We take celebrating Cultivators seriously. We want to hear the story of the community that got you through this year, supported you on your best (and maybe worst) days, and spotlighted opportunities for your career development. We want to hear the story of the person in your network that’s been making waves and taking names!

Creating change within our lives or work can be difficult. As a Cultivator, you know *in theory* that the route to change is often winding, with many stops to regroup and strategize along the way. Oftentimes, a change in direction on a strategy or project can feel like a failure…but what if it didn’t have to? What if instead, you chose to look beyond that moment of change and celebrate the ways you changed course?

DE&I is a critical topic with more companies than ever focused on creating more equitable organizations and inclusive teams. Simultaneously, due to expanded access to technology, paired with the pandemic-induced rise of remote work, companies and teams exist in an increasingly global context. As teams become more international, effective DE&I strategies and initiatives need to account for the varied perspectives, cultures, and political contexts of their team members.

One of the most common questions we hear from Cultivators is some variation of, “How do I get buy-in for my change initiative?”. Whether you’re seeking peer support to launch an ERG, or leadership buy-in for an organizational culture initiative, challenging the status quo is hard without support, and even the best ideas can be shut down before they start. So how should we go about getting buy-in? What happens when we hit common blockers? How can we move past a "no"?

At Cultivate, we believe that stories are powerful. We also understand how challenging it can be to tell your story in a (virtual) room full of strangers. Which is why when we heard about the work that Ophelia Johnson and Craig Thomason are doing at Merck, we knew we needed to bring their expertise to our community of Cultivators. Let this replay empower you to tell the right kind of story.

Without Employee Resource Groups, vital employee information can lead to losing the best company talent and your favorite co-workers. Tune in for a valuable conversation about how these ERG leaders are working everyday with their communities to solve complex internal problems.

The end of the year can often feel like a “Why bother?” time in communities. Engagement tends to droop, leaders and members alike may be holding a lot of obligation and stress in their personal and professional lives, and it can seem like there is too much to do and not enough time to do it. But what if, we tried something new this year?

In this 45 minute discussion with Cultivate founder Steve Garguilo, Coltrane discusses how movement work and legacy has influenced his work, what allyship means to him, the importance of intimacy in DE&I work, and how empowering others helps his work to be more sustainable. Be sure to stick around till the end to hear about Coltrane's impact directly from one of his mentees! 

Communities are containers for possibility. At their best, they bring people together to move towards change. But building community isn’t fast, not even in our speedy virtual world. As writer Stephen Covey said, “Change moves at the speed of trust.”