Deborah Elam's guest appearances

Deborah Elam

The Classy Podcast

FlackU!

Through Your Looking Glass

Jacob Lief

Lauren Bush Lauren

Sarah Unger

Susan G. Komen

Matt Scott

Jamin Brazil

Leah Gilliam

Rick Kelly

Rob Holland

Sarah Storey

Katie Gross

Brad Ludden

Kevin Evers

Kennedy Odede

Laura Manning

OwlTail

What is your first thought when someone says they’re a board member? Do you imagine a cold-faced person pulling all the strings at a company? Most people share that same perception, but the best way to understand what it’s like is to hear it first-hand. So on this episode, it’s our pleasure to welcome Deborah Elam, the President, and CEO of Corporate Playbook and Lucid Board member.Deborah's career path is quite interesting. She started as an intern at GE and then joined one of their leadership development training programs. She spent the next 30 years at GE and was the first black female corporate officer in GE's history. In today's episode of the Through Your Looking Glass podcast, Deborah and our host, Patrick, discuss the role of board members. As Deborah explains, board members are not executives. Their job is to give advice, present different points of view, and help managers implement the best strategy.The two dedicate a considerable part of the conversation to diversity and why it’s so important to a company’s success. Having people with different lifestyles, beliefs, personal and professional backgrounds is the key to success no matter what industry you are in. "You don't want a bunch of 'Yes' people on your board," says Deborah and adds that allowing your team members to express themselves creates a healthy work environment everyone wants to be part of.  As we all know, if you want your business to prosper, you need to set an example because you want to be a company your community has confidence in. You want to attract as many clients or customers as possible, so you have to implement correct values and present them to the public.

What is your first thought when someone says they’re a board member? Do you imagine a cold-faced person pulling all the strings at a company? Most people share that same perception, but the best way to understand what it’s like is to hear it first-hand. So on this episode, it’s our pleasure to welcome Deborah Elam, the President, and CEO of Corporate Playbook and Lucid Board member.Deborah's career path is quite interesting. She started as an intern at GE and then joined one of their leadership development training programs. She spent the next 30 years at GE and was the first black female corporate officer in GE's history. In today's episode of the Through Your Looking Glass podcast, Deborah and our host, Patrick, discuss the role of board members. As Deborah explains, board members are not executives. Their job is to give advice, present different points of view, and help managers implement the best strategy.The two dedicate a considerable part of the conversation to diversity and why it’s so important to a company’s success. Having people with different lifestyles, beliefs, personal and professional backgrounds is the key to success no matter what industry you are in. "You don't want a bunch of 'Yes' people on your board," says Deborah and adds that allowing your team members to express themselves creates a healthy work environment everyone wants to be part of.  As we all know, if you want your business to prosper, you need to set an example because you want to be a company your community has confidence in. You want to attract as many clients or customers as possible, so you have to implement correct values and present them to the public.

Critical thinking within your team leads to success with Deborah Elam, the President, and CEO of Corporate Playbook and Lucid Board member

Carmen Rita Wong

Eat, Pray, PR - Can you be ambitious and have a life? with Deborah Elam, Carmen Rita Wong by Deirdre Latour

Eat, Pray, PR - Can you be ambitious and have a life? with Deborah Elam, Carmen Rita Wong

“How do we leverage the knowledge and expertise we have and couple it with philanthropic dollars?” As the president of the GE Foundation and the Chief Diversity Officer of GE, Deborah Elam is responsible for answering this question for one of the largest companies in the world. In her 30 years of work at GE, she identified an overlap between her efforts to provide employees with equal opportunity and the foundation’s philanthropic areas of focus. One of the oldest philanthropic organizations today, the GE Foundation has developed a longstanding reputation for its programs in health, education, developing skills, and public policy. Deborah’s dual role works to empower both GE employees and the beneficiaries of the foundation to contribute to society and achieve their dreams. Under her direction, corporate responsibility goes far beyond the contribution of dollars and becomes an effective strategy other organizations can mirror to engage their employees in meaningful work. Previously a Leadership Council member of the 2016 Collaborative + Classy Awards, Deborah recently joined us again to discuss corporate responsibility, her unique role at GE, and her personal leadership experience.

“How do we leverage the knowledge and expertise we have and couple it with philanthropic dollars?” As the president of the GE Foundation and the Chief Diversity Officer of GE, Deborah Elam is responsible for answering this question for one of the largest companies in the world. In her 30 years of work at GE, she identified an overlap between her efforts to provide employees with equal opportunity and the foundation’s philanthropic areas of focus. One of the oldest philanthropic organizations today, the GE Foundation has developed a longstanding reputation for its programs in health, education, developing skills, and public policy. Deborah’s dual role works to empower both GE employees and the beneficiaries of the foundation to contribute to society and achieve their dreams. Under her direction, corporate responsibility goes far beyond the contribution of dollars and becomes an effective strategy other organizations can mirror to engage their employees in meaningful work. Previously a Leadership Council member of the 2016 Collaborative + Classy Awards, Deborah recently joined us again to discuss corporate responsibility, her unique role at GE, and her personal leadership experience.

How GE Defines Corporate Responsibility | Deborah Elam, GE & GE Foundation