Find Your Cause, Your Calling, and Your Courage, with JeNae Johnson
//As the founder and CEO of CTM Unlimited and Director of Fascinate in 3D, JeNae Johnson shares her journey of innovatively aligning her skills, experience, and passion to create strategic action in addressing problems involving workplace equity. Join us to gain greater clarity about how your gifts can be leveraged for the changes you long to see take place.
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Transcript
Hey, there! It’s Andrea, and welcome to the Voice of Influence podcast. Today, I have JeNae Johnson with me.
Andrea: And JeNae, it is great to have you.
JeNae: I am so happy to be here. I’m so excited to have this conversation with you, and I’m just honored that you chose me.
Andrea: Oh, I am too. I’m honored that you’re here because over the past year or so, I have seen you really step into a fuller version of your voice, and I just get goosebumps even saying that. And because of that, I really wanted to have you here. Because the people that are listening to this podcast, they want to have influence. They want to be able to use their voice for good in the world, and that’s what you are doing. And we’re going to get to that here in a second. Would you give us just a little bit of background on who is JeNae Johnson? What’s the one-minute version of how you got to where you are right now?
JeNae: Yeah. So, when people ask me who I am and what I do, I always respond with a one simple phrase – I rescue geniuses. And it’s something that no matter what the business or the role has been in my career and in my business life, it’s been consistent. And it’s because I lead with that as a belief. I believe that everyone has a genius within them, but they all need some kind of coaching, support, consulting, et cetera, to bring that genius out, or maybe it’s a blind spot.
And so, specifically right now, my company, CTM Unlimited, we are focused on helping these geniuses in corporate spaces really deal with some of the systemic inequities that have existed for a very long time. And so, these are leaders that really are brilliant in their own right, but these problems are bigger than what they really can solve. And so, we’re supporting them, helping them solve those problems around workplace equity.
Andrea: All right. Okay, so I guess maybe about a year ago… by the time this airs, a little less than a year ago, the world just started to go crazy. It was just… the pandemic hit, and then we had the killing of George Floyd and Breonna Taylor and so on. And things just got really crazy, really fast. And that is also when you really stepped into, I would say, that more fuller version of your voice. Can you tell us a little bit about, like, how that happened for you?
JeNae: Yeah. Everything you just mentioned is a contributor to what I do on a daily basis. Like, when I wake up in the morning, all of these things are input. So, it’s the pandemic, it’s the disruption, it’s also the killing of George Floyd and the subsequent unrest. And, also, a lot of the companies that came out saying, “Hey, we know we need to do better.”
And so, the way it came together for me is because right after George Floyd was murdered, I was showing up that next week to meetings that were standing meetings with people that I knew, with colleagues, business meetings, and I was falling apart in those meetings. People would ask me just simple questions, “JeNae, good morning! How are you doing?” And sometimes I couldn’t speak. Like, I could not get the words out. And I was fully on camera, and I just had no filters. I had no corporate filters for it. I could not put the words together to describe the grief, the trauma. The images around George Floyd’s killing, it reminded me of looking at someone who looked very much like my husband and my sons.
And then even beyond that, it was the metaphor of knowing what it feels like to be in spaces where you’re the only one who looks like you, and you feel like you can’t breathe. And so, it was all of that that really contributed to starting a public webinars series. And I honestly did it, Andrea, because I needed a safe space to have these conversations, and I couldn’t find one, so I created it. And so, that turned into Bold x Brave, which is a series of, really, conversations that lead to strategic action.
And so, we started doing it publicly. I didn’t know a whole lot of promotion. It was just word of mouth, email, LinkedIn, but people started showing up. And it turned out that there were so many people that were very used to being very corporate and buttoned up that had real pain, and talked about their experiences in the workplace and how they had set a lot of this aside, particularly as black people and people of color – they had set it aside in order to feel like they could do their job or keep their job.
And so, it just triggered a lot of conversation. And then I think, equally, it triggered conversation from some of my colleagues who are not black or who are not people of color, and they said, “Wow, I didn’t know this was happening, and I feel so bad that I didn’t know. But now that I know, I want to do something about it.” And this was the beginning of the pivot in our business, because, Andrea, I had been trying to figure out, like, “What was that thing?” I felt like I was close to it, but I hadn’t figured it out yet.
Andrea: Yeah. Like, all the pieces hadn’t quite fallen into place. They were so close.
