Marietta Montgomery – Creating Safe and Happy Workplaces

Marietta Montgomery’s Bio:
Marietta Montgomery grew up in Montclair, New Jersey. She went to High School in Avon, Indiana. She holds a Master’s Degree in Marketing from Strayer University and has been happily married for 19 years.

Marietta comes with 16 years of experience as a Human Resource Manager, recently working in Learning & Development for a Global Manufacturing Company. She aspires to help people seek their purpose. 

Episode Highlights:
Being a minority in corporate America requires you to develop a thick skin. People look at you like you don’t belong or deserve to be there. Since high school Marietta had to fight to be acknowledged. Her grandmother always reminded her that the struggles she was going through in high school were preparing her for the corporate world.

Marietta has a record of leaving workplaces better than she found them. Today, Marietta shares her career journey, and nuggets of wisdom on improving our workplaces.

We also get to be beneficiaries of some wisdom Marietta received from her grandmother growing up.

Links:
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/marietta-montgomery-mba-0b24951b/

Quotes:
“Before you ask for what you need from someone, check in on them as an individual.”

“The more the more you can make someone feel comfortable without judgment, the more you find out about them.”

“Family is not a literal term. It is people that make you feel that you could be your authentic self, and truly care about your well-being.”

Childhood Incidents:
Marietta’s grandmother believed every boss has a boss. When Marietta was in school, her grandmother would talk to the teacher. If she didn’t like the response, she would go to the principal, and if necessary she would go on to the Board of Education.

Marietta recalls moments when her grandmother would tell her, “You are too old to cry over a want.” To date, Marietta holds dear all the lessons she learned from her grandmother.

Influential Groups:
In high school, Marietta was the only African-American female. Whenever she complained, her grandmother said, “Welcome to corporate America, get ready.”

Throughout high school, Marietta mastered how to be comfortable in her skin dropping athletics and focusing fully on academics. She joined the newspaper staff, where she had a regular column. By her third year, she was popular and, at some point, became a cool kid.

This experience in high school influenced how Marietta approaches people. She learned how to be open-minded and sensitive to others. She believes before you ask for anything from anyone, check on them first.

Temperament and Personality:
Marietta believes she is welcoming and gregarious. Her goal is to be approachable to make it easy for people to open up to her. Over the years, she believes she has become more humble and patient.

Cultural Epiphanies:
Marietta recalls a time when she worked as an HR manager. The HR generalist was Vietnamese. One day he asked why she was hired, since she was black. Marietta had a very precise answer for him, “I will be back tomorrow, and my skin will be the same.”

Thriving Moments:
To bring out the best in Marietta, you need to be real. She loves it when people are transparent and vulnerable with her because it makes it easier for her to know how to help them.

Soapbox Moment:
Marietta compels us to think about our approach to people in general, both in and outside of the workplace. She believes we see things on the surface, but it’s what we don’t see that requires a calm approach without judgment.

Tagline: People deserve to feel safe and a