How to Elevate More Black Women into Leadership Positions with Dr. Mechelle Roberthon

In this episode of The Talent Development Hot Seat, Andy’s guest is Dr. Mechelle Roberthon, a certified professional in talent development with a background that includes training delivery, performance improvement, managing learning programs, and interpersonal and business skills. She’s taught more than 500 corporate courses with her evaluations consistently rating above average. Her dynamic teaching style has become a favorite amongst learners.

Dr. Mechelle Roberthon holds a Master’s in Education with a specialization in training and performance improvement. In May 2022, she successfully defended her dissertation, “Getting to the Room Where It Happens: A Transformative Qualitative Collective Case Study of Black Women Holding and Pursuing Senior and Executive Leadership Roles,” and earned her Doctor of Education in learning and organizational change from Baylor University. She is currently the Vice President and Director of Talent Development at Home Bank in Lafayette, Louisiana, where she leads talent development strategy and programming for the organization.

In this episode, you’ll hear:

1. How Dr. Mechelle Roberthon landed in the field of talent development, what she loves about being involved in talent development, and why education is such a passion for her.
2. Where the topic for her dissertation, “Getting to the Room Where It Happens: A Transformative Qualitative Collective Case Study of Black Women Holding and Pursuing Senior and Executive Leadership Roles,” came from, how she researched it, and why she’s so passionate about the subject.
3. Why awareness is so important in recognizing the lack of Black women in leadership roles, the story that the data can tell us about this issue, and the pressure that Dr. Mechelle Roberthon often feels to represent her culture.
4. What she sees as the biggest problem in promoting Black women into leadership, how that can be addressed in talent and recruitment within organizations, and why it limits your candidacy pool.
5. How you can become an ally to Black women in your organization, why sponsorship is the best way to help them begin opening doors, and what sponsorship looks like in practice.

Bonus Content

1. Dr. Mechelle Roberthon’s proudest career moment and what made that particular event so special.
2. Her biggest career mistake and why it changed the way she approaches new initiatives.
3. The biggest challenge she sees in talent development today.
4. A trend she’s paying attention to in talent development and why it’s making her so happy.
5. The TED Talk she often recommends by Rita Pierson.
6. Dr. Mechelle Roberthon’s advice for advancing your career.

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