JeNae: Right. They were so close, but I had a piece over here, I had a piece over there, and I had a piece over here. And I was doing kind of all the different things. So, I was doing corporate consulting for a while in this space of behavior change, and change management, and learning and development, like all of that. And then I used to be a marketing director, so I was still dabbling in that too. And I’m a nerd, so I’m all about new technologies and like, how does stuff work. And so, I was dabbling in that, and then I’m also a writer. So, I was like, “Oh, I got to get this book done.” And then I’m also a speaker. So, I was still speaking, but it was all disjointed.
And so, right now, what I can honestly say is the work that we’re doing, which was started by Bold x Brave, which then converted into working with clients, it pulls on everything I just named. So, it pulls on every skill, every experience, every success, every failure that I’ve ever had in my career and in my life. It pulls on everything.
Andrea: That is so awesome. And it’s amazing to me how something so painful could bring you to a place where you were ready, like where everything clicked. And maybe, I don’t know, like you found your purpose or something like that. I don’t know. Is that how you would put it, or how would you describe it?
JeNae: It’s something like that. But I think the way that I really describe it is I know that I’m in complete alignment with what I’m supposed to be doing. I think before, I was a few degrees off. Or I may have had some days, some weeks, some months where there was complete alignment, but then would fall out of alignment because I’d go on and do something else. But I will say for the last close to six months now, I feel like I am in complete alignment with what I’m supposed to do. So, there’s a difference between doing something that you’re talented at, you’re good at that is impactful, and doing something that you know that you’re called to do.
And so, for me, it was really about answering a call, and I will never paint the picture that every day is easy. Like, actually, it’s very hard work. It’s very emotional work, and I almost quit my business about every two weeks. Like, I go on these rants, and I’m walking around my office, “I hate this, and why is this person doing it?” And I get so frustrated, and then thankfully I just have a good circle around me where they remind me of what I’m supposed to be doing. Or invariably, someone will email me or message me on LinkedIn, someone who I don’t even know who’s paying attention. And they’ll say, “JeNae, I’ve been watching you, and I’m so encouraged by what you’re doing. Please keep going.” I can’t tell you how many times it’s happened, from people that I didn’t even know were paying attention.
Andrea: That’s awesome. That’s just great.
I’m going back to that moment where you were talking about feeling like not only could you see your husband in that position, but also you feeling like all those times when you were the only one that looked like you in the room, and you felt like you couldn’t breathe. Would you just tell us more about what that looked like and felt like for you? Why was that?
JeNae: Yeah. So, before I started my current company, I worked for several corporations, both as an employee and then also as a contractor. And I live in Houston, and so a lot of the companies that I worked with were oil and gas companies and energy in that industry, which we know is very white male-dominated. And so, being a woman in that industry, and then on top of that, being a black woman in that industry, I often found myself as the “only” in the room. And that feeling of not being able to breathe was about being asked, like, awkward questions that no one else would ask.
I’d start a project and people would ask questions about my credentials or like, “How did you get here?” “Who do you know?” and “Who sent for you?” like that kind of thing without really having that same conversation with anyone else in the room. What would I know? Like, about my education and my background, and who else had I worked for, almost like this… and I can’t tell you how many times that happened. And I would notice that it wasn’t happening with everyone, that it would usually just be me, almost questioning my right or my position to even be there in the first place. So, that’s one part.
And then I think the other part is I never would talk about racism at work. I would never talk about the things that I experienced even in current years. So, there’s one particular incident that happened when my son, who’s now two, was an infant, and we were looking for daycare for him. So, we’re talking about 2018, not a long time ago. And I walked into a daycare and just asked about their availability for his age, and the woman looked at me and she said, “We don’t take public assistance.” 2018, and this daycare is in the middle of Houston. This is not, like, out in the outskirts. This is not somewhere rural. This is in the city. And so, I stopped and I said, “Now, why would you tell me that? Did I ask you that?” So, she tried to backtrack. She turned red. She was flustered, and she just said, “No, I just wanted to let you know, just in case.” “Just in case what?” And so, of course, I looked around, and there’s nobody else black in there. The kids, the staff… actually, there were a couple of black staff, but there were no other parents that were picking up their kids, and this woman, who was the owner, was white as well.
And so, that experience, I can’t tell you how many times that kind of thing has happened in modern-day history, not a long time ago. We’re talking about 2018. But I could not have those conversations or I chose not to have those conversations with people who were not black for a long time, even when I work with them, even when they were my friends because I always wanted to prioritize their comfort. And I would feel, “If I told you about this, it’s going to make you uncomfortable. So, instead of making you uncomfortable, I’m not going to say anything.” I’m going to hold that inside, but it’s something that I carry with me, and it’s also something that makes me skeptical. I don’t know what day is going to be that day that someone is going to say something that is so out of bounds, or mistreat my kids or… like, I have older kids too, and they’ve experienced those kinds of experiences at their school as well.
