Tameka Allen
She/Her
"As a chola scholar, intertwined with my community, I fiercely champion education justice for all, advocating for a future where every voice shapes the path forward."
Resilience
My reset button starts with breathwork to recenter myself. From there, I connect with the outdoors, reflect on my personal vision and reprioritize accordingly. I support others by asking them about their immediate need and how I can support them to achieve it.
Purpose-Driven
In my work as a People and Talent leader, I became known for my ability to coach people managers on how to better lead teams from diverse backgrounds. Many times, I had to lean into hard conversations and ask thought-provoking questions. Today, many of my former colleagues and direct reports share how it helped them gain more confidence to drive change in organizations they lead.
Developmental Leadership
I start by exploring their long-term career aspirations. This demonstrates my commitment to their success, both in their current role and throughout their career journey. Recently, I helped a junior colleague recognize their achievements by asking them clarifying questions about past projects. Ultimately, it showed them they were actually closer to their goals than they had realized.
Intersectionality
Being Black and neurodivergent, I often have to deal with the tension of code-switching and masking. I have spent most of my career working with colleagues from majority demographics in organizations that lead with neurotypical cultures. Although it’s been challenging to balance, it has also helped me better understand and resolve complex performance management situations.
Future Facing Legacy
In order to lead change, you have to be willing to get comfortable with being uncomfortable. It’s going to take speaking up, standing out, and going against the grain. I envision this influence impacting those around me by giving them the courage to do and say what is needed so that our current and future generations feel the impact.