Biography

Raven Solomon is a global diversity, equity, and inclusion thought leader and nationally recognized keynote speaker who helps organizations get future-ready by understanding generations, racial equity, and their intersection. 

Raven’s mission is simple: to solve racial inequity by breaking down generational and racial barriers in the workplace and replacing them with empathy and synergy that fosters productive working relationships, drives business results, and prepares organizations to compete in the not-so-distant future.

She is the author of the 2019 release Leading Your Parents: 25 Rules to Effective Multigenerational Leadership for Millennials and Gen Z, where she shares leadership principles and practical advice for young professionals seeking to transition into leadership positions in today’s diverse workplace and the founder of the Charlotte-based Center for Next Generation Leadership and Professional Development, a startup focused on providing soft-skill development to the leaders of tomorrow. In her spare time, Raven consults with Franklin Covey, the world leader in leadership development, in unconscious bias.

Raven has helped tens of thousands, from podiums around the world, close the gaps inside dozens of industry-leading companies and create sustainable cultural change. She’s also consulted with household brands on generational diversity and inclusion, early talent development, and retention.

As the valedictorian of her college graduating class and one of the youngest-ever executives in the Fortune 50 company with which she spent nearly a decade, she has always shown that her approach to leading and influencing people yields results.

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Closing the Generational Gap: EMPATHIZE, COMMUNICATE, AND COLLABORATE ACROSS GENERATIONAL DIFFERENCES

Best For: ALL - employees and/or leaders of all generations

This unique and highly engaging program will engage every attendee, no matter the age, as they learn about the differences and similarities across the five generations in the workforce, and how each can be leveraged to create cross-generational synergy that drives results. Attendees will walk away understanding general characteristics of each generation, why these characteristics are as they are, and how they tend to show up at work.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Demonstrate a deeper understanding of generational characteristics and why each are the way they are
- Learn techniques for communicating more effectively with members of different generations
- Appreciate generational diversity as an organizational strength rather than a barrier to progress

Leading Your Parents: MANAGE, LEAD AND INFLUENCE THOSE OLDER THAN YOU

Best For: Emerging Leaders and Young professionals

In this program, Raven will help prepare young leaders for the realities of the multigenerational workplace and the challenges of leading, directly or indirectly, within it as a young professional. She provides insights and proven strategies of multigenerational leadership, as covered in her book Leading Your Parents: 25 Rules of Effective Multigenerational Leadership for Millennials & Gen Z, as well as amusing stories and compelling research.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Learn the 3 keys to multigenerational leadership
- Gain insight into other generations to increase empathy and cross-generational effectiveness
- Understand the Led Language™ of each generation and why
- Learn how to overcome the negative stereotypes of Millennials & Gen Z and leverage them to their advantage

Understanding & Motivating Gen Z: LEARN WHAT YOUR FUTURE EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS WANT... AND FRANKLY, DEMAND

Best For: Business & People Influencers - Sales, HR, and Talent Acquisition Professionals, as well as leaders of Gen Z team members

In this keynote, we will explore all of what we know about Gen Z so far, relating to their behaviors, preferences, and interactions. We’ll spend time differentiating Gen Z from Millennials and discussing the keys points of contrast between the two youngest generations in the workforce.

Lastly, we will discuss employing and leading Gen Z. How do leaders motivate and engage them? How do you best communicate with them? What do they look for most in employers? This program answers all of those questions and more.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Explain how to recruit, motivate, engage, and effectively communicate with Gen Z
- Identify key differences between Gen Z and other generations, particularly Millennials
- Demonstrate in-depth knowledge of Generation Zs tendencies, behaviors and interactions with various stimuli

Generations + Racial Equity: WHERE & WHY GENERATIONS AND RACIAL EQUITY INTERSECT TO MOVE US FORWARD

Best For: ALL - employees and/or leaders of all backgrounds
In this informative and inspiring keynote,

Raven breaks down the connection between equity and generations that every organization needs to know and lean into to thrive in a marketplace that is growing more racially and ethnically diverse by the decade. She helps attendees of all backgrounds understand how and why a generation can impact how they view, understand, and even combat racism. Attendees will leave with greater clarity on the role their generation can play in fighting for racial equity, and how to effectively collaborate with other generations in that pursuit.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Explain the connection between generations and racial equity
- Demonstrate how and why one's generation can impact how they view racism today
- Examine why equity is what marginalized groups and their allies want and need
- Describe how to leverage generational differences to move towards racial equity

The [Generational] Business Case for DEIB: GET CLEAR ON WHY DEIB IS A MUST AT EVERY LEVEL OF THE ORGANIZATION

Best For: Business & People Leaders - Executive Leaders, Mid-Level Managers, Frontline Leaders or ALL

Every CEO wants their organization to be inclusive. In order for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging to be truly embedded throughout your organization, every employee—from the c-suite to the frontline—must be committed to inclusion and rooted in a clear business case.

