Kittie W. Watson is President and founder of Innolect Inc., a global leadership and organization development firm that prepares executives and their teams to succeed in high-performance, high-integrity workplaces. With over twenty-five years of strategic change management experience, Kittie has been a trusted advisor to Fortune 500 C-suite officers seeking to accelerate positive business results today and create legacies of excellence for the future.
Under her leadership Innolect has developed a community of credentialed experts and executive coaches who advise, design and facilitate strategies that rewire an organization and drive outstanding leadership at each stage of executive advancement. Innolect prepares its clients to compete more effectively in diverse marketplaces by building the skilled leaders and collaborative teams that drive productivity, inclusion, enterprise agility and engagement. Towards this end, Kittie brings a deep appreciation for the challenges faced by executives in high-stakes settings and works exceptionally well with mission-critical business needs. Focused on creating more inclusive cultures, she quickly sizes up the crux of difficult situations and provides leaders with powerful solutions that pay off for themselves and their stakeholders.
Kittie has worked with the top leadership teams of Fortune 500 companies, educational institutions, government agencies and non-profit organizations. She has extensive experience in orchestrating assessment and change initiatives in organizations such as Bayer, Zoetis, Entergy, Compass, Cricket, Exxon-Mobil, Federal Reserve Board, Pfizer, Equifax, US Army, Monsanto, Red Cross, Prisma Healthcare, SonyBMG, Credit Human, Atrium, Southern Company, Genentech and Wells Fargo.
An internationally known communication and listening expert, she served as the youngest Department Chair at Tulane University. Author of 15 books, Kittie is listed as one of the top 25 most prolific women writers in communication. Her assessment tools are used globally to enhance individual and team effectiveness. Her co-authored book, Listen Up!, has been published in eight languages. She has been featured on ABC’s 20/20, Money, Glamour and Home Office Computing. Her research has been published in Harvard Business Review, People + Strategy, American Medical News, SHRM, Chief Learning Officer and Journal of Christian Nursing to name a few.
Kittie is a nationally recognized business leader. Recent awards include being awarded DA4S’s 2020 Eight that Innovate, named 2019 WBEs Who Rock by DBE Magazine, 2017 Top 100 woman-owned business, 2016 Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Babson College scholar and as a 2015 Business Star by the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC). Also recognized with Diversity Supplier Award for Innolect’s persistence, innovation and quality.
She serves on the WaterStone Foundation, Habitat for Humanity of York County, and Leadership Forum with WBENC. She co-founded The Institute for Intrapersonal Processes (ISIP), a 501c3 nonprofit that promotes research and development for under-represented groups and underprivileged individuals. An Honorary Women Build Chair for Habitat for Humanity, Kittie is committed to “Pay it Forward.” She is an advocate for social justice issues worldwide.
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Transcript
Intro: [00:00:04] Broadcasting live from the Business RadioX Studios in Atlanta, Georgia, it’s time for GWBC Radio’s Open for Business. Now, here’s your host.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:18] Lee Kantor here. Another episode of GWBC Open for Business, and this is going to be a good one. Today, we have with us Kittie Watson with Innolect. Welcome, Kittie.
Kittie Watson: [00:00:27] Thank you so much, Lee. It’s great to be back.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:29] Well, before we get too far into things, tell us about Innolect. How are you serving folks?
Kittie Watson: [00:00:34] Well, Innolect is an organizational and leadership executive development consulting firm. And we say, we grow the leader in every one. And now, of course, just like the rest of the world, we’ve had to rethink what we’re doing. And so, we’re serving our clients and working with executives remotely.
Lee Kantor: [00:00:55] Now, the is hypothesis that there’s a leader in everyone still standing despite this major chaos and crisis. Have you found that to be true?
Kittie Watson: [00:01:05] We definitely have found that to be true. And, as you might be aware, we have had a partial virtual business for a number of years. And based on one of our employees wanting to move and asking us if they could work with us remotely, we ended up leaving brick and mortar and becoming a virtual organization. And what we’re seeing is that, leaders are stepping up in many different ways. Some have had to learn new skills and we’re helping them with that remotely. Sometimes we’re helping organizations think through what they’re doing with some of the social issues that are happening. So, we’re seeing leaders step up in very different ways. And some struggled at the beginning and we’re beginning to see them emerge stronger than ever before.
Lee Kantor: [00:01:54] Now, when the pandemic hit and maybe some people thought, “Oh, this will just be a few days and next week we’ll get back to it.” How did your team kind of plan for this and say, “Okay. This could be a few weeks, but it could be longer. How are we going to deal with our clients?” Like, what was your kind of crisis team or how did you attack that when it was right in the midst of it?
