EP 114: Resilience and People-First Leadership with Oksana Lukash

In this episode of Thriving in Intersectionality, Dr. Lola Adeyemo sits down with Oksana Lukash, Chief People Officer, business owner, and leadership advisor with more than 20 years of experience helping teams scale, navigate chaos, and build cultures where people can thrive.

Oksana shares her powerful journey as an immigrant who grew up during the fall of the Soviet Union, spent formative years separated from her mother, and later rebuilt her life in the United States. She also speaks candidly about becoming a teen mom, navigating divorce and blended family life, and how those lived experiences shaped her approach to leadership.

Together, Lola and Oksana explore what it means to lead with humanity, build cultures that last, and grow your career through value — not just time in role.

In This Episode, We Discuss:

• Oksana’s immigration story and how resilience shaped her leadership style
• Becoming a teen mom and navigating career growth simultaneously
• The pivotal manager who gave her a chance — and why mentorship matters
• Why career growth is about impact and value, not tenure
• How to build your voice beyond your employer’s brand
• Treating people the way they need to be treated
• Why culture is difficult to replicate — and why it matters more than ever
• Practical advice for professionals looking to advance in today’s workplace

About Our Guest

Oksana Lukash is a Chief People Officer, business owner, and leadership advisor who’s spent 20+ years helping teams scale, survive chaos, and actually enjoy working together. She blends strategy with psychology, candor with compassion, and believes culture is the only real competitive advantage.

When she’s not building high-performing teams, she’s challenging leaders to think bigger, speak up, and stop settling for mediocrity.

Connect with Oksana

Website: https://oksanalukash.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ksusha45/
Business: People, Culture, You, LLC

Connect with Lola

Dr. Lola Adeyemo is the CEO of EQI Mindset and founder of Immigrants in Corporate. She partners with organizations to build cultures of belonging through ERGs, strategy, and storytelling.

Website: https://www.drlola-adeyemo.com
Community: https://www.immigrantsincorporate.org
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drlolaadeyemo/

🎧 Want to take a deeper dive and engage?

Listen now and reflect via Substack.
 

What lessons from your journey are shaping how you lead today?

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:02

Hello and welcome to the Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast. A podcast that explores the real experiences of professionals navigating the workplace with layered, leaded identities. I'm your host, Dr. Lola Ateemo, the CEO of EQI Mindset and founder of the nonprofit Immigrants Incorporate, Inc. I'm also an author, speaker, and a workplace inclusion strategist. I work with organizations to build communities of belonging through strategy, storytelling, and systems change. This podcast amplifies the voices of professionals from intersectional backgrounds, immigrants, ethnic minorities, first-gen professionals, veterans, working parents, individuals with disabilities, and so many more. Through solo reflections and guest conversations, we'll uncover the eating challenges, celebrate the wins, and offer insights to help you thrive, not just survive, in the corporate world. Because in today's global workforce, belonging isn't just a bonus, it's the catalyst for real growth and impact. Let's dive in. Hello everyone, welcome back to another episode of the Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast. And today I have another exciting guest for you. But before I bring her in, I'm going to do a little bit of setting the stage for anyone new to the word intersectionality or new to this podcast. I love to always start with a brief definition and hopefully draw your curiosity enough to explore and do some more reading about the word intersectionality. What is intersectionality? I came into this work uh through, got introduced to the word, I guess I might say, through the work of Kimberly Crenshaw, and so a lot around our research, uh dissertation around gender and uh race. So it was around the black women experiences. So if you get a chance to go look that up, but um here's a definition I would leave you with today. Intersectionality is a framework that recognizes how multiple aspects of identity, such as gender, race, ethnicity, immigration status, and class, among so many others, how they overlap and interact, creating uh very unique experiences of privilege or discrimination, it could be either, that you can't understand by examining just one of these factors alone. And that's the the groundwork, I would say, that that started me on this path to this podcast and to my work with organizations is people are multi-layered. We are all coming in to work, showing up to work, um, showing up in our businesses through multiple layers. And the goal is to showcase some of those layers on this conversation. So I'm glad to have my guest today, Oksana. And before I bring that up, I'm gonna give you a brief bio about Oksana. Oksana is a chief people officer, a business owner, and a leadership advisor who has spent 20 plus years helping teams scale, survive chaos, and actually enjoy working together. Now she's gonna give some tips on how to do that. She blends strategy with psychology, candor with compassion, and believes culture is the only real competitive advantage. When she's not building high-performing teams, she's challenging leaders to think bigger, speak up, and stop settling for mediocrity. And I am so excited to have Oksana here today and uh dive into some of the ways uh that she has navigated our own layered identity and how it shows up in the work she does today. Aye, Oksana, how are you doing today? I'm great. Thank you so much for having me, Lola. Pleasure to be here. Thank you for being here. All right, we are going to jump right in from Beyond the Bio. And um, of course, if you're listening to these, we'll have a whole detailed bio in the show notes. So I I love to tell people we're going behind the scenes, behind all of the bios that you would see is getting to see how she got here. So can you introduce yourself uh a little more, right? When you think about the word intersectionality, what aspects of your identity have been most relevant in shaping your journey? So I'll let you share that with us a little more about who you are. Yeah, that's a fantastic question.

