In Alignment: Reflections of Stephanie Battaglino a Year Later

Q: What has changed for the better or worse personally?

A: For me, it has been about creating space for some inner-focused work that I have been trying very hard to be intentional about. Some call it self-care, but I prefer to think of it achieving a better sense of balance between the work and personal parts of my life. When I chose to leave my corporate gig at New York Life in 2019 and pursue my work as a speaker, trainer, consultant – and ultimately – author, I hadn’t prepared myself for the transition from “working for someone” versus “working for myself.” As a result, I was approaching my work against the old, tired paradigm that was engrained in my brain for the last 20 years at NYL, and pulling back from that, really over the entirety of my 40-year corporate career. This invariably led to my putting far too much pressure on myself to book gigs and devote time to cultivating leads and, more broadly, my network.

Now on the surface they may sound like admirable activities to be involved in to grow one’s business, but the rub was that I was undertaking them completely out of balance with the rest of my new “quasi-retired” life. And that manifested itself in stress and tension that I just did not need in my life. I always felt like had to be doing “something,” when in reality, my post-corporate life did not depend on it. I could, in fact, change gears, but I didn’t know how.

Don’t get me wrong, I thoroughly love the work that I am doing because it is such a calling for me. And, I couldn’t be more proud of the book I wrote and published last year. It will always stand as a very satisfying personal achievement. But it wasn’t until I allowed myself the freedom to say “I can do whatever I want to do, when I want to do it. I don’t have to do everything anymore,” that I gave myself permission to approach the work in a much more mindful, thoughtful and intentional way. It has helped me to unburden myself – and my calendar! I now take on commitments that speak to me and that are always in alignment with my north star. And, most importantly, create space for people to open their hearts, minds and souls to education, understanding and acceptance – the three foundational elements that always buttress the work that I do.

Q: What do you believe has moved us forward or backward [politically, culturally, et al] regarding the transgender workplace equality and education movement?

Rainbow at L&B Spumoni Gardens, in Brooklyn NY

A: Of late, I’ve taken to telling the story of how I thought, when I first started doing this work in 2005 or so, that after a few short years I’d need to go find a hobby because all of the companies and organizations that I would have worked with would all be “hip to the vibe” with regard to trans and non-binary workplace inclusion. But now, some 17 years later, I found the exact opposite to be true.

There are so many companies that simply weren’t around back then that in the earlier stages of their own equity, inclusion, and belonging initiatives and they are being very intentional about creating as large a tent as possible for all individuals of diverse backgrounds and experiences.

And that is very positive and supremely important when you put it against the broader context of what is happening today – and last week in the Supreme Court. The forces of hate and bigotry seek nothing less than the complete eradication of LGBTQ+ people, in particular transgender and gender non-conforming people. These individuals offer no compromise, no middle ground. So we MUST educate, we MUST enlighten, because we now – more than ever – need our allies to stand in solidarity with us in what no doubt will be a battle moving forward.