Reboot Podcast Episode #165 – The Bones of Belonging – with Annahid Dashtgard

The Reboot podcast showcases the heart and soul, the wins and losses, the ups and downs of startup leadership. On the show, Entrepreneurs, CEO’s, and Startup Leaders discuss with Jerry Colonna the emotional and psychological challenges they face daily as leaders.

Episode 165 // May 23, 2023

Guests

Annahid Dashtgard

Annahid Dashtgard

author, CEO and co-founder of Anima Leadership

View Bio

Episode Description

In this episode of the Reboot Podcast, Jerry sits down with Annahid Dashtgard, a fellow author, activist, and champion for justice, equity, diversity, and inclusivity. The pair discuss Annahid’s latest book, The Bones of Belonging: Finding Wholeness in a White World, which is a poignant collection of essays centered around Annahid’s experiences searching for, and teaching about, belonging in our deeply divided world. Jerry and Annahid delve into the little, insidious, persistent ways we feel pressured to abandon parts of our identity, and how creating spaces and organizations of belonging requires that we reconnect with the dismembered parts of ourselves and the knowledge our bones hold.

Show Highlights

Memorable Quotes:

“I’m very deeply entrenched and mired in this conversation that we’re having as a species at every single level, I would say, as a society around how we create more inclusion and belonging for ourselves and what’s at stake if we don’t.” — Annahid Dashtgard

“What’s at stake that this isn’t just a theoretical debate about what words to use or the right things to do or say, but it’s about creating environments where people can really be themselves and take for granted that it’s okay and even safe to be themselves.” — Annahid Dashtgard

“I think that we don’t have enough accessible entry points for people to really understand what equity and inclusion means in a relatable way.” — Annahid Dashtgard

“I think that we have not, that there is this relationship that exists between the dismembered parts of ourselves and the need to remember those parts as a ground upon which we can remember and connect with, reconnect with others.” – Jerry Colonna

“I don’t see how the world changes of us who have power are willing to risk losing that power, whatever that would look like, to see the world that we say we want to have exist.” – Jerry Colonna

“If people can relate, they will shift behavior. We don’t need all the perfect words and the academic understanding and all that stuff. In fact, that can often get in the way. What we need are more relatable access points.” — Annahid Dashtgard

“To change a system, we don’t always have to go broad. We can sometimes have micro-moments that ripple out and invisibly shift something in the culture.” — Annahid Dashtgard

“The deeper change mechanism is to go, what have I lost in this system? And let me excavate my own experience and know from whence I came, know what my bones hold. And then I can relate.” — Annahid Dashtgard