SPEAKER_01 4:58

Wow, how much time do we have, Don? Um Yeah, I think important factors are that made me who I am is I was I'm an immigrant. I was born in Russia. I was born during the time when Russia was a communist country and part of the Soviet Union. I got a chance to live through the fall of communism and the fall of the USSR. My mom was able to come to the US when I was 10 years old and write as all of that political instability was taking place. And the government literally told my mom that I was their collateral for her to leave, and then I was the collateral to make sure she came back. So the government did not let my mom take um me with her. And this is the time that we did not have all the technology we do today and the modes of communication that we do today. So from 10 to 13, I lived with my grandparents with my dad. I did not know how long it would be before I would see my mom. I didn't know if I was ever going to see my mom. And then at 13, um, she was able to finish getting her green card for her and for me, come back to Russia, finish all the paperwork, and bring me back to the US. So that is a big part of who I am is that um immigration story and then having to adjust and figure out how to restart my life in a new country. My mom and her husband at the time did not really have an ability to relate or really help because they've never been a teenager in a different country. They didn't know how school operated, right? How you get your first job as a teenager. So all of that was really on me. Um, I'm also a teen mom. I had my daughter at 19, the biggest best oops of my entire life, um, and just the proudest accomplishment of my entire life. Um, I got married at 19. I was already separated uh from my daughter's dad by the time I was 23. So I kind of did things a little bit backwards. I worked full-time, went to school full-time, and had a newborn baby at home. So I know what that's like as well because I never wanted my daughter to have less than. And then again, I got to figure out how to be a single mom at 23, take care of my child, navigate divorce, navigate dating. Her dad was one of my first serious relationships ever at the same time I was as I was finishing my degree and then navigating my career. So I think again, right, I'm a hard worker. Um, and I've right seen quite a bit and experienced quite a bit in the workplace too. And um, and judgments, um, preconceived notions, right? Labels that we put on people that folks just assume that they know everything there is to know about you from very little information that they might have access to.

SPEAKER_00 8:05

Wow. Okay, we could write a whole book about each of those chapters of your journey. Talk about multi-layered. Um, I think those are some heavy layers that you described, right? Uh teen parenting. I have an almost 10-year-old and an almost 13-year-old. And and first, for me, as you were talking, that's what I was imagining is like they are at this age where they are very aware of what's going on. You know, people when people move or they are become here with their parents as little kids, sometimes you don't remember. Um, so um, thank you so much for sharing that. Of course, thank you for asking.