So, I think that feeling of not being able to breathe, not being able to be all of who you are, not being able to share all of your experiences, having to segment this part of your life that is so much a part of you to make sure that other people are comfortable. And so this year, I decided, like, I’m not doing that anymore. I can’t. Like, I was broken and triggered by the events of this year. That was the output that it was like, “I can’t do this anymore and I’m no longer going to pretend that everything is okay and that somehow – because I’m educated or because we have a two-parent family or because we’ve reached some level of ‘success’ – that somehow racism has not impacted me, has not impacted my husband, my children, because it’s not true.”
Andrea: Thank you for sharing that. I appreciate it. And it’s poignant, and it’s frustrating. It’s infuriating for me to hear, and at the same time, I, like many people, have been… my eyes have been more open to the way that I am contributing, either through my silence or white savior syndrome. It is so important for people to hear those stories, and to hear what you did experience or what you have experienced so that we can, I don’t know, understand and be rocked into doing something.
JeNae: Yeah. and I will say that I’ve had some really tough conversations because it is hard to tell your white friend – who is genuinely your friend, who you’ve been friends with for years – that, “Hey, this the whole time we’ve been friends, this whole other thing has been happening. And even before we were friends, this thing was happening, and I didn’t feel like I could tell you.” And then having that conversation, and for some of my white friends, it’s been compassion; it’s been empathy. For some of them, it’s been a lack of understanding; it’s been fear. So, I never know what the output of that conversation is going to be. So, anytime I have that conversation, I take a risk. But it is a risk that I’m willing to take because no longer can people say, “I didn’t know.” So, I’m really big on raising awareness around what’s actually happening.
So, if you follow me on LinkedIn, I always try to make a point to share not just narrative but data to back up the narrative, which is something that we do a lot with our clients. I’ve taken this Bold x Brave model and applied it to our client work, and so I’m facilitating these learning sessions and discussions with clients. But we’re looking at the data around what systemic inequities actually look like, not just externally but also when we have the opportunity, we look at it internally, inside of their company. Where are there some things that just don’t line up, or where is there a statistical predictor based on race? What’s going to happen with that person at that company based on their race or their gender?
So, you know that they’re only going to get to director level based on those statistics. And that’s what we’re really looking to solve around workplace equity, where it’s no longer a statistical indicator based on what you look like or where you come from.
Andrea: Okay. So, you’ve also had a little project up your sleeve the last few months.
JeNae: Yeah.
Andrea: You have been working on a collaboration with Fascinate. For those of you who don’t know, Sally Hogshead is the creator of The Fascinate Assessment, which is the Voice of Influence assessment of choice for influence and voice. And, tell us a little bit about, like, how did the initial collaboration happen, and then I guess I’ll have more questions for you after that.
JeNae: Yeah, sure. So, I think it really comes down to Sally and her team. They were looking for a way to address some of the issues that I’ve just talked about. They acknowledged that, “Hey, there’s a lack of awareness.” There are some things that Sally herself said, “Hey, I didn’t know that this was happening.” And also, she recognized that something has to be done about it. But she also recognized that they didn’t necessarily have the internal capability, and so, that’s how our partnership came together. I was already on this track of doing the Bold x Brave engagements, and working with clients, and creating other products for clients to really help move this conversation forward into a strategic action. And together, we collaborated, and the sort of brainchild of all of this is Fascinate in 3D.
So, how to Fascinate in 3D, the 3D’s are Difference, Diversity, and Disruption. And what it does is it takes the Fascinate system, which as Andrea said, is a research-based scientific assessment that helps you to discover the best impact for you, like where you make the most impact and how the world sees you at your best. But it takes it a step further to say, “How do you best take action to address these 3D issues?” So, when we look at the difference, when we look at diversity, when we look at disruption – these are three big themes that a lot of leaders are faced with right now, having to solve for.
And as we go into 2021, those things have not gone away. There are not solutions in place holistically where everyone feels like, “Okay, we can all go home because this is solved.” The disruption piece of the 3D, I think, continues to be a challenge in workplaces all over the globe, simply because of COVID-19. And so, I’ve talked to leaders where they’ve said, “I care about this other thing. I care about racial equity in our company, but I also have to look after the health and safety of my workforce. I also have to deal with the economic downturn that’s a result of the pandemic that we’re living through,” and “How do I prioritize that?” And so, we use Fascinate in 3D to help answer those questions, “Hey, there are ways to kill two or three birds with one stone.”
