More About LaTonya

My most valuable skill, and the one thing I often teach others, is how to build real relationships across differences.

I demonstrate what it means to lead below the surface through relatable stories from my career, my family, and through direct experience with other below the surface leaders. We can all lead below the surface and make real change in our organizations. A few small shifts can go a long way.

Speaking Topics Book a Keynote

Founder of Change Coaches and Author of Leading Below the Surface, LaTonya Wilkins coaches CEOs, senior executives, and teams around the world. Global leaders typically call LaTonya when they are facing the following challenges: navigating conflict in diverse teams, developing leaders to handle the increasingly complex workplace, struggling to gain alignment within their teams, and building accountable cultures of belonging.

LaTonya is a sought-after keynote speaker and has inspired audiences across industries. She built her career working in HR, talent management, and learning and development at Fortune 500 companies before teaching and taking on progressive leadership roles at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business. LaTonya’s book Leading Below the Surface: How to Build Real (and Psychologically Safe) Relationships with People Who Are Different from You was recently featured as a top inclusion book for executives on seniorexecutive.com.

In addition to running Change Coaches, LaTonya is a member of a couple of board of directors including True Star Youth Foundation and Women of Color in the Workplace. She teaches business at the University of Illinois and has consistently been rated a top instructor by her students. Change Coaches, which has earned national certification as a Minority Business Enterprise, became a global business quickly after its inception. LaTonya is always expanding her knowledge through reading, creating REAL relationships across the globe, and taking on new expansive projects. 

Below the Surface Leadership

Leading Below the Surface is a prolific compass for the forward-thinking leader. Inspired by organizational culture research, social psychology, neuroscience, and the real-life experiences of culture leader LaTonya Wilkins, this book disrupts the way we think about traditional leadership to achieve truly diverse, equitable, and inclusive cultures of belonging in the workplace. No matter what level of an organization you are in, you will gain something valuable for your career in this book.

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