SPEAKER_01 8:41

And I would say another layer to add, I totally missed very important, is then becoming um, as I met my second husband, um, I became a stepmom, right? So him and I had to navigate because then we became a blended family, and then navigating again, becoming a blended family, and then having right extra layers of complexity with having right parents, uh, other parents of our kids and their expanded families. So I think as you go through life, right, you continue getting all of these different um layers of complexity that you just navigate and figure out.

SPEAKER_00 9:23

Yeah, absolutely. Yeah, the blended family journey is a different one. I mean, it's one you don't plan for, and when it happens, you just have to go with the flow. Um so I'm I'm yeah, I'm I'm looking forward to it. How you see all of this uh show up in in your work, but let's talk about your um, I guess your leadership journey personally is what I want to talk through now. So um when you think about your career parts, uh you talked about in the workplace and bias. Can you share a little bit about your career professional journey uh to walk us through that journey to where you are now in terms of what you do for work?

SPEAKER_01 10:04

Absolutely. Um honestly, I did not really know what I wanted to do when I grew up. My family um always thought that I was either going to be a doctor or a professor following the footsteps, right? Depending on if it was mom's side or dad's side. And I honestly didn't have an interest in either one. And then I had this wild idea that I just again, I'm like, I love to travel. What's the best way that I can travel all the time and make it part of my job? And I assumed that that was going into hospitality. Thankfully, before majoring in hospitality, I tried it for a month and a half, was not for me. So happy I tried it versus right uh attempting college. And then in college, I decided to just go for a business management degree. And I was hoping that I was gonna figure it out. And thankfully I did. I fell, um, I started working as an administrative assistant, ended up getting a job as an executive assistant supporting a director of HR. And I always, I guess, stood up for myself and spoke up. So a couple of weeks in, was not busy enough, let her know I needed additional work, and she took a chance on me. She started exposing me to HR practices, gave me some HR projects, had me shadow the team, and I loved everything about it. So a couple of months in, I was no longer her EA. I became more of an HR generalist and owned my own projects and had the ability to learn really fast. And I loved it so much that I decided to get my emphasis for my degree in HR as well. And that was one of the very big pivotal moments in my career because not only when I had the degree when I graduated, I had the degree, but I had the hands-on experience. So as my um, as every of my friends that I went to college with that did not do that, they had the degree and were hoping somebody would give them a chance. I kind of bypassed that. Also, another thing that I did, I guess I never realized it was networking at the time, but I've a lot of times been the youngest person in the room. So because somebody took a chance on me, I didn't never wanted to let them down. I very much started figuring out who I can learn from. So I found local communities, local HR groups that I joined so that way I can go and attend as many events, make as many friends as I could. So if I, or every time I was in a situation where I did not know what to do and I was presented with a new challenge, I had folks that I could reach out to that were further along on the journey than I was. And that again was another crucial part, beginning of my journey that completely changed the trajectory of my career because I always had that support system. I could always say, yes, I feel comfortable taking on that project, even know nothing about it, because I will learn as I go. And I have folks I can reach out to that can help guide me. And then it was always uh being kind of the first one to raise my hand, ask the questions, volunteer, not be afraid of doing something I've never done before, and always asking for help or guidance along the way. And that helped me be reach the director level in my 20s, VP level in my 30s, and be able again to be in the executive part of the executive team in my 30s as well. And then also that same network um started reaching out to see if I was available for project and consulting work. So I started taking right projects here and there that never conflicted with my full-time commitments. And eventually, about three and a half years ago, I stood up my own um company, an LLC, just in case. And it just happened to have worked out perfectly that as I transitioned out of my last company, a few larger projects landed in my lap and gave me an ability to focus on that as I thought I wanted another full-time job. During that time, I realized I don't know if I want to go back in-house. I'm having so much fun doing my own thing, being able to work with multiple companies, being able to make a bigger impact, not having to put my ideas, thoughts, and practices through the company's filter and be able to also write, participate in meet incredible people like yourself through podcasts. I'm in the process of writing a couple of books. So I just really would want to urge folks to instead of chasing what everybody else wants for them, to sit in that uncomfortable space in silence of being honest with themselves and figure out what makes them happy, what sparks that joy, and what just gives them um that excitement, right? With the work that they're doing, and then layer that in and be like, do they get that in the role in the company that they're with right now? And if not, can they get there? If not, right, where can they do what kind of life?