And I look at Fascinate in 3D as a way to address some of these very big issues that are overwhelming to a lot of leaders, that are overwhelming to a lot of people, where they’re not really sure where to start. So, the biggest part that we focused on in Fascinate in 3D is for each person as they discover how they best show up in the world, how they best influence, right, then using that. Once you discover it, how do you use it to solve these problems and also understanding that each person takes action differently. And so, what that means is that if I have, for instance, for me, my primary advantage is innovation. Innovation is all about generating new ideas and thinking outside the box. And if you listen back to the story that I’ve just told, you can see the innovation in that, right? Like I’m creating all this stuff, like finding solutions of things that have never been done. But I realize that’s not everyone’s best way to take action.
And so, what I would encourage all of your listeners – but really anyone – to think about, “What is the best way that I take action? How do I impact a situation the best? What is my highest value that I can add to any situation or scenario? Let me do that.” And I think that’s not just exclusive to if you’re looking at establishing your brand for your business or your personal brand at work. It’s also about, “How do I really influence change in this space using my advantages?” And so, that’s what the Fascinating 3D program does from a training perspective and a coaching perspective.
Andrea: I think that there’s a lot of guilt that is associated with people who are trying to figure out what to do. And they want to make a contribution, but then they see that other people are doing things. And they feel like they should be… they use that “should” feeling, “I should be doing what they’re doing, or I should be doing something as important as this other person is doing.” And what you’re telling me, what you’re telling our audience is that we actually shouldn’t be doing what everybody else is doing.
JeNae: Correct, correct. I firmly believe that everyone has defined their brand of protest. Like, you have to find that, and it’s going to be different for every person. So, for me, my brand of protest wasn’t necessarily making picket signs and going downtown to protest. It wasn’t writing letters. It wasn’t donating to large organizations that are making change. But the thing about it is there are some people that that is their brand of protest, and we need that. For me, it was addressing some of the inequities in corporate spaces because I had to understand what could I influence that was already in my sphere. So, corporations and corporate people were already in my sphere of influence, and so that’s where I started.
But I believe that everyone needs to find their brand of protests. And I think the best way to do that is to just be so aware of who you are and how you add value to the world. So that’s where the Fascinate test comes in because it shows you who you are, and it encourages you. It almost dares you to be more of that. So that’s one of the things that I continue to push with our clients because we’re now using the Fascinate in 3D program with some of our client work. And it’s to say, “Hey, listen. When you look at your coworkers, you look at your teammates, you look at your family, your friends, anyone else around you, they may be taking action differently, but that’s okay.” Like, you have to find the action that is the best fit for the way that you add value. And if you try to copy someone else and if you try to replicate what someone else is doing, it may completely fail.
I think it’s also about having awareness that everyone is going to take action differently and removing the judgment that a lot of times happens where we look at other people and saying, “I’m doing this. Why are you not doing that?” And that’s not their best value. That’s not where they have the most impact. And I can honestly tell you I was guilty of that very early on with a client that I felt like he was not being bold enough. He was not being brave enough. He did not walk the talk. In my mind, it was pure hypocrisy, and he had not really put out a statement to his team. It was two, three, or four weeks later after George Floyd was killed. And I couldn’t understand it, and I was upset with him. And when I finally sent him an email and said, “Hey, you say that you’re all these things as a leader, but yeah, I haven’t seen anything. What you’re doing?”
It turned into a conversation that I had to really take a step back and acknowledge that I was wrong about him. It wasn’t that he didn’t care. It’s just that his primary advantage was Mystique, and Mystique people are very thoughtful. They weigh all the different things. They’re like the opposite of your Innovation people, who just put something out there. And he said to me, he said, “JeNae, I’ve written six different drafts of a message to my team.’’ He said, “And it’s so emotional for me and I so want to get it right that I just haven’t put it out, and I could really use your help, if you could just read over what I’ve written.”
Andrea: Oh, wow!
JeNae: And I did, and he put it out that same day. But I had misjudged him. I thought he didn’t care, and really, it was the opposite. He cared so much that he didn’t want to get it wrong.
Andrea: Oh, this is such a good word. This is a good word, JeNae. Yeah, that is really interesting. And it goes back to something that I keep saying over and over again that our strengths, our gifts are not something that we are supposed to expect other people to give us or to demonstrate themselves. Our gifts are things that we give to other people. And you just gave him the gift of, “Let me affirm what you wrote,” because he’s different than you. But you could give him your gift, and then he could finally give his. And that’s just so powerful.
JeNae: And you know what, what you just described is really my vision for how people will, particularly in teams, take this Fascinate in 3D model and adopt it. That they’ll be able to recognize their own gifts, recognize the gifts of those around them and on their team, and then be able to share those gifts with each other in order to make progress, and recognize that every gift is needed and necessary.
