[00:00:00] what's on your plate to accomplish this year? Is it exciting or maybe a bit daunting? Could you use some support figuring it all out and talking it through? Maybe you could use some ideas and some proven tactics to try out and a supportive community of smart like-minded professionals. Great news. My new community-based program exclusively for talent management.
[00:01:12] Is now open for enrollment. The Talent Trust combines powerful peer-based learning and private coaching to help you get more inspiration, more influence, and more impact, so that you can implement and sustain your initiatives with ease and confidence. Check out the talent trust.ca for details and to book a call to discuss if this program is right for you.
[00:01:34] Once again, that's the talent trust.ca. See you there. How does your organization embrace, sustain? or not? What does sustainability look like in action? Anyways, listen into this discussion for important insights. My guest is Ishma Nhu. Ishma is founder and CEO of Tesauro Global. Central to her work is the bringing together of organizations and communities to drive a sustainable impact in the quality of life for others as individuals and.
[00:02:09] She's deeply committed to partnering and supporting public and private sector organizations in their wait for it, SDG E S G CSR initiatives. So let me break down those acronyms for you. They are SDG Social Developmental Goals, E S G, environmental Social Governance, and csr, corporate Social Responsibility.
[00:02:32] I learned so much from Reshma in this conversation and came away feeling inspired. I hope you will too. Hello and welcome back to Talent Management Truths. I'm your host, Lisa Mitchell, and today I'm joined by the founder and CEO of tesauro rma na. Welcome to the show, rma.
[00:02:55] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Thank you. Happy.
[00:02:57] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Happy Friday. It's so lovely to see you. I've been at looking forward to our conversation all week. So let's start off by, explaining to the audience a little bit about who you are and what you.
[00:03:08] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Oh, excellent. So my name is Rushma. I am the founder and c e o of Tesoro. Tesoro is an advisory services firm that helps organizations in two key areas. The first is helping them unpack and discover their role. Withins. Sustainability and specifically the sustainable development goals by the un. And the second is helping them navigate change.
[00:03:35] Whether it's a small change or a big change, changes happen, it's inevitable. How do they actually maneuver through that? Bringing their whole organization on board so that at the end, one, they achieve their goals, and two, they build high performance within their.
[00:03:54] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Yes. It's interesting. I mean, change management for a few years there was, was just on every, on the tip of everybody's tongue. You know, I have, I'm certified change manager myself and, and I, I don't think the need has ever gone away, but I find that there's other buzzwords that seem to be more prevalent right now.
[00:04:08] So it's, it's refreshing to, for, to hear you say that that is such a core part of, of how you help your clients. is focusing on change and working through it.
[00:04:18] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Yeah. It's actually quite interesting that the term kind of ebbs and floats when you think about it, right? Because organizations are there to deliver service and they're there to also grow and to provide. Advancements or enhancements in their services or products, and that requires a change. So the change never actually leaves.
[00:04:39] It's one of those fundamental pieces like people, people are fundamental to an organization, so is change.
[00:04:45] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Yeah. And at the root of it is, is is really communication in terms of how you manage or navigate it. It's, it's, that's kind of the secret sauce in my opinion. and that is core when you're working with people. At any rate, we might come back to the change management piece, but I would love for you to, to share a little bit more around you know, how you got to, to, to sorrow to the stage in the game.
[00:05:08] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Yes, it's interesting. Tosoro is a meeting of my volunteer work, which is very dear to me to. my professional work, which are competencies or skills that I've built in what I call human performance. So anything that helps or focuses on the people within the organization, helping them grow and contribute to the organization, but also to themselves.
[00:05:34] It's one of those healthy cycles I'd like to say. You build the competence. You, you apply it, you see it grow, you learn through the process. , you enhance it and then you apply it again, and then it's that continuous evolution. And for the longest time I always felt I had to keep my volunteer work in social development and social impact separate from my professional work because the two never seemed to connect.
[00:06:05] It always seemed that organiz. Thought social impact was nonprofit social impact was charity giving or volunteer hours activities under their corporate social responsibility agenda. It never seemed to be a responsibility. A responsibility to provide services, not just to your current client base, but to your future client base.
[00:06:34] And it was never transla. to what organizations classify as part of their goodwill, that intangible that allows people to connect and to build a bigger tribe as they grow because of that goodwill, because of the impact and the purpose that they do after trying to marry the two worlds. And couldn't and.