SPEAKER_00 15:24

Yeah, um, thank you so much for walking us through that. Um, so well, you know, I I felt like you were sharing the stories, but um, the things that you were learning. Um, and I think the uniqueness of your journey is also kind of what makes this inspiring because, as you said, a lot of things people think, for example, a lot of people talk about should I go get a degree or should I go work? And sometimes it's not either or what are the ways that I could get both at the same time? Like grab those opportunities when they show up. So I I love what you shared. It's like I ended up having my degree, but having my experience as well. So now I have both. And um, as an immigrant and within the immigrant community, I know a lot of times we see immigrants lean more towards just go get a bunch of degrees, no experience, right? And then some people kind of talk about oh, degrees are not relevant anymore. I think they are relevant, but you need to pair it with experience. So um that was great. Um, and then one of the things you shared that I also want to peel back a little more is how powerful it was to have somebody take a chance on you when you expressed interest, right? Um, maybe share a little more about that um mentor, or I guess a manager who became a mentor is how we would describe um uh because I talk a lot about the role of managers, where it's not part of your job description to be a coach. Um, there's a little bit of need for people that are in the positions of managing other people to be able to blend different roles.

SPEAKER_01 17:05

I think here, yeah, no, and thank you for asking that. I think here's the thing: none of us got to where we are without somebody giving us a chance. So every single one of us, if again, we're honest with ourselves and reflect back, we are here because other people it right opened the door for us, brought up our names, spoke about us in rooms that we haven't been in. So I also think that it is absolutely our responsibility to return the favor and do the exact same thing for others. Uh, but again, other people have to step up, right, volunteer, also be very clear on what is it that they're interested in. What does growth and development look like for them? What is their definition? What are the things and skills that they think that they want to attain? And have that two-way conversation with the person that they report to. It's not, so let's say Lola, if you are my manager, it's not your job to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. It's mine. And then I share that with you. And yes, then you can go ahead and expose me to projects, people, right? Individuals, again, potentially conferences, networks, where I can get that exposure and skills in the areas that that I think I'm interested in, and kind of try before I buy. So I think another thing we need to do a better job in is expose people to opportunities for an extended period of time to give them a true taste of what that different step and that different role looks like, and make it absolutely safe for them to self-select in or out. Because not everybody wants to be a manager. And I would say not everybody should be a manager, but I think a lot of folks get lost in well, the only way for me to make more money, the only way for me to make a better bonus or right to be noticed and things like that is to lead a team. And that's why a lot of people go that route. So we need to create different opportunities for both those that are meant to lead as a people leader and those that are meant to lead as an individual contributor and make it okay for people to self-select out and take a different path. But I think a lot of times we try to take that peanut butter approach that right, one um that one um again approach uh works for everybody, and that's not the case. And we also assume um, and I've heard obviously we've all heard this phrase, right? Treat people the way that you want to be treated. And I actually disagree with that. I think we need to treat people the way they want to be treated and the way that they want and need to be treated in that specific moment in their life. Because if you have, let's say, two moms on your team, I think it's an absolute miss if you assume that their needs are the same. One can be a single mother, one can be a career mom, and I'm not saying a single mom cannot be a career mom, but you right, you need to get to know each person, their needs, and what environment works for them, and then as a leader, create that for them to unleash their potential and their performance. The same way as I think we should stop chasing and managing performance. There's nothing to manage. Let's unleash it, let's ignite it, let's again give you the tools and the space and right the ability to do your best work. And then as a leader, it's my job to remove the obstacles that get in your way and then just watch outline. But we keep trying to put people in boxes, and after we do that, ask them to think outside of the box. Maybe let's not put people in boxes in the first place and see what happens.

