The Self-Awareness Company - Notre Internationale

Interested in starting your own entrepreneurial journey in personal and business development but unsure what to expect? Then read up on our interview with Tia Buckham-White, Founder of Notre Internationale, located in Atlanta, GA, USA.

What's your business, and who are your customers?

At Notre, we offer a different perspective on the standard off-the-shelf commodity of leadership development. As a Human Experience Management (HXM) consulting company focused on self-awareness, we invite leaders to think differently about who they are and how they approach their business. How we work with our clients provides the much-needed space for them to reconsider their sandboxes and how their organizations define success. For example, a client project could help the client understand how diversity, equity, and inclusion impact their bottom line, how to think through developing or evolving their corporate culture, or how to objectively consider the cultural dynamics already at play in their organizations. Regardless of the project scope, we help our clients understand how to be better self-managed and engaged with the teams they lead and serve.

In a nutshell, Notre Internationale provides management consulting with an experiential spin, looking at the situations from the human experience standpoint instead of the process and procedural standpoint. The experiential perspective is not focused on managing their processes, technology, systems, KPIs, etc., but rather on how to be most effective as they interact and engage with communities and stakeholders within the organization. We help teams work together more effectively by teaching them how to be fully present and understand their audience. This approach contrasts with dressing up old belief systems that plug folks into an already established and systematic process because that’s “how it used to work” or “that’s how we’ve always done it.”

Notre works with companies eager to help their leadership teams understand themselves better, use this understanding to improve the organization’s business, and help the teams work better together. We don’t come in with an off-the-shelf perspective on how leaders should do their jobs. Our work is always customized to the client because we start with culture, inclusion, diverse perspectives, and that next-level DEI 2.0 mindset, as we like to say internally. I think how we do this makes us different from everybody else in the marketplace.

Notre is a different perspective on the standard off-the-shelf commodity of leadership development. As a Human Experience Management (HXM) consulting company focused on self-awareness, we invite leaders to think differently about who they are and how they approach their business, teams, and business relationships. The distinct way we work and engage with our clients provides the much-needed space for them to reconsider how their organizations define success. With every project, we help our clients understand how to be better self-managed and authentically engaged with the teams they lead and serve. In a nutshell, Notre Internationale provides management consulting with an experiential spin. We help our clients evaluate their goals and actions through the lens of human experience instead of only through processes and procedures.

Today, a lot of our client work focuses on complimenting their Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) diversity programs because we take complex concepts and make them readily consumable, a term we’ve coined DEI 2.0™. DEI 2.0™ is the next level of this work and brings together action, advocacy, activism, and accessibility. Rather than solely focusing on tolerance and awareness, our perspective elevates the current conversation by allowing clients to shift company cultures and break down barriers. Human experience management, authentic diversity, and emotional and cultural awareness are the pillars that ground our work. The result is what we call JEBA™ – Justice, Equity, Belonging, and Accessibility.

As we strive to educate and empower organizations to ignite necessary change, we model intentional behaviors that positively challenge and disrupt traditional norms with the intent to transform corporate culture. Our commitment to helping companies shift from Aesthetic Diversity™, the phenomenon in which everyone in the environment looks different but thinks the same, to authentic diversity, a more diverse and psychologically safe employee experience, is our key differentiator. For some, this may be a lot to digest! We welcome you to connect with us and learn more about what we’re doing by visiting our website at www.notreinternationale.com or on LinkedIn.

Tell us about yourself

The quickest way to tell you about myself is to share that I do not think I’m better than anyone, but I don’t think anyone’s better than me. I’m down to earth and don’t take myself too seriously. I absolutely love living the life I’ve created as a wife, mother, fierce family member, and dynamic friend.

I was the second generation in my family to graduate from college, and I consistently challenged the status quo respectfully and communally because I’ve always seen things differently. But my family upbringing and other circumstances as a young person led me to believe I was average. As an adult, I now realize I was never intellectually, emotionally, or socially average.

To illustrate this idea and so you can get to know me, I’ll use this story as an example: In the 11th grade, I wanted to major in broadcast journalism and earned an opportunity to go to Louisiana State University’s journalism camp. I was the editor of our student newspaper at boarding school, but it was a mimeographed document with smelly blue ink and staples! Regardless, the LSU journalism camp selected me as a participant, and it was a big deal because the camp hosted kids from different schools and private institutions.

On the first day, my mother and I rolled up to the journalism school in her blue Toyota Corolla at LSU with these giant columns that, to me, resembled a seat of power. It was all very overwhelming, and I remember telling my mom, “I don’t even know how I got invited here!”

So, it’s me and my mimeographed newspaper among all these other kids’ modern newspapers with LSU professors that were well-known journalists and an NPR journalist. And because my mother raised us on NPR, I was incredibly impressed and intimidated! Unsurprisingly, I’m one of the few Black students at the camp. In contrast, the rest of the children were white with top-notch new cameras and school papers resembling real newspapers instead of worksheets or memos.

I specifically remember getting along with the other campers, and the professors were very kind to me because I was interested and engaged in the curriculum. And can you believe I wound up being the editor of the entire journalism camp? The campers selected me as the editor of the whole thing, me with my little photocopy newspaper, and I just couldn’t believe it!

But when I look back as a 51-year-old woman, I realize they voted me the editor of that journalism camp newspaper because I led from a place of inclusive communication, bringing together different opinions and experiences, and I was confident in what I knew and open to learning new things. Although I was a leader at my boarding school, the camp editor experience taught me that leadership isn’t dependent on the latest technology or pedigree but on how authentically you can connect and include others to achieve a goal.