[00:06:59] learning from one of my professors in the Harvard sustainability course that I took. I understood that my peak or aha space was being able to apply my skills in the profit world, not just the nonprofit. to provide that impact. So there was an actual connection between my competences and my capabilities, the skills that I had been building over my career into the nonprofit to impact the quality of their lives.
[00:07:31] And by doing so, I was feeling more fulfilled. So
[00:07:34] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Mm.
[00:07:35] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: when the, when I couldn't find it in an organization, I just created to, so.
[00:07:39] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Yeah. Yeah. And you melded the two successfully. And that's, I mean, that's what it's all about, right? Is, is I think we're, we're all seekers on this journey of life and career, right? And seeking, you know, what is more fulfilling. And I think, you know, early on, A lot of the, the talent leaders that I work with, and I can speak for myself 25 years in corporate a lot of the time you're kind of just, you're not coasting, that's the wrong word, but you're in it, you're so deeply in it, and maybe you're raising kids or doing another, you know, your personal life is very full coming through first couple of decades of your work life and, and you're not thinking as much about well, purpose and, and.
[00:08:16] What would fulfill me? Does this fulfill me ? And if not, what does that mean? You know, I think that comes, comes sort of up, rises up when somebody experiences a bit of a downturn and an unhappiness or a, you know, a catalyst kind of event that makes, that, gives them pause to think about it. That said, I do see more and more organizations, you know, through their leadership programs, bring in this discussion around purpose, around fulfillment and, and trying to, you know, recognizing the need to help people find that in their work and earlier is better.
[00:08:49] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Agreed. And if I could just add, I would say academia plays a huge role in this. my aha moment, although hit its tipping point with the, that Harvard course. It was actually doing my Ivy executive mba where I had a professor ask me about a volunteer initiative that I was engaged with overseas and asked me to explain it to him.
[00:09:17] And here I was. Simple language, just talking. as if we were chief friends having coffee, talking about the weather. Nothing extraordinary. And he turns to me and he says, how are you gonna top that? You just lit up. How are you gonna top that? How are you gonna find a career that tops off? No clue. And so I think academia can play a really big role connecting with their students to understand what's important to them and what they value and guiding them in.
[00:09:50] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: So you just, I just got shivers and I'll tell you why. , so listeners, longtime listeners know that I have a 16 year old son, Patrick, cuz he's, he actually interviewed me back in the fall for our one year anniversary of the podcast. And he's, he's an awesome kid. He's in grade 11 and we've started touring universities, right?
[00:10:08] Cause I want him to have. because this, you know, by this fall we're, we're recording in January, 2023. By this fall, he's gonna have to be applying. And, and I don't want it to feel like, where do I start? anyways, and we, we toured Trent University last weekend in Peterborough and we're like, Amazed by the gorgeousness of this, this place.
[00:10:28] The sense of place was just, I mean, there's a river that runs through it. Literally. There's a west,
[00:10:33] east campus and it's beautiful and they have so many wonderful programs that appeal to his. Literary heart. And and it was interesting because he actually showed interest in some of the clubs that, that the, the guide had mentioned and different things.
[00:10:49] Whereas he's never expressed any interest like that in, in high school. So that it was, and it was about stuff that's important to him. So I really appreciate what you're saying, that academia can really help bring that out and, you know, surface, you know, what's important here.
[00:11:04] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Yeah.
[00:11:05] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Yeah, it's fascinating.
[00:11:07] Fascinating. Okay.
[00:11:08] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: and if we were to bring the circle back to the corporate environment, that's a role that we can play as talent leaders too. As we get to know our people, whether it's from the onboarding process or through their growth, their succession planning. It's something we can do back.
[00:11:23] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Absolutely. I, well that's, you know, I'm always going on about talent leaders being multipliers in an organization, cuz that's really how I see them.
[00:11:31] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Uhhuh,
[00:11:32] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Exponential reach and potential being in that sticky middle, right? So yes, sometimes it's tough getting the funding and the, the, the goa aheads on on more ambitious programs and everybody wants something from you, right?
[00:11:45] Like the needs never go away. They only increase over time if, if, if you're providing value. And, but just think the, the more effective talent leaders can be in embracing what people need. I. , you know, some discovery of purpose and what, what, what lights them up. Then they're having this exponential effect, right?
[00:12:04] On a, on a population goes well beyond them. Yeah. Yeah, it's very exciting. So, okay, let's, so there's so many, oh, so many pieces. I wanna dig in here. All right, so I wanna get into the sustainability piece and sustainability as a, as a responsibility, and, and I really think there's an educational section here that's needed to help educate.