Kittie Watson: [00:02:16] You know, it’s interesting because we worked with other organizations to look at crisis and issues management. And as an entrepreneur, I am an optimist. And so, initially, I looked at things as, hopefully, being a short term rather than long term. Even so, we immediately had to look first at just how to protect our staff, and our team, and our consultants as much as possible. So, I had to look at the financial implications and, of course, take advantage of some of the things that were being offered to us and thinking about what we could do differently.
Kittie Watson: [00:02:55] And so, what we did is we were already doing many things, especially executive coaching, blended model of virtual and face-To-face, and could easily move to the virtual platform. What we hadn’t done as much of that we’re doing now is so much more with workshops and strategy sessions and working with teams remotely. And that has been different. And because we were already in that space, we were actually able to help leaders think about how to engage teams and how to work with them differently now that they’re working from home. It’s funny to me, Lee, is that often organizations say they want their employees to bring their whole selves to work, but they didn’t know what that was until the pandemic.
Lee Kantor: [00:03:43] Right. And now they’re bringing their work to their whole selves.
Kittie Watson: [00:03:48] Exactly. I mean, there are the distractions, of course. There are families that are helping their children with education. There are pets. There’s so many things that are happening that people had to adjust to. And we’re a resilient society and, I think, as a whole, resilient people. But that’s a really good thing that we’re seeing now, is we’re helping organizations and individuals assess their own resilience.
Lee Kantor: [00:04:17] Because I’m seeing this, but tell me if you’re seeing this as well, this kind of a level of grace that maybe didn’t exist before. Like, if you were working at home, maybe you were trying to fake it and you’re like, “I’m at the office.” And, you know, now a kid walks by a Zoom call or, you know, a dog barks and everybody laughs it off or wants to see pictures of the dog or cat. Are you seeing kind of that kind of generosity and grace a little bit because we’re all in this together.
Kittie Watson: [00:04:45] We definitely have seen that part of ourselves emerge. You know, with technology, even, I think people are much more impatient with technology prior to COVID. And, now, they understand that there may be several people in a home trying to use the same internet, and so there may be disruptions. And so, we have alternatives, you know, sometimes we’re on a Zoom call seeing each other and then at the same time on the phone because we want to have that back up. The other thing, though, that I’m seeing and I do see grace and we work to create an organization in a workplace that is respectful and inclusive in everything that they do.
Kittie Watson: [00:05:30] But through this long period of time, what I’m seeing is that many people also are becoming very brittle. And what I mean by that, not even realizing the stress or toll it’s taking when leaders are not doing as good a job of taking care of themselves. Finding a way to exercise, for example, or meditate, or pray, or just taking some time to center themselves. Because what we’re finding, especially initially, is people are working longer hours. Maybe it was because of anxiety of what was going to happen next. But not taking as good care of themselves.
Lee Kantor: [00:06:15] Now, when you’re working with a client, are they coming to you in the same manner they were pre-pandemic? Or are you getting a lot of work from existing clients that are doubling down and go, “Look, we need some help here and all hands on deck. So, we have a trusted advisor in Kittie’s team, so let’s kind of lean into that.” Or are people saying, “You know what? There’s a hole on my swing here. I think we need some experts kind of helping us guide us through this.”
Kittie Watson: [00:06:43] Well, I would say both. And I’m very thankful for the loyalty and support and confidence that our long term clients – our first client is still a client today. And so, we do form long term relationships because we become so committed to the people in the organization with which they work. There are some new clients because of a new practice area that we’ve developed.
Kittie Watson: [00:07:10] And because my heart really was impacted so much by George Floyd’s killing and some of the other things, we actually started with a webinar on Bridge Builders for Social Justice. How can we create a world that is more inclusive, respectful, and to build some of those bridges? And so, because of that, we’ve seen other opportunities where people are reaching out curious about what we can do to help within their organizations to build more equity, inclusion, and a greater sense of what diversity truly means.
Lee Kantor: [00:07:51] So, now, let’s kind of help our listeners. Is there any low hanging fruit that they can be doing to kind of make that dream come true in terms of diversity and inclusion?
Kittie Watson: [00:08:04] One of the things that we found, Lee, through our research, and we see this out in other places as well, is that, many leaders have been very uncomfortable to have those conversations about race or difference. And so, rather than saying something or having a real dialogue, some have allowed their organizations to do it externally or have the CEO have a broad town hall meeting. And in actuality, individuals want to be touched one by one.
