September is Self Improvement Month -- our culture has a tricky relationship with the idea of it. Perfectionism, hustle culture and capitalism have us jockeying for position over one another and seeking validation and achievement outside ourselves. Host Nikki Innocent believes that self improvement is truly rooted in self discovery, that all of the power you need is within you, that the improvement is in aligning more deeply with who you are vs how the world tells you you need to change yourself...
Sep 07, 2021•30 min•Ep. 52
Public speaking coach, Rhonda Khan, joins Nikki in today's episode to talk about the power of activating your voice, moving through fear, and owning the room by sharing your story. Nikki & Rhonda shine a light on the importance of public speaking over the last few years and how the Millennial & Gen Z generations differ in their relationship to public speaking, using their voices and having a platform to be heard and valued. Rhonda discusses the influences of being a speech therapist, spe...
Aug 31, 2021•1 hr 9 min•Ep. 51
MIT’s women’s basketball head coach, Lucia Robinson-Griggs, joins Nikki to dive into the incredible influence and impact that sports, athletes and coaches have on our society. Lucia shares her experiences of growing up as a biracial Black girl in Boston who has followed her passions that led her to playing in the NCAA tournament, to playing on Boston’s women’s full contact football team, to coaching high school boy’s football, to coaching back-to-back NCAA champions and now leading her way as a ...
Aug 24, 2021•1 hr 23 min•Ep. 50
How many times in your life have you heard “trust your gut” and felt like cool, great but what does that mean!? In this episode, the final installment in this 6-part series on surviving burnout, Nikki talks about what it means to trust your gut/intuition/inner knowing; why for so many of us, a relationship with our gut has been underdeveloped, discouraged or punished; how to determine what’s your gut vs what’s fear; and exercises tips and tricks to build a stronger relationship with your gut. To...
Aug 17, 2021•47 min•Ep. 49
Failure is a scary word for so many of us. We’ve been brought up to believe it is the worst outcome and we should avoid it at all costs, but what if that is false? It’s time to flip the fear of failure on its head. What if failure holds the clue to the wisdom we most need to learn? What if failure is a faster way to finding the solution? In this episode, we dive into the importance of acknowledging failure as separate from yourself and your worth, the power in owning and honoring the stumbles yo...
Aug 10, 2021•17 min•Ep. 48
The power of positive thinking, the importance of being open and receptive, the need to keep your cool and have a smile on your face are all things we’ve been told lead to success, but in order for those tactics to work, first we must have authenticity. Authenticity in our yeses and our nos. In this episode, Nikki dives into the vital tools of discernment and self trust and the power of honoring that many times no can be a complete sentence. What do authentic yeses and nos look and feel like to ...
Aug 03, 2021•19 min•Ep. 47
Whether people know it or not, they react almost reflexively when you tell them you are taking a risk to do something outside of what is expected of you. The “Oh I could never do that!” or “I’d be too scared” or “that’s crazy!!” responses are all too common especially when you are putting yourself and your needs first after long periods of neglecting them. This episode dives into what Nikki views as the most important reframe for anyone who is taking a leap to make a big change in their lives an...
Jul 27, 2021•16 min•Ep. 46
Being right, being certain, being perfect, being confident and unwavering. These are all things that we’ve been told are the penultimate goal in life and are what make you a successful winner or leader. But with the world changing so rapidly, being stuck in your ways or fixed on the old will create more problems for you than solutions. In this second episode of a six-part series from Nikki’s keynote “Surviving & Thriving after Burnout” the focus is on the importance of shifting your perspect...
Jul 20, 2021•13 min•Ep. 45
Everyone is talking about "being your authentic self" but what does that really mean? For me, it's accepting who I am and embracing what my experiences have taught me. Growing up we learned science, math, history, etc but we didn’t learn how to get to know ourselves. As we navigate re-entering society, there’s a pull between what you’ve learned about yourself and the world around you over the last year and a half and the efficiency of just “getting back to normal -- in that process we tend to lo...
Jul 13, 2021•15 min•Ep. 44
Old school job searching is out, it’s time for a reframe. If you left your job, are considering leaving your job or looking to re-enter the workforce, the interview process can feel daunting. In this episode, Nikki talks about the workplace trends in play with the increase in remote work and the prioritization of diversity, equity and inclusion -- especially in the hiring and HR industry. She highlights some common outdated messages that are still being peddled that keep candidates feeling small...