[00:12:26] Some of the HR and l and d leaders od folks that may be listening. Let's just start about your background though. So on the way to doing the emba, right, and, and the Harvard sustainability course. Like where did you start your journey?
[00:12:43] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: I started my journey as an executive assistant to two vice presidents in a company called Footprint Software, the VP of Sales and marketing, and the VP of Development. Amazing organization started after university, took me in great culture, engaged leadership, wonderful colleagues that you could learn from and you could have fun with.
[00:13:04] In fact, there is a testing group that I still meet at least once or twice a year. And we connect and we used to have, Thursday afternoon, dessert days at the Marche, down at, you know, Wellington.
[00:13:16] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Oh, lovely.
[00:13:17] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: So my journey started with them where the vice presidents saw something in me and were open to dialogue with me about what I wanted to do or how I wanted to learn and grow.
[00:13:30] And I started off doing technical writing in quality assurance and testing and then business analysis and, and my leader. was pretty firm to say we're in the software development business. If you're going to grow your career, you need to start understanding the baseline and the foundation of our software and how it's built and how to communicate it to others.
[00:13:55] So that was my first introduction into anything that got me into talent management, which was a term I wasn't even familiar with.
[00:14:02] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Right. Yeah.
[00:14:03] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: The company got bought by. And through that I worked at IBM Toronto Lab, IBM Canada, and then IBM Global Services, and found myself in the e-learning space for IBM Global Services.
[00:14:17] Doing everything from instructional design to content development to voiceovers. I love voiceovers. So much
[00:14:24] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Voiceovers.
[00:14:26] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: So much fun. Secret, secret profession to come uh,
[00:14:31] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: So this is voiceovers on the e-learning modules that you would help develop, right?
[00:14:36] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Absolutely because what was critical for our clients, and actually for I B M, was to ensure that we had accessibility,
[00:14:44] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Mm-hmm.
[00:14:45] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: everything was actually written with captions and also had the voiceover. That led me to a wonderful honor and opportunity to establish an e-learning service. offering in India for IBM Global.
[00:15:05] And that was something I was doing with the India leadership team under the guidance of IBM Australia, IBM M us, and IBM m Canada. And that was fantastic. And in that initiative and in that opportunity got exposed to you. soft power got exposed to engagement and relationship building. Got exposed to the role of culture, diversity within a culture and just learned so much about myself about.
[00:15:40] my ability to adapt or were not to adapt the role that food and chocolate plays in getting buy-in at the, at the boardroom, you know, and just, you know, understanding what I needed in order to build credibility. and to grow my skills to bring, give back to our clients. And that started my journey in my master's in education focused on distant education.
[00:16:06] So I did that first
[00:16:08] and used
[00:16:09] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: at ibm.
[00:16:10] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: while working at ibm. And then even after leaving IBM m I worked within the banking financial services sector, continued doing that took, that expanded my learning experience into the teaching space. So I taught. Ryerson than Ryerson University and George Brown, and continued to build skillsets in communication, in engagement, knowledge management, change management.
[00:16:37] And then all of a sudden I have this umbrella, this portfolio of a bunch of skillset that falls under change management and talent management. And voila, I fell into it.
[00:16:49] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: it's so fascinating though, the, the past and you, you, you are clearly you know, a continuous learner, never done and always, always seeking, you know, new interesting things to learn about to it's, it's like very Expansive. Really your approach. It seems like, you know, always having something on the go and all of a sudden, I love how you said that.
[00:17:10] All of a sudden I've got this umbrella, all these competencies and experiences, it's beautiful.
[00:17:17] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: You know, part of it is the way that I've been nurtured. You know, my faith in my, in my faith-based community plays a heavy role and emphasis on education and learning. And so that is somehow ingrained in the back of my mind that you always have to continue doing it. And it doesn't have to be credentialized.
[00:17:38] It can happen anywhere at any. . So that's pretty much been a guiding force for me. The other is, I think, if I'm honest, a little bit of fear . I always wanted that backup, that backup career, just in case, just in case, you know, you got downsized just in case you were stuck with the mortgage and you're like, I'm not sure.
[00:18:04] And so having that other. , backup piece one was a bit of a safety net, but it also was something that kept me energized. I never felt stale, so I was always learning something more, something different. Trying to figure out how I could take learnings and experiences from different areas and bringing it together so it didn't allow, I wasn't able to get.
[00:18:31] I just couldn't because there was always something new that I was engaged in.