Kittie Watson: [00:08:39] And so, what we’ve been doing is helping organizations build capacity and their leaders to have those uncomfortable conversations, to listen with empathy – and we call it the radical empathy – to listen non-defensively, to have the courage to reach out to people. I think that was one of the things that hit me the most when I started reaching out to my friends and colleagues and clients of color that so many reached back and had long stories to tell and wanted to get on the phone.
Kittie Watson: [00:09:16] And one in particular affected me when this one woman said, “Not one white person in my organization has reached out to me.” That struck a chord with me and I wanted to figure out – since our vision for Innolect is to better the world by growing leaders and building creative high integrity workplaces, we’ve actually built a whole new practice area around Bridge Building for Social Justice. That is for all people to create those organizations that are respectful, inclusive, and that allow us to bring our true best selves to work.
Lee Kantor: [00:09:53] Now, when that woman said that no white person has come up to them, you know, that some white people wanted to come up to her and probably just didn’t have the tools, or didn’t know what to say, or didn’t want to say the wrong thing. So, what are some ways that the dialogue can begin? Is there things that people can do to just have that conversation in a way that feels safe for both sides?
Kittie Watson: [00:10:21] I think there are so many, Lee. And I think the first, though, I would say is, if there’s discomfort, it’s really going inside to find that courage to act, to do something. It might be writing a note, if that’s more comfortable for a person, just to say, “I’m thinking about you. I’m imagining that this is a difficult time.”
Kittie Watson: [00:10:44] What I really stress for people, though, is to remain curious, to get to know what another person’s story is. Right now, we’re doing more on storytelling, but it’s really story listening. To listen to other people’s story. Once we do that, there’s a different kind of relationship that’s built. And yet, often, we’re in a world that has learned to be advocates, to talk, to share your own story rather than to be those that are listening, asking questions, curious and wanting to know more about another person. So, there are so many tools that we can use. But part of it is, we have to practice doing something uncomfortable to get into more of a new habit of reaching out to people.
Kittie Watson: [00:11:36] And there are going to be situations that come up not just about race. There’s going to be some situations that come up about other topics. And we have seen that, whether it’s politics, that we’re still kind of in the midst of, or how a person’s religious beliefs, how can we be more curious and interested. And where another person’s coming from is a first step and then creates the kind of environment where people will speak up, have a voice. And we find that it leads to greater collaboration, greater innovation, and more productivity.
Lee Kantor: [00:12:14] And I would think that this is an area where if you hadn’t done this before, it may be better to have an expert, like you and your team, come and facilitate this. Because it takes some of the politics and the history out of it. And it looks like it’s a clean slate and it’s kind of an unbiased facilitator rather than, “Oh, that’s Bob. I remember five years ago Bob said that crazy thing, so he doesn’t really mean that.” So, like, it takes some of that away from it where you’re coming in kind of neutral and there to help and listen. And I think it would be more well-received coming from, you know, kind of a stranger or kind of this unaffiliated person as opposed to somebody like, “Oh, that’s the executive just checking a box.”
Kittie Watson: [00:13:04] Well, Lee, I do believe that there are, initially, that discomfort. There is a need, people want to reach out to have some help and support. But one of the principles of Innolect is that, we build internal capacity. We really don’t want the organization to be dependent on us. We want to build and believe that people develop and learn. So, what we’re doing now is working with organizations to help the leaders be able to do that and to recover if there’s been a mistake five years ago.
Kittie Watson: [00:13:40] Because there are long memories in organizations about things that were hurtful or some incidents that occurred. And so, part of it is that we want people to learn to tell new stories. And for a leader, even, to have the humility to say, “There was so much I didn’t know about what you, as an individual, have been going through. I’m learning and I need your help to continue to learn.” And so, what we’re seeing is, is that we’re finding ways for organizations to build that capacity for dialogue, whether it’s teaching a leader more about how to facilitate the types of questions to ask, how to listen non-defensively. And, also, what are some of the other things that can be done creatively to allow people to talk amongst themselves.
Kittie Watson: [00:14:36] So, for example, a number of our clients have started book clubs with different books that might get people to think differently. And it is important to have someone that can monitor, watch, notice when someone feels uncomfortable and to really talk that through or any conflict because of their own hurt. We’re finding that in so many people. We talk about PTSD and certain situations, and we’ve talked about that with the military. All of us have it. And particularly people of color that have had, what some people call, microaggressions, others call it assault. And so, as those happen over and over again, they can react in a way that’s even surprising to them. So, we have to have people well trained internally to handle those situations because it can be ones that you just need a different kind of sensitivity. And so, I appreciate you’re understanding that, Lee.