Jul 06, 2021•54 min•Ep. 43
Anyone else feel like we’re going from zero to 60 from isolation to seeing people, from vague timing uncertainty to an urgent rush? It’s especially abrupt after this period of pandemic time dysmorphia. One of the things we’ve learned during quarantine is that being physically in a space, or on video on a Zoom call, doesn’t mean you are truly able to be present. In this episode, Nikki shines a light on the expectation of being always on or available 24/7 and how it is at odds with the expectation...
Jun 29, 2021•23 min•Ep. 42
As many US companies begin to explore their “back to the office” plans, traditional leadership models, tactics and beliefs are being tested. Many leaders in the investment management industry are bluntly expressing their opinions of the appropriate “return to normal” timeline and approach. On the other hand, employees, a majority of them millennials, have been very clear that if their organizations force them back to the way things were before, they’ll quit. With news of these pronouncements, Ni...
Jun 22, 2021•50 min•Ep. 41
Is there anyone in your life trying to control every aspect of a project, relationship or endeavor? Someone that is nitpicking every single facet of what you are doing? Listen in to hear how you can finally say goodbye to micromanaging for good. In this episode, Nikki: shines a light on the dynamics at play when micromanaging is the tool of choice for people in positions of power, dives into how to effectively confront micromanaging with compassion when it pops up and explains how to lean into t...
Jun 15, 2021•30 min•Ep. 40
In the second episode of this two-part series to relaunch Checkbox Other, you'll hear about the importance of messaging during a global pandemic, Nikki's "other" story while getting her vaccine, her view on "getting back to work," the future of leadership and the new rules that may stick coming out of the pandemic, get the inside scoop on what is coming for Checkbox Other, new developments in Nikki's business, her new membership community, and ways for you to get involved and have your story inc...
Jun 08, 2021•46 min•Ep. 39
In the first episode of this two part series to relaunch Checkbox Other, you'll get the inside scoop as to the relaunch of the podcast, why the podcast went on hiatus, what's being going on with Nikki for the last six months of navigating the pandemic, the global reckoning on racial injustice, overcoming the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, dealing with haters and so much more. Nikki Innocent's sister, Danielle steps into the host's shoes and interviews Nikki to spill all the tea!
Jun 01, 2021•1 hr 5 min•Ep. 38
Host, Nikki Innocent, focuses this episode around a topic that comes up in almost all of her coaching calls along with any live Q&A session at her speaking engagements: How to hack Imposter Syndrome and overcome the fear of being found out. Imposter syndrome is defined as that sinking feeling that you will be found out as a fraud, that you are not qualified, that you don't belong, that your successes are undeserved and based more on luck, timing or other factors outside your control rather t...
Oct 30, 2020•17 min•Ep. 37
Host, Nikki Innocent, centers the importance and power of taking time for a purposeful pause right now. As we start September and enter into "back to school" territory, the need for a thoughtful period of reflection and self-awareness is key. In the midst of COVID19 and our national reckoning on racial injustice, so many of us find ourselves in an autopilot, survival mode. We're striving to keep our heads above water and as a result the cyclical restart that comes with the launch of a new school...
Sep 04, 2020•23 min•Ep. 36
As a Culture Columnist for The Boston Globe, Jeneé Osterheldt often writes at the intersections of identity and social justice through the lens of the arts and culture. Jeneé joins host Nikki Innocent for a conversation featuring their discussion about being biracial, the experience of living in the in-between of identity buckets and how that influenced them both as children and as adults. The episode also touches on Jeneé’s experiences as a public figure speaking out against injustice from Kans...
Aug 21, 2020•1 hr 37 min•Ep. 35
As the first Black, Haitian American city councilor at-large in the city of Everett, MA, Gerly Adrien has experienced an inordinate amount of push-back from her colleagues even as she attempts to speak in the time allotted to her. After receiving the the highest number of votes in the 2019 election, her voice represents more of her constituents than her fellow elected city council members. However the older, whiter council has time and time again silenced her and called for her to be less “aggre...
Aug 07, 2020•58 min•Ep. 34
Erin Claire Jones is a leadership coach specializing in Human Design. She helps leaders and teams step into their highest potential by offering them the self-knowledge and tools to perform at the top of their personal and professional games. In this episode, Erin will give an overview of what Human Design is and how it can shine light on your emotional, psychological and energetic makeup, giving you the self-awareness and tools to align with your nature. Throughout the episode, Erin and Checkbox...