[00:18:35] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Well, I, I'm with you because , I'm a constant, constant learner, like constantly on the, on that path and seeking the latest, you know, whether it's a course or credential or some area of interest. Yeah. Like, anyways, it's the curiosity. I love being able, that's probably why I like to , work for myself now because a, a large part of, of my time, I do dedicate to learning Right.
[00:18:57] And growing cuz I really, it helps me feel fulfilled, but I did a lot of it in corporate and I, and I really appreciate that, you know, you've, you've been nurtured in that way, like it's been encouraged and it's caused you to sort of, you know, really develop this, this very broad competency set. Tell us a little bit. what does it actually look like when you're engaging with clients? Like what are you specifically doing
[00:19:23] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Listening.
[00:19:24] It's a lot of listening. A lot of watching. It's a lot of. trying to understand what's really important and what drives them. It's one thing for our client to say, oh, we're doing a digital transformation and we need some change management. why? What is this digital transformation that you're doing?
[00:19:46] Don't you always do change management in your space, in your organization? So what's new? Why is this important to you?
[00:19:55] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Now, especially now, what's the shift? Yeah.
[00:19:58] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Yeah. That's, that's what I try to do. I try to listen and observe and see if I can play back generally pragmatically what is at the core or the heart of what they're trying to do and how can I serve. And it's also about being very transparent to say, this is where I can help and this is how I can engage someone else to.
[00:20:21] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Yeah. Yeah. And that, that's, that's important too, knowing where, this is my space here, and now I wanna bring, you know, in a, a, a trusted partner, so to speak. Right. Or a referral partner. when you talk about that playing back, so listening, watching, observing, and then playing back for clients, what's at the core of what, what they're trying to do that is, For listeners, you know, it's come up on other episodes and I just wanna really underscore that that is at the heart.
[00:20:49] I think of the value that talent professionals bring, right? Is, is helping clients get clarity where they don't have it, they might think they have it, so it, it comes, it sounds like a prescribed solution. Come in and build us a change management program or build us a leadership program and or this team is not performing and so let's do. You know, a training on high performance , you know, do you have something on high performance? And, and I think that, you know, our gift is really being able to through and surface what's really going on and articulate it in a way that the clients recognize, you know, oh, that's it,
[00:21:30] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Yes.
[00:21:31] Yes,
[00:21:32] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: you know, and dig up, dig, get down to the root cause, not just the surface symptom.
[00:21:37] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: absolutely. Absolutely. Otherwise, we're just doing patchwork and we're doing a disservice to them. We're actually creating more issues than solving
[00:21:48] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: particularly if we take things at face value and just do the bandaid slap. Okay. Oh, you want that solution? Okay. I, I've got something like that. Without digging into, are we actually solving for the, the actual need
[00:22:02] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Yes. Yes. If you, if you expand that just a, a tiny bit, and indulge me for a second. when you keep applying a bandaid or a bandaid onto a surface, say onto a skin, Sometimes your skin starts to react and get an allergic reaction. And so what you're thinking of doing about a bandaid or a stop gap and thinking that that's okay, that's gonna be hold, you actually might create another issue from it, such as that allergic reaction.
[00:22:35] So I agree with you and I think it can also.
[00:22:38] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: I love the metaphor. Yeah, I just wrote that one down. That's uh, interesting way to put it, right. So let's, let's kind of zig-zag a little bit back over to this area of sustainability and, you know, when you and I were, were had our initial pre-call and so on, you, you know, there's, there's a lot of acronyms involved in some of this stuff.
[00:22:58] So there's e s d, which some, some losers will definitely recognize. I know, I, I knew that one. And SDGs, tell us a little bit about what all this means and how it's important for talent leaders.
[00:23:11] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: At the heart of sustainability, for me, it's about recognizing that we as individuals have a responsibility and an accountability to take care of our environment and our fellow men. and that those of us who have the wherewithal, whether it be knowledge or time or resources, competence or capabilities should be applying that towards bettering our environment.
[00:23:46] In our, in our, our humankind, our neighbors, and that is the ones right beside you, and those are the ones that are miles and miles. between oceans, across oceans. So sustainability is looking at development about social development. It's about nurturing the environment. It's about nurturing our people.
[00:24:10] And it's very akin in my perspective to why businesses exist. Businesses were built by people with. in service to people. And somewhere down the low, down the road, some felt that those that they serve are the ones that actually pay for their service and they don't serve anybody else. And to me, sustainability, the ESGs provide a framework, but also a call to say your customer, the people that you serve are not just the ones that. for your service, for your product, it's everybody. And you have something that you can contribute and you should contribute, in my opinion. Does that make sense?