Lee Kantor: [00:15:48] Yeah. I think that the overall arching goal, I would hope, would be to make the organization kind of be able to do it on their own. But I think at the beginning there has to be a bridge because it’s hard to just create that level of trust, and safety, and comfort, and empathy with people who have – you know, there’s a saying – what is it? – one film, two screens. People are looking at the same exact movie, but getting two different kind of understandings of what reality is or what’s happening on the screen. And I think a lot of this is the framing of it. And first, you need some kind of a neutral trusted authority to help kind of, at least, open the floor in a safe, comfortable way.
Kittie Watson: [00:16:35] And I agree 100 percent with that. And, also, believe that we don’t want leaders to be dependent on us for that. Because we also know from research that leaders think that people feel more trust and safety with them than they actually do. Actually, some of the research shows that as individuals rise in an organization, that they have less empathy because they forget where they’ve come from. And so, part of our role is to help leaders see that and to see what their own blind spots might be so that they can do that on their own eventually.
Kittie Watson: [00:17:17] But agree with you that, initially, we’re finding that organizations need some help within human resources, even, to deal with some of these topics or when they’re groups of people. It may be easier for someone one-on-one than in a group. Or, especially, when we’re working remotely, we’re thinking about handling these dialogues on a social media platform like Zoom, or WebEx, or Teams. And so, there are different skill sets that are needed. And what we find is that, we need to partner with someone on our team or someone internally to manage that process when there’s a larger group of people involved.
Lee Kantor: [00:18:04] Yeah. I mean, we’re all learning. And the people who are going to probably reach out to you have, at least, some self-awareness that there is a need to discuss this or else they wouldn’t be reaching out to you. So, they’re almost there intellectually and emotionally. Or if they weren’t thinking that way, they wouldn’t even care to call you.
Kittie Watson: [00:18:23] Right. And the thing is that, we really are wanting to help organizations see is that it’s not a check the box, a one time event. That we need to create the kind of culture that there’s ongoing dialogue. And that’s why so many programs and initiatives that were started in inclusion and diversity – or used to be diversity and inclusion, and now the name is changing some. And now there’s equity within there, too – is that it is a process. It’s a culture change in many aspects. And to have one course that a person goes to is not going to be enough. And we also know from our own research and others that, if people just hear what they need to do without practicing it, then when the time comes for them to say something, to speak up for someone, they don’t do it unless they practiced it ahead of time. So, what we’re trying to do is to give leaders, and individuals, and teams opportunities to practice listening to and engaging each other in respectful ways.
Lee Kantor: [00:19:35] Right. And if there was ever a case for the importance of a strong culture, it’s in a situation like this where we are remote, and we’re not around each other physically, and we’re not kind of having those serendipitous moments together. And the learning opportunities where I can just, you know, look over your shoulder, you can look over mine. Those are kind of not available anymore. So, we need a strong culture. And culture is one of those things. It’s going to happen with or without you kind of trying to shape it, so you might as well be intentional.
Kittie Watson: [00:20:07] Yes. Definitely. And, you know, the cultures that people have right now, sometimes we’re not really aware of all the subcultures within the culture and how do we bring people into that organization in a very different way. And this is such a great opportunity to do the right thing because we want to create that culture. And for organizations, it’s also profitable to do.
Kittie Watson: [00:20:38] And so, at the same time, you know, if you think about the cost to businesses with discrimination cases in the U.S. in 2019 – there were over 70,000 EEOC discrimination cases, many of them are around race – it’s an estimate over $359 billion. So, if you think about that cost, that’s one thing. But what we’re really looking at is that, if we can create the kind of place that people want to work, bring their best selves, and are really committed to the mission and goals of that organization, then you’re going to have the organization that’s more profitable, that is going to give back, that is going to make a difference. And so, that’s where we’re really focusing some of our energy with this new practice area.
Lee Kantor: [00:21:34] Now, if somebody wanted to learn more, have a more substantive conversation with you or somebody on your team, what’s the best way to get a hold of you?
Kittie Watson: [00:21:40] Well, they could reach out to me individually at kittie, and it’s K-I-T-T-I-E-W, @innolectinc.com. And to spell it – it may be a little difficult or challenging – it’s I-N-N-O-L-E-C-T-I-N-C.com. And, of course, on our website, which is innolectinc.com. They can find a lot of information. There are a number of free resources and some tool kits and templates that leaders can use to help them with their journey of creating the kind of organizations that they really want where people do feel valued, included, and respected.
