Celeste Headlee on Speaking of Race

Celeste Headlee is an award-winning journalist, professional speaker and author of We Need to Talk: How To Have Conversations That Matter, and Do Nothing: How to Break Away from Overworking, Overdoing, and Underliving. An expert in conversation, human nature, reclaiming common humanity and finding well-being, Celeste frequently provides insight on what is good for all humans and what is bad for us, focusing the best research in neuro and social science to increase understanding of how we relate with one another and can work together in beneficial ways in our workplaces, neighborhoods, communities and homes. She is a regular guest host on NPR and American Public Media and a highly sought consultant, advising companies around the world on conversations about race, diversity and inclusion. Her TEDx Talk sharing 10 ways to have a better conversation has over 26 million total views, and she serves as an advisory board member for ProCon.org and The Listen First Project. Celeste is recipient of the 2019 Media Changemaker Award. Her new book, Speaking of Race is available now. She is the proud granddaughter of composer William Grant Still, the Dean of African American Composers.

 

Celeste had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“I try to constantly remind myself while I’m doing whatever I’m doing that I need to just take a pause, take a moment, at any point” (11:05).

“Stop and think first” (11:15).

“I try to judge the action and not the person” (13:00).

“What worked for you may not work for me” (14:00).

“I try to be as honest as possible because I don’t want people to, when they stumble, or when something doesn’t work for them, I don’t want them to give up. I want them to figure out what does work for them” (14:50).

“What works for you? What makes you a good person? (17:35).

“Buddhism doesn’t have a holy book; it has a library” (18:00).

“You’re going to feel this, and whatever it is that you’re feeling, that’s okay” (19:00).

“We need white guys to be leading these conversations [on race]” (29:30).

“This is the dichotomy of America. We can be both full of high ideals and admirable values, and yet vote with our feet and make the wrong decision over and over and over again” (32:50).

“Fame can also mean there’s lots of people who feel like it’s their right to comment on your choices and interfere” (35:40).

“Fame doesn’t seem to me like it’s something I would ever strive for” (36:50).

“It always confuses me when people say they want to be famous. Why? For what reason?” (37:00).

“To be a singer, you have to learn how to let your body respond at every moment to the emotion you’re feeling” (38:30).

“I always wanted to stand on my own two feet. I was either going to make it or I wasn’t” (39:45).

“Music has the power to transcend our thoughts. It has the power to touch us on a visceral level” (40:00).

“I don’t believe in doing stuff if you’re going to half-ass it” (41:00).

“If I’m going to do it, I’m going to do it 100%” (41:15).

“I’m not going to do anything that causes harm” (44:45).

“There’s nothing better in the world than to feel like you’ve been useful” (46:10).

“Any conversation about race and identity is emotional” (52:00).

“If you’re having a conversation about race, it’s entirely emotional” (52:10).

“Race is real because racism is real” (52:35).

“One of the ways I have patience for strangers is by imagining they were one of my relatives” (55:00).

“All of us have too many unconscious biases lurking underneath that leak out of us, that are ready to make our decisions for us, and so we need a posse, we need a group of people, and that needs to be the people around you, so you need to understand each other, you need to talk about it, you need to find the limits of your bias and your compassion, and just make it an absolutely open discussion” (59:15).

“You have to create a culture of correction. Meaning you’re creating an environment in which it’s expected that people are going to screw up, and therefore you train in how to respond when someone says the wrong thing or does the wrong thing” (1:01:35).

“In a culture of correction, mistakes are not exceptional, they’re expected” (1:02:10).

“That’s a lesson that can serve you in every aspect of your life is learning how to let go” (1:12:45).

 

Additionally, make sure to follow Celeste on both Instagram and Twitter.

Thank you so much to Celeste for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.

-Brian