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.

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.

Creating Authentic & Sustainable Ethics

Published in Go Solo

(Excerpt)

What are the top tips you’d give to anyone looking to start, run and grow a business today?

  1. Understand Your Ideal Client Demographics. Who are you trying to market to? This is where we get specific. For example, do you state that your ideal client is a women entrepreneur? If so, are they specifically cis-gendered women, or are you also including trans women and non-binary? If so, then you may want to ensure your marketing materials use “womxn” vs. “women” to show this inclusion. Doing some market research with your desired client base will provide rich feedback about the type of demographics you should ensure your address in your marketing campaigns.
  2. Services & Products Designed Inclusively. Inclusive design is an approach/mindset/practice that ensures everyone across the full range of human diversity, regardless of their identity or background, can fully access and benefit from products, services, and environments that you create. Have you ensured that your product or service is accessible to your ideal client base? This is where the feedback from your ideal client proves to be invaluable.
  3. Executing Marketing & Communications Effectively. How accessible are your marketing tools? Have you ensured that it is accessible (i.e., website and emails)? Do you serve clients around the world? If so, have you considered having your website translated to broaden your appeal and client base? Are you using the demographics of your ideal client in your marketing campaigns? And do you have a “crisis plan” in place to help you quickly and effectively manage any unanticipated backlash from marketing?

To read the full article, click here.

Episode 110: How to Activate Our Inner Power & Manage Self-Limiting Beliefs with Gina Unterhalter

S1, Ep 110: How to Activate Our Inner Power & Manage Self-Limiting Beliefs with Gina Unterhalter

Thank you for joining me for Episode 10. In this episode, my guest and I discuss the purpose and benefits of coaching, what drives our self-limiting beliefs, and ways to manage that. My guest today is the amazing Gina Unterhalter.

In this episode, Gina talks with us about:

  1. How to manage the need to seek external validation;
  2. Creating your own “enoughness”
  3. Shifting from focusing on money to being “in service”;
  4. How to set empowered boundaries; and
  5. Understanding the divine feminine and masculine energies and how to operate from them in an empowering way.

If something resonates with you while enjoying our conversation, share it with us on social media using the hashtag #ethintegritypodcast

Gina Unterhalter bio.
Gina is a certified leadership, mindset, career, and business coach, neuro-linguistic programming practitioner, therapist, and numerologist. Gina has a BSc. (Hons) in Experimental Psychology, Masters in Law and Business, and is a qualified Employment Law solicitor with over 10 years of commercial and legal experience working in top-tier global firms in the City of London where she advised, coached, and mentored industry leaders, c-suite executives, FTSE 100 companies, private equity houses, and investment banks. Now, Gina is the founder and CEO of Gina Unterhalter Coaching (Consultancy).  She is passionate about helping women to ACTIVATE their inner power, to claim confidence, clarity, balance & self-belief through a blend of life, career, leadership & business coaching, mindset science, therapy, strategy & spirituality.

Website: http://www.ginaunterhalter.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gina-unterhalter-74704227/

Episode 107: Key Lessons for Ethics & DEI in the Insurance Industry with Michael Blackshear

Thank you for joining me for Episode 7 where my guest and I discuss the world of ethics & compliance as well as diversity, equity & inclusion as it relates to the insurance industry.

My guest today is Michael Blackshear. In this episode, Michael talks with us about:

  1. His career journey from broker to Chief Compliance Officer
  2. DEI initiatives to create a pipeline into the insurance industry for youth of color at HBCUs and partnering with the Rise Foundation;
  3. Key DEI challenges in the insurance industry; and
  4. Key lessons learned for ethics & compliance in the insurance industry

If something resonates with you while enjoying our conversation, share it with us on social media using the hashtag #ethintegritypodcast

Michael Blackshear’s bio.
Michael serves as senior vice president, chief compliance and privacy officer for Ryan Specialty with responsibilities for maintaining and growing an effective compliance and regulatory risk framework. He recently assumed additional responsibilities in leading a newly created Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion function with the strategic mission to promote DEI at the firm, along with building strong alliances within the insurance industry and communities in which Ryan Specialty colleagues live and work.

Website: https://ryanspecialty.com
LinkedIn: Michael Blackshear