Lee Kantor: [00:22:25] Now, before we wrap, just a little plug for GWBC. Why was it important for you to be a member there and make that organization a part of your organization’s kind of DNA and culture?
Kittie Watson: [00:22:39] Well, I appreciate GWBC for a number of reasons. I was on the board for a number of years. And I believe it’s another type of organization that’s working to be more inclusive. And in this case, it’s women business owners and giving us an opportunity to bid on projects, that maybe we wouldn’t have had otherwise, through introductions that we’re making within corporate arena. In addition, we’re getting to support each other as women-owned businesses and learn from each other.
Kittie Watson: [00:23:13] GWBC, through the certification, allows us to have resources and learning and to gain that, I guess, it’s a seal of approval that we truly are a woman-owned business. And that we are working to create an opportunity for lots of people in the world. And we partner with so many different people through GWBC with corporations, with government agencies, and there’s an opportunity for us to learn from each other and with each other. And that’s been a value to me.
Lee Kantor: [00:23:53] Now, any advice for the woman-owned business out there that hasn’t got certified or joined GWBC? What is kind of a business case for kind of immersing yourself into that organization?
Kittie Watson: [00:24:08] Part of what I just said, I think, is that we learn from each other. And family members have a hard time understanding of a business owner of any kind until they’ve lived it. It’s that similar empathy. And so, if you work within GWBC, you’re going to be meeting with others that have the same kinds of challenges with PNLs, and hiring, and developing the ideas that you want, especially within this environment. In addition to that, someone that’s not certified, it will give you an opportunity, not to get a contract necessarily, but it will open doors to learn about opportunities that are there. And then, give you the opportunity to compete with other organizations to grow your business.
Kittie Watson: [00:24:59] So, this is a way, again, I really see it about learning and change and collaboration. There are ways for us to gain new insights. And we have a new book that just is coming out that is called, Ignite Your Imagination: 21 One Days to Learn. And that’s what I think we get from GWBC and just WBENC in general is a way to learn and grow and thrive with each other.
Lee Kantor: [00:25:28] Right. And it’s like you said, this is a safe environment where you can share your fears and your successes and everybody’s rooting for you. It’s very collaborative and and it’s amazing knowledge you get from people in totally different industries that you can bring into your own. The learning is so diverse and it’s so powerful because it’s right from the horse’s mouth. It’s right from the people that are living it. It’s not hypothetical or theoretical. This is real information from the people that are the boots on the ground doing the work.
Kittie Watson: [00:26:00] And I would say some of my closest friends have come from this, too, and we help each other. I mean, even during the pandemic, another woman-owned business introduced me to another woman-owned business, and we partnered on a contract for a government agency. And we’re working that one right now. And so, I wouldn’t have known about that if it hadn’t been for this other person and the relationship that we’ve built through the years.
Lee Kantor: [00:26:29] Now, what do you need right now? How can we help you? Do you need more team members? Do you need more clients? What do you need?
Kittie Watson: [00:26:37] I mean, we are always open to new consultants that work with us that see differently within our business model. And with clients, we, obviously, want to work with organizations that are like-minded that are wanting to make a difference. I think the main thing that we all need right now is just patience to come back to where we thought we were headed and the changes that we have.
Kittie Watson: [00:27:13] But I appreciate the opportunity just to be on this show with you, Lee. And we do have so many resources on our website that people could use. And even our products, and assessments, and tools that would encourage people to just look there to find something that might help them as they continue to navigate into 2021, in just a month from today.
Lee Kantor: [00:27:40] That’s right. Well, Kittie, thank you so much for sharing your story. We really appreciate you and the important work that you’re doing.
Kittie Watson: [00:27:46] Thank you, Lee. Thank you for having me. Appreciate it.
Lee Kantor: [00:27:49] All right. This is Lee Kantor. We’ll see you all next time on GWBC Open for Business.
About GWBC
The Greater Women’s Business Council (GWBC®) is at the forefront of redefining women business enterprises (WBEs). An increasing focus on supplier diversity means major corporations are viewing our WBEs as innovative, flexible and competitive solutions. The number of women-owned businesses is rising to reflect an increasingly diverse consumer base of women making a majority of buying decision for herself, her family and her business. 
GWBC® has partnered with dozens of major companies who are committed to providing a sustainable foundation through our guiding principles to bring education, training and the standardization of national certification to women businesses in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina.