In this engaging and insightful program, Raven takes those skeptical of the value of DEIB in their workforce and makes them believers, by clearly articulating the risk to their business without it. Those who are already believers, she equips with additional tools and awareness to further understand and articulate the value of DEIB. She does all of this uniquely using generations to frame the value proposition.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Identity the risks associated with not making DEIB a serious business imperative
- Provide a common language and working knowledge of key DEIB terms such as diversity, inclusion, equity, belonging, identity, and intersectionality
- Explain the generational evolution of diversity work in the workplace
-Understand the organizational and individual value of DEIB

Unconscious Bias: BECOME AWARE OF AND LEARN TO LIMIT THE IMPACT OF BIAS

Best For: ALL - employees and/or leaders of all backgrounds

Bias impacts everything. From the decisions we make, to the way we respond in certain situations, to how we see and treat others, our myriad of biases are often at the helm, even at work. And the scariest part is many of us have no idea.

Each and every one of us has bias. If you have a brain, you have bias. And that bias, if unmanaged, presents opportunity for us to do true harm to those around us, ourselves, and our organizations. It can create non-inclusive, even hostile work environments that yield decreased team performance, turnover, and less than desired business results.

In this interactive and thought-provoking program, Raven introduces attendees to their own personal biases, provides context for their potential sources, and reveals their true potential impact. She helps attendees begin to effectively “rumble” with bias through four proven strategies to aid in awareness and combating bias.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Identify what unconscious bias is and when it is occurring
- Explore the threat of unconscious bias on your organization
- Understand the sources and potential impact of unconscious bias
- Recognize four common biases that impact work
Identify four strategies to effectively “rumble” with unconscious bias

How to Be an Antiracist Ally: ACTIVATE YOUR ALLYSHIP FOR RACIAL EQUITY

Best For: Current & Aspiring White Allies

Many have recently experienced an awakening of sorts, concerning the reality of racial inequality and inequity in America, and have a deep desire to change. Others, on the other hand, have been aware of the problem, but unaware of how to be a part of the solution.

In this program, Raven creates a welcoming safe space for aspiring allies to learn about the depths and severity of systemic racism in the U.S. and how to activate their antiracist allyship in their everyday professional and personal lives to close the gaps in inequity.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Define and explain the depths of systemic racism in the U.S.
-Identify performative vs. effective allyship using the Allyship Assessment Model
- Apply the 4-step process to beginner allyship using the ACES model
- Describe what it means to be an antiracist

How to Be an Inclusive Leader: FOSTER A CULTURE OF INCLUSION IN YOUR TEAM OR BUSINESS

Best For: Business & People Leaders

In this program, Raven breaks inclusive leadership down into 6 straight-forward characteristics, demonstrating what each looks like in everyday leadership. She covers the inner drivers necessary to actualize these characteristics in a way that is seen and felt by team members.

Your leaders will leave with a clear understanding of the importance of their inclusive leadership, newfound courage to lean into discomfort, and an awakened curiosity to learn more about themselves and their bias, as well as the lived experiences of others.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES:
- Identify the 6 characteristics of highly inclusive leaders as well as their drivers
- Explain the quantitative and qualitative value of inclusive leadership
- Identify personal areas of opportunity to be a more inclusive leader
- Develop an action-oriented plan for personal growth

Testimonials

No one leaves a Raven session without a list of notes, and a new sense of direction for addressing generational and racial diversity issues.
– DAN MCGURRIN, DIRECTOR OF EXECUTIVE EDUCATION, NC STATE
Raven relates to audiences in a way that is safe for people to lean into and engage. She is without question, one of the most amazing presenters I have had the pleasure to work with.
– LIZ COSTA, DIRECTOR OF DIVERSITY & INCLUSION, COMPUCOM
The 80 mins just blew by because Raven was so engaging and the topic on generational difference and the led language is key to moving teams forward!
– ERICA BROWN, CONFERENCE CHAIR, MICHELIN
I was initially skeptical, but as Raven went through the talk, I could relate to a number of items and now I am a believer!
– HEAD OF INTEGRATED DATA SERVICES, WELLS FARGO
After the event, my colleague and I both looked at one another and said, "We need to find us a Tee! (Raven's Business Manager)
– NATALIE EICHER, CO-FOUNDER, METTACOOL

Booksby Raven Solomon

Leading Your Parents: 25 Rules to Effective Multigenerational Leadership for Millennials and Gen Z

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Blog Posts

 

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