Jul 17, 2020•1 hr•Ep. 33
We are excited to share the audio recording of Checkbox Other host Nikki Innocent’s 2019 TEDxBU talk “Break the Rules in Life, Then Re-write Your Own”. Since the beginning of her life, Nikki has always been one to push the boundaries, and to not always abide by the rules of society. In her talk she discusses how this has helped her in all facets of her life, and shares with the audience the rules that she has set for herself. One of the reasons we chose to share the recording of this TEDx talk t...
Jul 10, 2020•19 min•Ep. 32
Women's leadership experts, Keisha Shields and Nikki Innocent, discuss the importance of owning your own legacy. Keisha shares experiences of having her identity defined by the perceptions and actions of others. She grew up being told that she was " too much" and began to caution herself before speaking, then she did the work of breaking free of that conditioning to live fully as her most authentic self. Her confidence is infectious. Keisha talks about her experience of being the youngest, the o...
Jul 03, 2020•1 hr 10 min•Ep. 31
This week's episode is an encore episode to honor our first guest on this podcast, Megan Baker. Last month, Megan Baker left this world in the physical sense after her journey with cancer came to an end. Earlier this year, she and Nikki had talked about her coming back on the podcast to share more about her cancer journey. Unfortunately they didn't have a chance to do that, so we felt the next best option was to lift up her story, in her words, in this episode and encourage each of you to join u...
Jun 26, 2020•57 min•Ep. 30
To honor Juneteenth, the oldest nationally celebrated commemoration of the end of slavery in the United States, we’re releasing an encore episode of “I Am Not My Socialization” a conversation with social justice expert, educator and all-around game changer, Dr. Tee Williams. As many in the US and in the global community make a larger commitment to shine a light on racial injustice and to "do the work" individually, this discussion from last summer between Nikki and Dr. Tee is a wonderful resourc...
Jun 19, 2020•1 hr 53 min•Ep. 29
In Checkbox Other's first solo episode, host Nikki Innocent discusses the vital moment that America finds itself in following the recent murders of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery. Nikki reflects on the public outcry, the rally for whiteness to be acknowledged and the systems of oppression in our society to be called out, brought into the light and ultimately dismantled. She encourages listeners to DO THE WORK and actively unpack their own internalized oppression while at the same...
Jun 03, 2020•14 min•Ep. 28
Christie Lindor is a momprenuer, author, speaker, and Founder of Tessi Consulting, a business & HR consulting firm focused on helping leaders create and sustain high performing, diverse, and inclusive workplace cultures -- particularly in times of disruptive change. A former technologist turned workplace expert, Christie helps leaders solve workplace issues in areas of digital transformation, creating & optimizing a virtual workforce, organizational change, diversity, equity, and inclusi...
May 15, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 27
Rica Elysée is the CEO of BeautyLynk and #AtTheTable. Prior to her life as an entrepreneur, Rica was a successful community organizer, marketer, and fundraising exec who founded an influential beauty and makeup meetup community for women of color in Boston. She was also helping take care of a disabled family member and noticed how confident hair appointments made this family member feel – but it was hard to find an accessible salon experience. She also noticed that most women in her beauty group...
May 01, 2020•50 min•Ep. 26
Jessica Minhas is a human rights and mental health advocate, journalist, public speaker, and the Founder and CEO of I'll Go First, a nonprofit organization dedicated to expanding and supporting mental health and trauma recovery care in underserved and vulnerable communities around the world using storytelling and mobile technology. In this episode, Jess & Nikki discuss the journey of racial discovery as two racially ambiguous women, the power of therapy and mental health care, the generation...
Apr 17, 2020•1 hr 24 min•Ep. 25
In this episode, Melissa Rowe & Nikki discuss the impact of COVID-19 on the education system, college accessibility, student loan debt, the power of young people and the importance of them sharing their stories. They also talk about Melissa’s calling as a writer, her experience navigating layoffs, challenging the status quo, pivoting her business offering based on the needs of the market and the source of energy in her business. Melissa A. Rowe, is founder of Capture Greatness! – Scholarship...
Apr 03, 2020•1 hr 16 min•Ep. 24
Molly Beck is the CEO of the all-in-one podcast creation and hosting platform Messy.fm and author of business advice book REACH OUT that chronicled how she built her podcast company via networking strategy. In this episode, Molly & Nikki discuss Molly’s entrepreneurial journey, the importance of having someone believe in you in the face of feeling like you don’t belong, and the experience of navigating the VC landscape while pregnant. Molly generously talks about creating a business focused ...
Feb 21, 2020•1 hr 1 min•Ep. 23
