, and control your own circumstances even in the face of external hurdles.
Esteemed panel
- Trish Pinnella: Women in Cleantech and Sustainability board member (moderator)
- KC Rose: VP of Human Resources at Terrasmart
- Naveed Hasan: VP of Strategy at Sungrow North America
- Chris Nichols: Executive Director, Renewables Forward
Impactful ways to share your superpowers
The panel discussion began with KC Rose sharing her 18 years of experience in the HR space, with a list of actionable ways that people can identify and share their own “superpowers” at work.
1. Lead by example. It may seem obvious, but your leadership style and actions in the workplace set an example for everyone else, and you want that example to be one you’re proud of.
2. Develop emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence includes self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, and social skills. Developing these skills makes you a more effective collaborator and leader in the workplace.
3. Amplify underrepresented voices: Mentorships are key to amplifying underrepresented voices. Whether it’s through a formal program or you simply take someone under your wing, mentoring someone gives them a source of advocacy and visibility they may not have otherwise.
4. Encourage diverse perspectives in decision-making: Data from McKinsey shows that companies with ethnic and gender diversity financially outperform less diverse companies. Specific to decision making, including people from different backgrounds, skill sets, experiences, and company levels in the decision can enhance a growth mindset within the organization.
5. Drive organizational change: While individual actions and advocacy are important, so is organizational change. Issues like pay equity for women and racial minorities is an example of a gap that needs change at the organizational level.
6. Promote innovation through inclusion: Innovation happens when people feel comfortable taking calculated risks and throwing out ideas without fear of reprisal. Creating an environment that encourages new ideas and perspectives helps companies stay on the cutting edge.
7. Cultivate resilience through diverse networks: Both in your company and outside of it, take time to build relationships and network beyond your own immediate circles. Hearing from others enriches your own knowledge and improves your ability to adapt to industry change.
8. Communicate the business case for inclusion: When seeking to create organizational change, consider how you can strengthen your business case. What statistics, research, and data back-up your proposal?
9. Encourage continuous learning on DEIB: Encouraging in-house training, networking events, and dedicated forums for DEIB helps bring out the personal superpowers from all employees.
10. Encourage accountability: Hold yourself accountable to fostering inclusion. Bad days happen to everyone, but aim to bring your best self to work every day.
“Everyone has unique sources of strength. Sharing your superpowers at work benefits your company, boosts your own career, and creates a space for others to be their best self as well.” – KC Rose
Examples in Allyship
The panel continued with insights from Naveed Hasan. Naveed is in a unique position of generational allyship – his grandfather was founder of BRAC, an international NGO created to empower women, with the premise that supporting women will also benefit men. At the same time, his father also faced discrimination as an immigrant and person of color when he first moved to the U.S., so he understands the importance of having allies from other groups on one’s side.
Naveed remarked that early in his career, there was a marked difference in the number of women in the work setting and the environment in which they worked. He is pleased to see that some of his former female managers have dedicated their careers to promoting gender diversity and combating non-inclusive workplace practices. However, he noted that there is still a long way to go, and it’s obvious at industry and trade events how underrepresented women are.
As a data-proven example of the importance of women in sustainability, he pointed out that in the international micro-lending space, women had a higher rate of paying back loans and creating business success from the support of micro-lending, which changed the mindset about the importance of elevating women in business.
He also shared names of women in the industry he admires, including Abby Hopper, President of the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA).
“Being an ally needs to be the default.” – Naveed Hasan
Lessons in personal empowerment
The panel wrapped up with Chris Nichols, a well-respected leader in renewables diversity. She immediately shared messages of inspiration, pointing out that however people may feel about the state of the world right now, there are always things we can control. This message is particularly relevant when people feel overwhelmed or outnumbered.
She shared important statistics on the importance of female leadership in organizations, including the fact that companies with more women at the top, including C-suite positions and board positions, perform better across multiple metrics. She also offered examples of women who have asserted control over their own circumstances, even in the face of adversity, such as Mary Jackson, the first African-American engineer at NASA.
Chris got even more tactical with tips on how to control one’s own space, such as how to sit at a physical table (lean forward with both hands on the table), or on Zoom (have no more than two fingers of space above your head so you take up the square, have a logo visible on the left, and dress for the title above yours).
She advised people to think of peers in terms of a mentor, mentee, or ally in order to create more diverse workspaces, and then broke attendees out in small groups to discuss ways they could share their strengths and encourage more gender diversity in their own companies.
“You can’t control other people, but there are always things you CAN control. You can control your own space. You can control your presence. You can control your own actions.” – Chris Nichols
Terrasmart remains committed to DEIB. We actively seek ways to foster inclusive environments, recruit and support diversity of all kinds, and promote a company culture in which all voices are shared, respected, and honored.