As I matured and entered the workforce, I was the same person I was as a child and a young adult: I challenged the status quo, asked why things were the way they were, included others, and was confident in who I was. But as a young Black female professional, I wondered why relatively unimpressive colleagues and leaders seemed to have more freedom to “be themselves” and why they received more opportunities than me. The more I got to know myself, the more those answers revealed themselves.

Despite always striving for excellence in sales or otherwise, I was penalized for expressing myself and did not receive the mentoring I needed in corporate America to develop as a professional. “That’s about leadership,” I thought to myself. So, when I left corporate America, my goal was to start a company that would talk about disparities, diversity, belonging, and self-awareness in a different and non-traditional way. I knew there were scores of above-average people in companies all over the globe, and I wanted to help leaders do a better job mining those people’s skills and leading them effectively.

I was 39 years old, a non-traditional leader because I understood leadership wasn’t about your title, married with children, and had a new idea: Notre. Our approach to leadership development teaches leaders how to “look in the mirror” first, then use this self-awareness to build more effective and inclusive communities. This principle is the genuine competitive edge many organizations are missing.

I often wonder how an above-average little girl from Mississippi became a certified executive coach, futurist, and founder of a company serving as counsel for top executives and leaders around the globe. Believe it or not, I didn’t begin my career with a mission to be a pioneer in this space. Still, through life’s lessons and obstacles, an opportunity arose. Notre was created to include the skill of self-awareness and self-management in business conversations and leadership development. Like many of you reading this interview, I wanted to do something larger than myself. Notre teaches leaders how to connect with their colleagues, regardless of rank or position.

What's your biggest accomplishment as a business owner?

Believe it or not, my biggest accomplishment is not tactical; it’s personal. My biggest accomplishment as a business owner is emotionally overcoming my internal belief system that limited my ability to advise thought leaders and Fortune 500 executives. I erroneously believed I wasn’t worthy. I had developed an entire worldview in response to my human experience that was legitimately holding me back! Imposter syndrome is what the mainstream calls it, but I call it worthiness or “lack of internal valuation” because those words speak more to the emotional core of that clean and tidy phrase.

With hard work, I transcended my belief that I was unworthy to advise people I thought were better than me. I’ve always had a lot of emotional grit, but today, I know how to ask for help. I know how to be vulnerable. I know how to say, “I don’t agree with this or that.” And I know how to get through something and keep moving. Now I’m in a place to help others by showing them how to manage their limitations so they can do and be whatever they want in life. That is why my biggest accomplishment is personally transcending “my stuff.”

Of course, I have tactical accomplishments in business that I’ll share, but those wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t negotiated my relationship with worthiness. It’s difficult to choose only one achievement, so I’ll just give you a glimpse into some significant moments as an entrepreneur.

In 2017, a multi-national online retailer was our first big deal, and we delivered an Intercultural Development Inventory® assessment to 14 global leaders. Another significant moment was being invited to speak at the University of Ghana in partnership with a nonprofit organization. And recently, we were selected by Entrepreneur magazine as one of ten management consultant entrepreneurs to watch in 2023 and are quoted on Forbes.com.

And now that I’m talking about it, I’d say that among all these things, the most meaningful business accomplishment for Notre is the number of Black women executives we serve in the Fortune 500 space. And while we serve everybody, I’m incredibly proud that we’ve earned the opportunity to support dynamic Black women leaders daily.

What's one of the hardest things that comes with being a business owner?

There’s an emotional wellness and grit needed as a business owner that’s not discussed because the hardest thing about being a founder or owning a business is, at the end of the day, it comes down to only you. You cannot make people see things the way you want them to. You can’t make people care as much as you may care. It’s on you, and to a point, what you want to achieve rests on your shoulders alone, and you must consider ALL the pieces. It’s my experience that, regardless of how much your team loves you and believes in what you’re doing, your employees go home and go to bed. And even with the most invested and supportive team, you make the big decisions alone.

We believe the crux of successful business ownership, or frankly, being a leader in any meaningful way, boils down to how quickly and accurately you cultivate a broader perspective, navigate novel situations, and lead others.

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

Seek self-awareness first. Dig deep to understand who you are and want to be, and then do the work to eliminate any disparities between the two. Self-awareness helps you show up authentically in every space you enter and affords you a significant advantage in the market. It will also allow you to collaborate with others more appropriately.
Second, invest in yourself with coaching, leadership development, or a sponsor. Genuine sponsors open doors and advocate for you in your absence. Accept that you can benefit from working with someone who can guide you. We did this early to grow our business, and we’re reaping the benefits today.
Third, and ongoingly, build relationships and create communities. Effective networking is about giving and is one of the most powerful business tools. The people you encounter may be the key to your success. Consider how you can support others in achieving their personal goals and continue and maintain that mindset as you grow.

To know others, you must first know yourself. If you don’t, your walk will be more difficult. Knowing yourself means you understand your motivations, values, and goals, and you are appropriately vulnerable and able to express yourself fully. To succeed, you’ve got to be willing to evolve, and evolving is relative to each person.

Where can people find you and your business?

Website: https://notreinternationale.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/NotreLLC

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/notreinternationale/
https://www.instagram.com/tiabuckhamwhite/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/tiabuckhamwhite

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tia-buckham-white/

Email: teamnotre@notreinternationale.com

If you like what you've read here and have your own story as a solo or small business entrepreneur that you'd like to share, then please answer these interview questions. We'd love to feature your journey on these pages.

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