SPEAKER_00 21:03

Exactly. Oh my gosh. I I love a lot of what you're saying around the two extremes, right? So we have managers, the ones that think they know everything about what's good for you to get you to the next level and tell you everything. And then they are the ones that are very hands-of. Um, but to your point, there's a middle ground that really involves listening to that person. Because, yes, they need tools and sometimes they just need barriers removed. But if you don't listen, how would you know what this person needs and be able to provide the kind of support that they need? Um, so thank you so much for sharing that. Uh, because I think you you did learn a lot on your own path as well. Uh, first is finding the right person, but also is you knowing what it is you want to do, what you're looking for. And and then the manager was able to support you in the way you needed uh for that season. So um you you Do a lot of consulting for companies right now, and so I I I wanted to ask more specifically around that. Um, we are in 2026, the world of work is changing, it's it's like um a global world of work. There's so much um that is not the same as it was 10, 20 years ago, right? I mean, even five years ago. And and so I I want to tap into your expertise from that perspective uh just a little bit for job. I wouldn't say entry level at this point, but it could be entry-level or mid-level professionals that maybe they identify with your story and your background, and they are thinking of how do I advance in my career? Uh, this, you know, this year, the next two years, how do I figure out what I want to do? Any advice from that uh based on your own internal um HRO knowledge, right, of what companies are looking for?

SPEAKER_01 22:54

Yeah, I would say, well, we can talk about again, right, how actually a lot needs to change about the workplace, but we can spend probably hours or days on that topic. If anybody again um wants to advance, I think the biggest um mistake that I see is somebody focuses on the amount of time that they've been with the company or in the role. And it's not to me, right, the amount of time that you in somewhere, it what have you done with it? What is the value that you bring to your team and to the organization? Do you understand the business? How does again what you do tie in and either again help the business or reduce their exposure or again, right? Save money, approve efficiencies, things like that. So you need to be able to tie your role and your contributions in that role again back to the business. So I would encourage everyone, which also that means, and I think everyone needs to know that regardless of your level, is you need to understand the business. You need to understand how the company makes money. It's not just your function, but how do you fit not only into your department, into the respective function of the organization, but in the overall company, and then have the conversations again with your leader that are very much two-way, right? So you can continue talking about, right, and understand the impact that you have. And that would be again a different conversation because it's about your value on the team or the gap that the team would have if you were no longer there. Also, I think it's very important for folks to be again, right, to build that trust both ways. So I'm not saying it's only on the employee, but don't sit and wait for somebody, right, to recognize you or to notice you, kind of your own biggest champion as well. I think we need to lean in and be comfortable being uncomfortable. And what I mean by that is make it a regular practice that right after you finish um partnering with somebody on a project, solicit insights on how you did. What are the things that you did well? What are the things that you could have done better? What right kind of the starts, stop, start, stop, continue framework, and get in the habit of doing that all the time throughout the year. Because, first of all, if you're in a company that does formal performance reviews, you're getting that insight throughout the year. You're able to continuously share that with your leader. So he or she constantly knows how you're doing and how the rest of the organization that works with you sees you. Because remember, their access to information of how much they know about what you actually do is also very good. And if they do not think of asking certain questions, they're not going to know of all the things that you are doing behind the scenes. You assume they know, but again, assumptions is not a strategy, and I would just not uh again advise anybody to assume. So, right, make yourself that invaluable contribution to the team and to the company and focus on the value, not the time. Because I would always rather hire somebody with fewer years of experience, but the depth of experience during that time versus the somebody right that sat in a seat for 15 years doing the exact same job.

