Navigating Adaptive Challenges: Using the Dignity Lens for Organizational Success, with Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright, Author of Dignity: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community (North Fulton Business Radio, Episode 743)
Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright, an author, speaker, organizational consultant, and adjunct professor at Emory University, joined host John Ray to discuss what she calls the “Dignity Lens,” a seven-part acronym for addressing organizational challenges and fostering individual development. According to Dr. Wright, the Dignity Lens asks organizations to measure results (Yield), maintain Integrity, promote Growth, Nurture changes and interventions, be Transparent, value Diversity in all its forms, and stay true to Identity. She emphasizes that this framework isn’t for fixing quick issues but for addressing adaptive challenges, fostering capacity building, encouraging new thinking, and bringing about long-term changes in organizations. Dr. Wright has further detailed the application of her framework in a workbook that can be used independently or in consultation, and her work has been utilized in a wide variety of organizations.
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta.
Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright, Organizational Consultant, Author, and Speaker
Atlanta-based speaker and author Dr. Beth-Sarah Wright works nationwide, encouraging individuals, communities, and institutions to develop the capacity for change and transformation.
Dr. Wright is a former college professor at NYU and Spelman College. She currently serves as the Director of Enrollment Management at Holy Innocents’ Episcopal School in Atlanta and an Adjunct Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at Emory School of Medicine. She holds a Ph.D. in Performance Studies from New York University, an MPhil in Anthropology from Cambridge University, and a B.A. (magna cum laude) from Princeton University in Sociology and Afro-American Studies.
Her body of work addresses the insidious challenges we face in our individual lives, mental health, or communities that require identity shifts and increases in capacities and competencies to bring about sustainable and meaningful change. Wright advocates for authenticity in our communities, no matter our context, by aligning our aspirational identities with our lived realities.
Beth-Sarah is the author of eight books, which include The DIGNITY Lens Workbook: Implementing the Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community, a companion to her book DIGNITY: Seven Strategies for Creating Authentic Community, a children’s book, Meet Babs and her Beautifully Different Friend, Me? Depressed?; A Story of Depression from Denial to Discovery, Ten Things I Wish I Knew About Depression Before It Almost Took My Life, and a book of meditations, Becoming Who I Am.
Her latest book is Deep Joy: 40 Meditations for Your Journey.
Beth-Sarah is originally from Jamaica and has lived and studied worldwide, from Edinburgh, Scotland, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. She is married to Robert C. Wright, the Episcopal Bishop of Atlanta, and they are parents to 5 children.
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Topics Covered in this Interview
About North Fulton Business Radio and host John Ray
With over 740 shows and having featured over 1,100 guests, North Fulton Business Radio is the longest-running podcast in the North Fulton area, covering business in our community like no one else. We are the “Voice of Business” in North Fulton!
North Fulton Business Radio is hosted by John Ray and broadcast and produced from the North Fulton studio of Business RadioX® inside Renasant Bank in Alpharetta. You can find the full archive of shows by following this link. The show is available on all the major podcast apps, including Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google, Amazon, iHeart Radio, and many others.
The studio address is 275 South Main Street, Alpharetta, GA 30009.
John Ray also operates his own business advisory practice. John’s services include advising solopreneurs and small professional services firms on their value, their positioning and business development, and their pricing. His clients are professionals who are selling their expertise, such as consultants, coaches, attorneys, CPAs, accountants and bookkeepers, marketing professionals, and other professional services practitioners.
John is the author of The Generosity Mindset: A Journey to Business Success by Raising Your Confidence, Value, and Prices.
Renasant Bank has humble roots, starting in 1904 as a $100,000 bank in a Lee County, Mississippi, bakery. Since then, Renasant has become one of the Southeast’s strongest financial institutions, with over $13 billion in assets and more than 190 banking, lending, wealth management, and financial services offices in Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida. All of Renasant’s success stems from each of their banker’s commitment to investing in their communities as a way of better understanding the people they serve. At Renasant Bank, they understand you because they work and live alongside you every day.
Steve Zylstra serves as president and CEO of the Arizona Technology Council, a role he assumed in 2007. He is responsible for strategy, operations, finance and policy development. Zylstra is a vocal spokesman for the value technology can provide in raising social and economic standards in Arizona.
Karen Nowicki is a successful author, speaker and the creator of Deep Impact Leadership™ and SoulMarks Coaching™. She is a two-time recipient of the prestigious national Choice Award® for her book and personal development retreat. Karen was crowned the first-ever “Mompreneur of the Year” Award in 2010 for the southwestern states. She was recognized for her leadership, business acumen, and work-life balance.