[00:25:02] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Well, it's, I, I think it's one of those things where bringing us back to the heart of businesses being built to serve people, to provide, you know, to, to fulfill a need. And, and then it, it sort of became this, it's, oh, we're only focused on getting paid. I think that's a good way to put it. So when it comes to, like, how do, how do organizations often come to you?
[00:25:25] Is it cuz you see the need in them or they see it? Like, how do they sort of figure out, Ooh, we need help with this, we want to, we want to lean into that responsibility.
[00:25:35] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Right now it's me going to.
[00:25:40] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Okay.
[00:25:40] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: organizations most often come to me when they are looking at strategic advice, developing a strategy, looking at their change. When transformation agendas many have, have yet to uncover that working in or participating in sustainability is a shift. , it's a shift in how you think.
[00:26:05] It's a shift in how you behave. It's a shift in what you do, and whether it's with you or with you and your suppliers and your partners. It is a change. So many of them have not actually identified that as a change. So it's, if it's a relationship that I already have, I'm coming through an existing channel and I'm introducing the topic and I'm working with them and their curiosity.
[00:26:31] and their pace to say, can we explore this a little bit further? Can we look at the skills and the competencies that exist in your organizations? Can we look at what you value? What E s G calls materiality? Can we look at the materiality and unearth opportunities for you to play and participate in the S ESGs and the sd?
[00:26:58] and who knows, you actually might make money outta doing that. . From a talent management perspective, can we broaden the spectrum to not just look at the development of our people in play, but how do, do we, how do we develop people so that 1, 3, 5, 10 years down the road, we actually have a potential workforce that we. Because right now we're not doing that and some of them can't afford the academic route. So how does business play in that space and get back? And there are other areas Lisa, in terms of SDGs that business can operate. It's, it's not just the diversity, equity, inclusion, which I think is huge. And long over. but it's the access to vocational training, not just the work that you're doing today, but the work that you may do tomorrow. It's about skill development and knowledge development for entrepreneurship and for and for just. Building and creating decent jobs, but not just for them, but for the whole population among the population.
[00:28:07] SDG 4.5 says Increase the prevalence of knowledge and skills required for decent jobs in entrepreneurship among the population. It didn't put a barrier as to where that population sits. Expanded economic opportunities for women, particularly in developing worlds where women are not part of the work.
[00:28:27] but could and could contribute to the livelihood of their family and could provide an example to their daughters, to other girls in terms of possibilities. Youth employment education, professional training. How can businesses give back to the school system to high school students to teach them skills to work through case studies so that they are better equipped?
[00:28:53] to think through what's needed in terms of their career and their journey and partnerships. The very last of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is about partnerships. Partnerships across businesses, partnerships with with governments. So the public private partnerships is huge. It's not a nonprofit accountability in and of itself.
[00:29:17] It's everybody's account.
[00:29:20] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Hmm. So it, it, it really, takes us into this whole world of, of possibility and it's really looking beyond right, beyond what's right in front. There's, there's the term global citizen, that's kind of the, it was like a little plane flying through my head as you were talking, you know, like how, how can we truly embrace that idea of I am not, You know, a woman sitting here in my home office in Canada I'm a global citizen and how do I want to contribute as a result?
[00:29:50] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Absolutely. Absolutely. You know, last night I, I was surfing the web and making sure I was all prepared for our conversation today, just in case I need to do some homework. And, and I came across the Rockefeller Foundation's website and I just wanna read to you what's actually on their homepage. And it says, quote, promoting the wellbeing of humanity. throughout the world by making opportunity universal and sustainable. So when you think through that and you say making what opportunity and what's universal and what's sustainable, and you take it back a level to basic needs, how are opportunities created? One could argue, I go to school. What if you don't have access to. What if you don't have food in nourishment in order for you to stay alert and process information so that you can be educated? What if you don't have a home or a space for you to actually study? All of, all of these aspects to me relate to quality of life indicators, and the ACON Development Network speaks about this to no end.
[00:31:04] Quality of life and maintaining the dignity of a person. But without these basic indicators, they don't have a foundation to grow. If they don't have a foundation to grow. Then from a business problem, how are we gonna find the workforce to do the work that we need to do to serve our clients, to make the money that we need to ha to create processes and efficiencies for them.
[00:31:27] We won't.
