Why Allyship Isn’t Enough

In Season 3 Episode 3 of I So Appreciate You!, co-hosts Nadege Souvenir and Melanie Hoffert talk to Seena Hodges, Founder and CEO of The Woke Coach, about why it’s not enough to be an ally and how we go from being allies to being accomplices. 

Seena Hodges is in the business of discomfort, and she wants people to get comfortable with it. Her company, The Woke Coach, works with businesses ranging from small nonprofits to Fortune 500 companies, all of which share a desire to make their workplaces more equitable and just spaces. Seena knows that fear is the one thing that stops us from growing and she’s not afraid to work with people on tapping into their fears, biases and discomfort.  

When working with clients, Seena asks them two things:  

1) What is something that they care about implicitly? 

2) What is something that angers them more than anything? 

From there, Seena says that you can find what spurs you to action. She implores her clients, and people in general, to do the work – a critical step for going beyond allyship.  

“The moment that you’re exposed to something that you haven’t been exposed to before, it is your inherent responsibility to research that – to continue to develop your awareness around that thing or construct or reality for specific people. That’s the responsibility I think people have when it comes from trying to move from ally to accomplice.”

Seena also shares her insights on current DEI workforce trends, whether these efforts are working, and why now is the time to continue investing in DEI work. She offers wisdom and words of advice to all people, not just leaders in the workforce, on how to grow and become true accomplices to our fellow humans

Links 

The Woke Coach 

Follow Seena on: 

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