SPEAKER_00 26:29

Right, right. Exactly. And I and I think that's definitely a these days, a today mindset that people really want to get. I mean, I'm I'm millennial and we know kind of like it was in the length. Or, you know, my parents' days, it was, you know, you you get a job right out of college and you work that job until you retire, right? That makes you happy, that gives you joy is about the number of years you've spent. Um, once somebody gave a feedback, um, I think we're both active on LinkedIn, but somebody gave a feedback that I thought was really a very important miss that people or opportunity that people miss in this season, where people are going through transitions and losing jobs and getting laid off is like one of the most um significant mistakes you can make is you get laid off and you make that announcement. You know, LinkedIn kind of uh prioritizes announcements around job changes, and the only thing you have to say is, you know, my last day at this company, great company, and it was a pleasure to work there. It's like, no, what did you do there? If I'm getting notified that you are out of job and you are looking for a job, take that opportunity to let me be clear on what your impact was at that organization. A lot of times we don't track that, and you think the real post is about the company you worked at. No, it's about you, just showcase how you added value.

SPEAKER_01 27:53

Yeah, no, I we can again talk about that forever, and I do tons of posts on that. I and I think here's the thing though, too, is I think the mistake or the miss happens way before people we all have, and I think this word is now overused, right? A personal brand. I like calling it your voice. Uh, but a lot of us so much mute that and completely adopt our company's brand, which is great. And I'm not saying you shouldn't be aligned with your company's brand, but what happens is if you completely do not share your voice on a platform such as LinkedIn, what happens? You have a complete and toll identity crisis when you do separate from that company, and then you don't know what to share, you don't know what to talk about, versus if you balance it with sharing about your experiences, projects that you worked on, right? Again, your take on whatever is going on within your industry, within your function, right? All the things there's, I mean, the topics are endless, and then also use your platform to highlight your company's brand. When that relationship ends, you can still continue focusing on your own voice in your brand. And I think another thing that is a huge miss is separating from a company, whether it was your decision, whether you were laid off, whether you were let go, is a big deal. And a lot of us minimize it so much, but it is emotionally, mentally, physically impactful, not only on us, on our loved ones, everyone that we interact with. So give yourself again that space and grace. I did an article on this as well a couple months back give yourself time, give yourself a break, get to a place where you are okay, volunteer, take care of yourself again, health-wise, in all the areas before you start that job search. Because another thing is you think you're okay, but if you haven't processed your feelings and emotions and everything else, the conversations that you're having to now put your best foot forward in front of somebody, it's not happening because you're not the best you. So give yourself that time, mourn kind of that transition and change, get yourself to a better place, and then start engaging and looking for that next thing. And also just because you had a certain role and were doing a certain thing, is that still the right thing for you? So I think that's maybe in the pause, instead of just rinse and repeat, right? Again, listen to yourself. Or is this an opportunity since you're gonna have to look for something new to potentially maybe to do a pivot or try a thing that you've been thinking about?

SPEAKER_00 30:55

Yeah, absolutely. Well, if you're listening, you probably already know that um Oksana is somebody you want to follow because there's so many topics and layers that we could take this. Um, but um, I will in the show notes, you'll have a LinkedIn profile so that you can follow along and grab some of these articles um that she mentioned. But I want to bring it back to you as we start to wrap up here. Um you know, you you shared a little bit about your transition, your career journey. I feel like you touched on mentoring. Uh, you talked about being mentored, you talked about mentoring others, you talked about networking, which is another topic that we didn't get to dive into today. But um I guess my question for you will be is there something that you looking back now that you wish you had known um earlier in your career?

SPEAKER_01 31:47

That's a great question. Um that's a really good question. Honestly, somebody asked me if I had a magic wand, if I would change anything. And I originally gave an answer and said yes, and I think I came up with whatever that answer was, and that question stuck with me, and I could not get it out of my head. And the very first video I ever did of me on LinkedIn was on that topic, and my answer was I would not change a single thing, I would not change a single mistake, a single pivot, a single separation layoff, any many of times that I have fallen on my face, none of that because that's what made me me. That's what gave me the experience that I have, and that's what helped me get to where I am today. And we've all right, there's tons of movies where we know you make one little tweak and write the ripple effect that happens, and I'm very happy with where I am right now, that I would never want it to be something different. And again, it's up to all of us to continue reiterating our story, continue again being very honest with ourselves on what it is that we want to do when we grow up and making that happen. So, my story and my journey continues. So that would be my answer.

