We believe that true success is a blend of fulfillment in our careers and in our personal lives. Because how we show up at work, and who we are at home, are interconnected and mutually reinforcing.
We strive to set workplaces and professionals up for success by creating organizational culture shifts where talent is developed and retained through inclusive practices.
At work, when we build cultures where employees can show up as their whole selves, professionals can leverage their strengths, be fully engaged in their work, and teams are stronger because of their differences. Both workplaces and individuals benefit when the many layers of people’s identities are embraced as assets. By aligning the professional and the personal, we show up as our best selves, and maximize our drive, our empathy, our creativity, our courage, and ultimately, our impact.
At home, like with anything that’s important to us, we must be intentional. Healthy, happy families don’t “just happen.” Similar to our professional spheres, creating a thriving family requires a vision, discipline, sacrifice, and creativity. We believe in the value of caring for others and of being present for those we love when they need us most, whether it’s taking care of an aging parent or raising children. We want children to have access to their parents at important moments, and we want parents to be empowered to decide when and how often they need to be present for their kids.
We believe that the skills involved in care work – listening, empathy, communication, and organization, to name a few – are also essential skills for strong leadership.
Finally, we strive to make work-life integration a reality. At Epicycle, work-life harmony includes autonomy over our daily schedules but it goes beyond this: it means being able to integrate our identities as well. It allows employees to show up as “professional,” and also “parent,” “Black,” “Brown,” “gay,” or “woman.” The different aspects of our lives and our identities are intertwined. When we value each person’s unique talents and their diverse lived experiences, we produce better work, create greater innovation, and feel more authentic, satisfied, and happier.
When the professional and the personal align, possibilities emerge. Organizations will be able to attract and retain top talent to achieve excellence, while supporting employees and positioning them to thrive both at work and at home.
“Becoming a parent for the first time is a life-changing experience, especially becoming a working mother. Shortly after having my first child, I was recruited for a high-level managerial position. Sasha assisted me in thinking through what taking on this role could look like given that I was a new parent. It was enormously helpful to have her as a sounding board. She provided a safe space for me to explore my options, asked helpful questions that helped me gain clarity, and our sessions gave me the courage to present my preferences during negotiations with my new employer. After accepting the position, I felt relieved and satisfied that I had asked for and gotten what I needed to balance this new role with motherhood.”
