Meet Nichole Pitts

Published in Canvas Rebel Magazine

(Excerpt)

Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

It was never my desire to be an entrepreneur. My focus was to become a C-suite executive with all the money and all of the things. As I was climbing the corporate ladder, I realized it wasn’t really about talent — it was about politics.

After becoming an executive, it was less fulfilling than I thought. In fact, it was more stressful, and I didn’t find the work personally rewarding. I had no work/life balance and ended up burned out. In those dark moments, I had the idea to start my own company. So, after talking it over with my therapist and identifying effective coping mechanisms for the reality of not having that direct deposit hit my bank account every two weeks, I tendered my resignation.

As I started my business, I quickly learned that being a subject matter expert was only part of what was needed to succeed. I had no idea how to run a business on my own. This created a feeling of inadequacy and imposter syndrome that I had to work through while figuring out all of the administrative aspects of the business (i.e., strategy, accounting, business filings, visas, marketing, etc.).

I began networking with other entrepreneurs at various stages in their businesses. This helped me to understand what to expect as seasoned entrepreneurs would share lessons learned. And it also helped me develop a tribe of entrepreneurs at the start of their journey where we would work together to figure it out.

Over the years, I’ve realized that entrepreneurship is full of peaks and valleys. I’ve had to learn to be more flexible and comfortable in a constant state of learning. Your “to-do” list is never done, but finding new things to enhance your business is exciting!

 

Click here to read the full article.

Black Women Leaders to Watch During Black History Month and Beyond

Published on Nasdaq

(Excerpt)

Nichole Pitts

Founder and CEO of Ethintegrity LLC, a consulting firm empowering forward-thinking organizations and professionals to solve complex ethics and compliance and DEI problems.

My advice: Take time to get to know who you are. Corporations and society like to tell us who we should be, and sometimes we conform for so long that we don’t know who we are anymore. Take a step back and figure out what makes you happy—when do you feel authentically you? Then embrace that as a superpower. Use your uniqueness to connect with, embrace, and disrupt spaces to create equitable and inclusive services and products.

Click here to read the full article.

Female Disruptors: How Nichole Pitts of Ethintegrity is Shaking Up Workplace Cultures

Published in Authority Magazine on Medium

(Excerpt)

Click here to read the full article.

How 17 Women Leaders Learned to Trust Their Intuition

Published in Thrive Global

(Excerpt)

Nichole Pitts

Founder and CEO of Ethintegrity, a boutique consulting firm focusing on a culture-based approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, and ethics and compliance.

“The strategy I’ve found most helpful in getting me to trust my intuition is centering myself with breathwork and meditation. By calming my nervous system and clearing the clutter from my mind, I can tune into how my body feels and get clarity. Typically, when trying to figure out what to do, I sit quietly and allow the thoughts to come through like closed captions. I feel into the ideas, and when I feel a sense of peace, I know my intuition has been activated. Now, if I want a second opinion, I’ll ask for a particular sign to confirm my decision, which has always worked well for me.”

Click here to read the full article.

48 Women to Watch on What They’re Doing Differently to Ensure Success in 2023

Published in Nasdaq

(Excerpt)

Nichole Pitts

Founder and CEO of Ethintegrity, a boutique consulting firm focusing on a culture-based approach to diversity, equity and inclusion, and ethics and compliance.

I spent most of 2022 re-evaluating who I am at this chapter in my life and what I really wanted to achieve with my business. After a significant brand refresh and identifying and creating a new foundation more aligned with my core values, 2023 is focused on externally showing up in different formats that increase the reach and impact of my messaging. For example, Ethintegrity is all about creative solutions to complex problems. Therefore, I am moving away from traditional messaging formats to connect with my audience more effectively. Not only will I be launching Season 2 of The Ethintegrity Podcast, but I am excited to be rolling out my new online course series, The Conscious ChangeMaker Academy. Its purpose is to share knowledge globally about the importance of diversity, equity, inclusion and ethics, and what those things truly mean in a thoughtful and engaging way.

Click here to read the full article.

VoyageATL – Atlanta’s Hidden Gems

Published in VoyageATL Magazine

(Excerpt)

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It has been a challenging road. But no successful business has traveled a smooth journey. The bumps along the way forced me to decide whether or not I would roll back to what is safe and give up or push forward and through the struggle to grow. Over the past 4.5 years, I have had to learn how to run a business (including understanding the legal and financial filings & obligations both in the US and the UK), understand branding and how to create a strategy to effectively engage with my ideal client, figuring just who my ideal client is (because everyone isn’t going to be a great fit), and just believing in myself even when I fail.

I have found that as long as you believe in yourself, you can manifest the help & tools you need. My entrepreneurial journey has blessed me with meeting many entrepreneurs who helped me with strategy, branding, networking, and a listening ear to share their journeys, so I didn’t feel so alone. Each year has allowed me to build upon the prior year’s successes and failures, which in turn has pushed me closer to my ultimate goal. Entrepreneurship truly is a marathon, not a sprint.

Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I feel the key to my success is that I am an active & empathetic listener. People want to feel seen & heard. Especially when dealing with sensitive and uncomfortable topics. I create a safe space for those uncomfortable conversations and deconstruct overly detailed conversations to get to the root of the issue. Ethics & DEI are unique to each person, so by actively listening, I can figure out how to connect to each person and empower them to constructively share, listen and hold space for others.

 

Click here to read the full article.

Research, Branding Are Key to Inclusive Compliance Programs: Expert

Published in COSMOS Magazine: Navigate the Compliance Universe

(Excerpt)

Branding and storytelling can help create an inclusive, engaging compliance program that emphasizes core values and inclusivity—particularly if they’re paired with market research that accounts for views from throughout the organization, according to a diversity, ethics and compliance strategist.

“Embrace branding to increase visibility and cut through the noise,” advised Nichole Pitts, founder and CEO of Ethintegrity, and a former vice president of ethics and compliance.

It’s possible to “use [branding] for great storytelling, and to do it in an innovative and inclusive way, utilizing different departments and modalities to ensure that there’s synergy across your organization, and then having that go into your clear policies and then looking at ways that you can measure the success of your program,” she said at a Dec. 6 webinar sponsored by the Society of Corporate Compliance and Ethics.

Branding is defined as “delivering an intentional experience to make your audience feel something and have them choose you as their top choice,” Pitts said. Branding a compliance program can increase department and program recognition, creates consistency in messaging, increases employee engagement and helps to develop credibility, she said.

 

Click here to read the full article.

Tactical Ways Entrepreneurs at Any Stage Can Future-Proof Their Businesses

Published in Nasdaq

(Excerpt)

How to future-proof your business: I found the key to future-proofing my business was staying on top of the news and the conversations on social media. Ethics and DEI are a constantly changing landscape, which requires listening to understand new points of view and how to incorporate those into the services I offer to businesses to help them operate in an ethical and diverse manner.

My advice: Understand your ideal client and stay on the journey with them. As they evolve, so should your business. Also, ensure that you are operating as your authentic self. People gravitate to those who show up as themselves because they feel a sense of kinship and connection like they can trust you to solve their problem because you are open and honest with them.

To read the full article, click here.