So, I think, what you just described, it describes it beautifully in terms of, if I could just design this in terms of an outcome, that’s what I would want it to be. That it is a team that recognizes all the different gifts, and they freely give those gifts to each other in order to move things along. Because he needed my gift of innovation and he needed my gift of power to get him unstuck.
But I needed his gift of mystique to be thoughtful about the words, to really make sure that he got it right, to make sure that the spirit of what he wanted to say was really going to resonate with his team. And so, we were both necessary in that moment, and he recognized that and thanked me for it. And I recognized it too and was able to remove this judgment that I had about him that was just wrong.
Andrea: That piece about judgment is so powerful too. Another mantra of mine, comparison isn’t bad. It’s not bad to compare ourselves to other people. It’s when we applied judgment to that comparison that it’s bad. So, this idea that we could come and see the differences, like you’re talking about, and honor those differences and see how we could contribute to one another to move the whole thing forward, as you were putting it before.
It’s so powerful, and I’m so grateful that you have been able to go to that place internally where… I know that in some ways you didn’t have a choice, but really, you do. When you’re going through grief like that, you have a choice about what you’re going to do with your grief. And you have chosen to turn it into action, to confront it head on, to see the raw, the real, the painful, and then do something with it. Again, just goosebumps all over as I think of that. So, I’m really grateful to you for being bold and brave, and walking what you talk.
JeNae: I’ll tell you, I appreciate that, Andrea. I really do. And I appreciate your acknowledgement of it. I definitely appreciate it even more just because you’ve seen the progression. It’s not just like we just met six months ago, or you didn’t know what I was already grappling with beforehand and trying to figure out. For you to say that, I’m honored. I think the other thing is I truly believe that action is the antidote to despair. I believe that, and I do my best to live by it. And because of that, I felt this despair right after George Floyd was killed. I definitely felt a deep sense of despair, and the only way that I could see my way out of that was through decisive action and through bold action.
And so, I would encourage your listeners, as well as anyone else, to really figure out what are those areas that you’re just so frustrated with what’s happening in the world or in your neighborhood or at work, whatever the case is? And you feel this sense of despair. There is something you can do about that feeling. And if you find a way to take action that is authentic to who you are, which comes back to our conversation about the Fascinate Assessment. Like, figuring out who you are and just doing more of that, double down on it, “Oh, this is how I best add value. Let me do more of that.” And that’s really how you get to move past the despair. And so, I can honestly tell you that six months later, seven, eight months later, I am no longer in a place of despair. I still have moments of frustration, definitely, often, but it’s not despair anymore. But I can definitely trace it back to answering the call and taking that decisive action.
Andrea: JeNae, this is just a wonderful conversation. Thank you again for being here and sharing yourself. Where can people connect with you?
JeNae: Yeah, so you can definitely find me… there’s few places. You can find me on LinkedIn, and I’m good, for at least once a week, doing some kind of LinkedIn rant. Not a rant, like more awareness, but there’s at least one rant a week.
Andrea: With passion; awareness with passion.
JeNae: Awareness with passion, I like it. So, if you go to LinkedIn, and you just search for JeNae Johnson. Or if you want to use Genius Rescue, that’s actually linkedin.com/in/geniusrescue – so, like how the LinkedIn URLs work. You can find me at Genius Rescue. You can also go to my website. It’s ctmunlimited.com, and you can find me there, and there’s a “Contact Us.” And then you can also email me at info@werescuegeniuses.com. So that’s the other place that you can find me. You can probably find me on Facebook. I do less on Facebook, but I’m on there. So, if you just want to make a friend, hey, I’m open to all kinds of friends requests. Not all kinds, but most of them. And so, you can always connect with me on Facebook to JeNae Johnson and also Genius Rescue on Facebook as well.
Andrea: Great. And we’ll put those things in the show notes, JeNae, so that people can easily find them at voiceofinfluence.net/podcast. Okay, so leave us with one final word. What one thing would you like to leave us with for people who really would like to have a Voice of Influence?
JeNae: Yeah. I think the main thing is you have to find your cause, whatever that is. It’s going to be different for everyone. And then after you find your cause, you have to find your calling. So, what are you intended to do in that space? And then once you figure that out, then finally you have to find your courage, and everything else will fall into place. And you’ll be so surprised how many people will start to pay attention. Because when you have the calling, the cause, and the courage all in alignment, then it won’t be one of those things where it’s forced influence or manufactured influence. People will be drawn to you because you will be in complete alignment with what you’re supposed to be doing.
You find those things, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Andrea: That’s gold. It’s gold. Thank you so much, JeNae!
JeNae: Thank you. I appreciate the time!
END