Dr. Allessandria Polizzi, SPHR
CEO / Founder, Verdant Consulting
📍Sharon, MA
If you could describe yourself in one word, what would that be and why?
Abundant - Starting my own company with a focus on an area that is personally important to me has shown me the breadth of my creativity and ability to make connections for others. People will often comment on how much our company has accomplished and created during the last ~3 years, all of which came from me.
However, what really reflects this is HOW I have grown my business. I believe in leading from an abundance mindset, so when I decided to add an affiliate network to the business in order to scale, it never crossed my mind to charge people. Rather, I focused on finding those underrepresented in the market and offered them the ability to deliver our programs via a reasonable revenue share with no financial investment. This means anything our company creates is available to our affiliates to help them grow their businesses. These partnerships are critical to improving mental health at work, and together, we will create a world where work doesn't hurt.
Pledge 1% provides a framework for businesses to do good. Do you think it’s important for today’s corporate leaders to prioritize social impact? If so, why?
Absolutely! The communities in which organizations exist influence business performance, culture, engagement, retention, and innovation. We can't ignore what happens outside of work, as it deeply influences the workplace.
Do you give back to the community with your team and work? If so, what does this look like?
As I mentioned above, we offer our affiliate program for free. If someone is passionate about creating healthier workplaces and can facilitate quality sessions, we work with them to add our programs to their portfolio, as well as provide guidance on growing their business.
One example is a local woman who focuses on DEIB and providing equity audits for organizations. She integrated our resiliency training into her programs, and we taught her how to leverage state training grants to help companies fund her work. Win-Win-Win.
What’s the best piece of advice you've ever received?
What we focus on expands.
This year’s International Women’s Day themes are focused on investing in women and inspiring inclusion. What can we do to make today’s workplaces more equitable and inclusive for women?
If we could teach every girl how to practice self-coaching instead of self-criticism, we could change the world. Having worked with 100s of girls through scouting, I have seen the transition girls make as they enter puberty and begin to absorb the pressures and biases of the world around them. Teaching girls self-advocacy and the power of self-compassion can change how their brains develop and create new pathways for their future.
What advice do you have for women who are just starting their career?
See above. Be kind to yourself and practice self-compassion. You will not lose your edge if you speak to yourself with care. Too often, we say things to ourselves we would never say to anyone else. Speaking to ourselves as we would a loved one, making sure we are ok, and taking moments to self-reflect has been scientifically proven to improve our wellbeing and our ability to work with others.
Be kind to yourself and practice self-compassion.
What are you looking forward to this year? Are there any goals (personal or professional), activities, or experiences you are excited about?
Continuing to raise awareness with organizations that #workshouldnthurt and that creating healthy workplaces is good business.
