How Valencia Gibson Encourages "Courageous Conversations" on Challenging Issues

In her work as a project manager and business analyst with Collabry, Valencia Gibson is a pro at getting grand and sometimes unwieldy ideas down on paper.

As an example, she talks about her work in mitigating risk: “It’s an airy concept, and part of my job is to build a framework and create a story around the concept. This helps make it easier for my clients to understand the different phases of the project and to act on the deliverables.”

Valencia uses these same story-building skills leading Collabry’s “Courageous Conversations” series. These internal Zoom sessions are a place for Collabry’s team members to discuss DEIB-relevant topics in open, honest, and thoughtful ways without fear of negative backlash.

Valencia first proposed the idea of Courageous Conversations to Collaby’s DEIB Council in 2021, but she has worked in promoting diversity concepts often in her career. “Diversity has always been in my background—not necessarily my primary, bread-and-butter role, but something I was focused on,” she explains.

Earlier in her career, while serving in the military, she was involved in an organization focused on Black mentorship for diverse youth in communities that often get left behind. Later, she worked with the Diversity Leadership Alliance, based in Phoenix, whose original push was to bring diversity concepts to CEOs, both from an ethical as well as from a financial standpoint. “Diversity brings a wealth of knowledge and perspective that can help the bottom line, and we tried to showcase that piece of it,” Valencia says.

Each Courageous Conversations session features a new topic; Valencia often gets input from team members through Collabry’s Slack workspace and via casual conversations on which topics they would like to discuss. The topics have included issues that are currently in the news as well as historical injustices that continue to negatively impact people’s lives today. These include critical race theory, defunding the police, neurodiversity, voting rights, gender inclusion, and much more.

Before each meeting, Valencia drafts a brief overview that provides the gist of the issue, plus offers background links to foundational information—optional readings that allow participants to choose formats they prefer, such as podcasts or longer or shorter readings.

“I try to give various perspectives,” she adds. “That means I will offer information that I don’t necessarily connect with, because it’s important to me to showcase a broad spectrum of ideas.”

When Valencia presents risk mitigation strategies to CEOs, she often uses presentation decks that help executives and other team members “get it.” Conversely, when it comes to the Courageous Conversations sessions, there is no flowchart, no PowerPoint, and certainly no script.

“I never want to talk at people,” she says. “It’s about who’s in the room together. Sometimes I purposely hold my opinion back and let other members of different groups speak up. It’s important to dig and probe and see what people really think and feel. Together, we want to get below the surface and to the meat of how these topics affect our work, our society, and our communities as a whole. It’s all interwoven.”

While Valencia’s project management work generally has a distinct endpoint, there is no finish line for Courageous Conversations. “Each topic we discuss continues to sprawl out, with feelers in every direction. It’s impossible for me to define ‘done’ in the courageous conversation space.”

And yet, progress is made. She’s seen it, for example, in the way participants have become willing to ask difficult questions. She also has hope for what can happen after the meeting is over. “If someone in our group is inspired by our conversation, they might take the ideas to the dinner table or a neighbor. It’s a snowball that can become an avalanche.” This also prompted the creation of a Slack channel for continued Courageous Conversations at Collabry.

Find out more about Collabry’s Courageous Conversations and other DEIB initiatives in a recent blog post and learn more about the work Valencia Gibson does for Collabry in her Consultant Spotlight.