Sarah Beaulieu - Breaking the Silence Habit: A Practical Guide to Uncomfortable Conversations in the #metoo Workplace

Praise for Breaking the Silence Habit

The essential workplace guide for the #MeToo era. Powerful tools for managers and employees wrestling with big, uncomfortable questions. Sarahs book will help people become happier, more fulfilled, and less anxious at work.

Morra Aarons-Mele, founder of Women Online, bestselling author of Hiding in the Bathroom, and host of Harvard Business Reviews The Anxious Achiever

Sarah brings a practical tool kit and warm wisdom that will directly improve leaders ability to bring out the best in their teams in the #MeToo era. A must-read for leaders.

Rebecca Towne, CEO, Vermont Electric Company

Packed full of useful tips and tools, Breaking the Silence Habit offers a fresh take on approaching sexual harassment in organizationsone that multiplies the effects of compliance-based policies.

Toyin Ajayi, M.D., Physician and Entrepreneur

In a world that dances around uncomfortable conversations, Beaulieus book takes us right to the belly of the beastwhere real change is made with courage, vulnerability, and heart.

Haley Hoffman Smith, author of Her Big Idea

Finally, a must-read practical road map for leaders to eliminate work-place sexual harassment in the #MeToo era.

Saul Kaplan, founder and Chief Catalyst, Business Innovation Factory, and author of The Business Model Innovation Factory

Respectfully written, grounded in best practice, and mindful not to place blame or shame, Breaking the Silence Habit transforms the reader... Teaching these concepts in schools today can help foster a healthier workplace for our childrens future.

Judy LoBianco, 2018 Education Week Leader to Learn From; Past-President, Society of Health and Physical Educators; and CEO, HPE Solutions, LLC

Sarah Beaulieu calls us to action in a digestible way and brings clarity to a complicated and historically underdiscussed topic. A must-read for public servants grappling with how to talk about sexual misconduct with more nuance and grace.

Bo Machayo, Chief of Staff and Chair at Large, Loudoun County (Virginia) Board of Supervisors, and former White House official

If were going to change the world, we have to be willing to change the conversation. And to do that, we must get comfortable with getting messy first. Sarah has made the messy part easier to navigate in a way that is approachable, whip-smartand most importantly, effective.

Jennifer Iannolo, founder of Global Innovation Incubator for Women and featured expert, US State Department

Sarah is uniquely positioned to write this quintessential guide to having uncomfortable conversations in the #MeToo workplace. She gives us a practical framework and tools to have those important conversations. Get ready to be uncomfortable! Your family, friends, and work colleagues will thank you for it.

Jeffrey Saviano, Global Professional Service Firm Innovation Leader, MIT Connection Science Fellow, and host of the Better Innovation podcast

In Breaking the Silence Habit, Sarah delivers an indispensable guide to the power of conversation in the prevention of sexual harassment in the workplace. A must-read for practitioners facing these critical issues in their own companies.

Kate Murtagh, Chief Compliance Officer, Harvard Management Company

Beaulieu has done something quite impressive with this book; shes deconstructed an incredibly complex and fraught topic to provide practical advice on how we can all have tough conversations. This book isnt just for womenor for men. Its for all who care about having a safe, inclusive culture at their organization. Beaulieus expertise on this topic is evident in these pages. Shes given us not only an inclusive, practical way to tackle sensitive topics but also a road map for changing the organizational cultures that often keep us silent. A much-needed book at the exact right time.

Amy Gallo, author of HBR Guide to Dealing with Conflict

Sarahs is an authoritative and essential voice that will help all entrepreneurs find theirs as they develop new ventures with new cultures. Because more than ever entrepreneurial success relies on successful teams, entrepreneurs must communicate honestlyespecially about uncomfortable topics. Sarah and Breaking the Silence Habit are indispensable resources in any entrepreneurial journey.

Danny Warshay, Executive Director, Nelson Center for Entrepreneurship, Brown University

BREAKING THE SILENCE HABIT

A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO
UNCOMFORTABLE CONVERSATIONS
IN THE #METOO WORKPLACE

SARAH BEAULIEU

Breaking the Silence Habit

Copyright 2020 by Sarah Beaulieu All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed Attention: Permissions Coordinator, at the address below.

Ordering information for print editions

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First Edition

Paperback print edition ISBN 978-1-5230-8740-2

PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-8741-9

IDPF e-book ISBN 978-1-5230-8742-6

Digital audio ISBN 978-1-5230-8744-0

2019-1

Produced by Wilsted & Taylor; Text design by Nancy Koerner; Copy editing by Nancy Evans; Cover design by Irene Morris Design Note: This book does not provide professional legal advice or opinions. The stories and anecdotes in this book are all based on real-life incidents and conversations, but names and details have been changed to protect privacy

To Marc, Maryellen, and Russ

This is an important book about a difficult topic. All around us we are connecting to stories about sexual assault. Some are sharing decades-old stories, sometimes for the first time. Others are speaking out publicly, licensed by the current setting of #MeToo coverage. In the news we read or watch, and increasingly in the courts, its impossible to avoid these stories and the conversations about them. But from my vantage point, there does not appear to be much progress in improving the quality or the outcomes of these efforts at voice.