SPEAKER_00 33:17

I love it, and you know what you reminded me of now? You reminded me of my five years in undergraduates in Nigeria, and I remembered the and I think to the point that you're trying to make is like when you also are intentional about it, you know, you did the best you could with the information you had and you got the best from it, and then being able to reflect and learn for it. I remember being in in college and enjoying being my first year of college, and then the second year, there was always something I latched on to something special about each year so that each experience was unique. Like it wasn't about, oh, I'm no more the the fresher or I'm now in my final. Every year in between, I was like, okay, what's so special about this year? This is such a great second year. I have all the information now, or I'm excited to discover new things, to get into my core programs, and and um, and I think there's a lot of um learning we we can get that we can we can erase it, we can we can undo it, as you said. It's a ripple effect, right? So um I would love to see that video of you talking about that because I I like that I like that take every single piece of mistake, job change, transition, choices that we make, uh put us exactly where we are now.

SPEAKER_01 34:39

It's our journey, right? And again, we learn more through those tough times than we do through the great times, and yeah, it's it's what makes us us. And I love what you just shared too, and thank you for sharing that because again, right, the phrase I hear all the time is you live once. Well, you can live once or you can choose to live every single day, and the coulda-should have game, and I played it, trust me myself, many a times, is we're then wasting that precious time focusing on something that we can't do anything about, and it just helps us start to spiral and not in a good way, versus taking that. We can revisit, there's absolutely right um opportunity to go and find the learnings and do reflection on that, but I would rather take the majority of that time and invest it and into things that have not happened yet, because you still are able, right, to impact your destiny and what takes place in the future.

SPEAKER_00 35:41

Yeah, I love that. So, uh, talking about the work you do now. Well, first a little more detail in the work you do now, and then um, I guess my question would be when you think about some of those lessons that you learned in the earlier part of your journey or through the layers of your life, right? Through your um your journey through that immigration season, through your journey, through parenting at a very young age, navigating uh the separation. When you think about the work you're doing now, how do you think your leaved layered identity, how do you think it shapes up in the way you do your work right now in your business, in your role?

SPEAKER_01 36:23

Another fantastic question. I think it actually has everything to do with the work I'm doing right now because I'm very focused on again partnering with companies that do want to make their talent, and by talent I mean again, their people and their culture be the competitive advantage. What you do and the products that you have can easily be replicated, duplicated, and made better, and all the information pretty much is available online. But how you make your people feel that's the magic, and that is very difficult to duplicate, replicate, or fake. So I think also AI is going to make work more human and the ability again to interact with one another, to build those relationships, to really lean into teamwork and create environments and experiences that are worthy of the talent. That's my passion. I think again, the peanut butter approach never worked. We absolutely do need to treat every individual as the beautiful, unique, messy person that each one of us are and align them with roles where they can again, we can unleash their potential and their, you know, magic superpowers. And that's where I love partnering with again, founders, CEOs that want that to be part of the DNA and want to build those companies where, again, right, you don't have an issue with retention. You never really even have to focus on that. You don't have an issue with attracting the right type of talent that wants to work in that type of environment. And that again can be unstoppable. I've been in companies where, again, that was our competitive advantage, and those were some of my best times. And again, when you create the space where everyone can be the best them, you can't ask for more.