[00:31:28] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Yeah. So it's, it's kind of the, the, the, the workforce of tomorrow, right? Like, it goes towards that. Like how are we creating growing opportunity, right? Beyond who's in front of us, who's with us now, so that there, there, you know, is this capacity and this capability down the road when we need it.
[00:31:50] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: right? So. Workforce planning now is not just insular to my organization,
[00:31:57] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Right,
[00:31:57] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: it's outside as well.
[00:31:59] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: right. Yeah. Beautiful. What now what would you say if we were to, so we're talking in some, you know, around some, some larger concepts, almost philosophical in some ways it's an approach. Let's kind of push it through the funnel , and I'd love to hear like what are some practical considerations? Tips, advice for talent leaders in the H R O D L and D space, what would you offer to them when it comes to becoming more not more, some, some people probably already on that path, but to, to encompass sustainability in their work a little bit more.
[00:32:41] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: First, I would say is take interest. Understand what your organization's actually doing, and connect the dots for yourself in terms of the purpose, the strategic vision, the the three year business plan. Uh, Connect the dots between what the organization is saying that it's going to do with its values and its culture, and then get educated on sustainability and draw the connection as to what targets, what areas are being covered, whether it's environmental, whether it's social impact, whether it's on governance.
[00:33:22] And find the delta, you know, change 1 0 1, change impacts, find the delta between those. understand what's important to your people. Understand the makeup of your workforce. This is one area that I think we as talent leaders could do better at. We bring in people based on skill sets for our job with a potential culture fit.
[00:33:50] We don't do a very good job inventorying the skills that they had built outside of that particular job.
[00:33:56] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: agreed. Mm-hmm.
[00:33:57] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: and leadership that manage their work, their work day to day don't understand what they bring. And so they don't know how best to utilize them. And so some skills get rusty or others grow.
[00:34:10] Sometimes boredom sits in. So understand your workforce and what they bring, what matters to them, that materiality and understand what matters to you. And then I would. , open dialogue, creative brainstorming to figure out, based on all the SDG goals, based on whether you're compliant to a certain environmental standard, A G R I standard for your industry.
[00:34:39] Figure out what is doable and what's not. What is critical, what is not, what is important, what is not, and start to develop some plans to action, and that's what Tasso would like to do. We'd love to be with you, not to define for you, but to help you uncover what matters most to you, and how can you leverage all of your resources, whether it's time, whether it's people, whether it's knowledge, whether it's financial, to actually move the agenda forward in areas that matter to you and align with your.
[00:35:16] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Love. So much goodness here. Took notes like crazy on that, on that advice. Thank you very much for sharing your wisdom and I appreciate it very much. So we're, we're at the end of our time together. I mean, it's just flew by. Let's, yeah, let's wrap by, you know, I'd love to to know if you, if there's a particular resource, a book a, a, you know, a website or something that people could go to.
[00:35:43] I'm, I'm thinking the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Reading those could be a start. I'll put those in the show notes. Is there anything else that you would point people to, to learn more?
[00:35:52] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Oh, it's a, it's a great question. So there are certain frameworks that are really helpful, such as Ellen McCarthy Foundation, if I'm not mistaken, offers some frameworks and resources. The Arcon Development Network, the Rockefeller Foundation, all speak about core areas or themes that I think are important in terms of quality of life. and they help put in perspective the E, the S, and the G, and how that actually impacts a human being, in my opinion. So I think those are the ones that I go to the most often. But you know, there's, there's no shortage. I think figuring out what's really important to you. If diversity, equity, and inclusion's really important to you, then you focus in that space.
[00:36:42] I, I'm really interested in initiatives that provide a platform or a trampoline for growth in the individual space, but also in the community space where we can break down barriers, we can build partnerships, we can get to know one another as people and remove the barriers that gender and color and.
[00:37:12] Financial demographics and, and all of those parameters, for lack of a better word, put as roadblocks for us.
[00:37:20] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Got it. Wonderful. Thank
[00:37:23] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: I'd be happy to share more links as they come up.
[00:37:26] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--61157a395affa4006d0cfc64--lollyg: Well, I invite you to send me some, if you think of some after we stop recording, and I'm going to capture the ones you just mentioned for sure. So listeners, little bit of homework for you there if you're, if you're interested in expanding her horizon and around sustainability and how it, how it intersects with, with the important work that you do.
[00:37:44] Thank you, Reshma. This has been really enriching. Appreciate it.
[00:37:47] rishma-nathoo_recording-1_2023-01-20--t02-44-07pm--guest499327--rishma: Thank you.