SPEAKER_00 38:18

I love it. Thank you. Uh, I think that's kind of uh a great way to wrap up uh the conversation about your work and your identity. Thank you so much for sharing your story, your journey. Um really great insights and experience from each stage of your journey and for the work you're doing now. Um, partnering with organizations. Um I'm super passionate about inclusive workplaces and how leaders can do better. And I think knowing that people, you know, like this are doing the work and partnering with organizations, um, always always a thing of joy. All right, I have a final question that I like to throw at my audience. So we end on maybe a little much of a little lighter note, something more fun. So if you were to share a dish, and I mean I say dish, it could be a snack, it could be a fruit, where if you were to consume something with your co-workers um or leadership team, what would you pick and why did you pick what you pick?

SPEAKER_01 39:19

Oh, great question. And um, that's a tough one for me to answer because I love to cook and I love to bake. And I'm a foodie. So again, my husband's favorite thing to do is when we go to restaurant and find a dish that we like, he's like, hey, can you replicate this at home? And then I usually try and do. Um, so I again would want to find out whoever it is that I would be sharing um the dish with, right? Are they salty? Are they right sweet, savory? Are they more right like a main course type of a person? Are they a dessert person? Um, if I go back to my roots and somebody wanted more of a cultural experience, I probably would pick um the Russian soup Borge. It's a beet soup. Again, just comfort food. My daughter loves it. If it's more maybe a dessert, I make a meat three-layer um carrot cake with um uh yeah, with like a butter uh frosting homemade, which is delicious. Just made it this weekend. Um yeah, so I would want to see kind of right what those folks that I am sharing this with enjoy most, and then find a dish that is one of my favorites to cook to be able to have them enjoy it the most.

SPEAKER_00 40:37

You know, one of my favorite things to do is to think back to what my guests shared and then see how their stories kind of show up in the way they answered this question. And I always have fun with it. And and for me, one of the things that you talked about a lot is listening to the people where all unique and and what people want or need. They might have different, they might be in the same phase of life on the outwards, but you don't really know what people's story. And I think that's sort of what you just shared about food without even realizing is yeah, I cook a lot, I love cooking, I could give them what I like, but I like to understand what they need so that I can prepare something that you know different people can enjoy. And so I I think you're very thoughtful with that process, but just giving you a heads up, I'm a spicy and more of a savory person so that we can see you, not a dessert.

SPEAKER_01 41:33

I'm a chicken when it comes to spice, because right as I joke in Russian cuisine, the as crazy as we get is like paprika and you know, like cilantro and parsley. So we don't do a lot of spice, but I do make a mean meatloaf and mashed potatoes.

SPEAKER_00 41:51

Hey, as long as I got my protein in there, that that's good for me. I'm just saying, I'm not as much a sweets person or dessert person. I wonder food.

SPEAKER_01 41:59

Yeah, I think my husband probably what sealed the deal was the mashed potatoes on the meatloaf.

SPEAKER_00 42:04

So oh yeah, oh yeah. Uh but thank you so much, um, Oksana. It was so much uh fun chatting with you. It was fun and also insightful. Um, and I'm so glad that we got to do these to catch up some of your brilliance and your journey. And um so if you're looking to follow Oksana to get a little more about the insights, we'll have um information and links on the show note. Uh, but follow her on LinkedIn. The LinkedIn link will be there as well, and that will be the easiest way to kind of follow along with some of the work that she's putting out there to support professionals in the world of work. So thank you, Oksana, for being here and thank you for listening to our episode today, everyone. Uh, please rate, review, like, share, and let's know uh what you think. Absolute pleasure. Thank you, Mola. Thank you for being part of today's conversation on thriving in intersectionality. If you're an HR or DEI leader and you need employee resource group or business resource group resources, let's connect and LinkedIn and help organizations build inclusive cultures through inclusive workplace communities, strategy, and storytelling. Immigrants and first-gen professionals, join our free community at www.immigrantsincorporate.org for career support, networking, and resources in community with peers who understand your journey. Tag our podcast page on LinkedIn or connect with me directly to continue the conversation. Please don't forget to rate and review to help others discover these discussions. Keep thriving in your intersections. Your story matters. I'm Dr. Lola Adeemo, and this has been Thriving in Intersectionality Podcast.