The Show Me You Know Me® Show · [SEASON/EPISODE NUMBER]
Career reinvention, leading with inclusion, and why the research always comes first with Kristan Keene
Leads Culture, Inclusion, and Belonging for a Global Technology Company
In this episode of The Show Me You Know Me® Show, host Sam McKenna sits down with Kristan Keene, who leads culture, inclusion, and belonging work for a global technology company. Kristan traces her path from an investment bank to thirteen years at Cisco to Microsoft to her work today, and shares how saying yes to the unpaid, unglamorous work opened doors she never could have planned for. She and Sam dig into what it really means to show someone you know them, in sales, in leadership, and in building a culture where employees trust each other with their hardest stories.
Along the way, Kristan’s roles at Cisco alone spanned corporate real estate, global policy and government affairs, and the company’s first smart grid business unit, before a stint at Microsoft in worldwide public sector sales.
This episode is a masterclass in “Show Me You Know Me” applied everywhere at once: in sales, in leadership, and in the day-to-day work of making people feel seen. Kristan explains why she added the word “caste” to her company’s anti-discrimination policy, how a monthly storytelling forum built enough trust for employees to share the moments that changed how they see themselves, and why, in her words, “you have to give before you can get.”
This episode is packed with leadership insights, including:
How doing the actual research before a call, from an investment bank balance sheet question to a cold outreach that referenced a company’s DEI values by name, turns a stranger into someone people want to help
Why saying yes to the unpaid, unglamorous project (like running a Cisco women’s advisory group) built the case for her company’s first full-time leader dedicated to inclusion, and why compensation comes in more forms than a paycheck
How a monthly Awareness, Allyship, and Action forum, and a policy change to name “caste,” turned a software company into a place where employees trust each other with their hardest stories
Tune in for a candid conversation that moves from investment banking to Cisco to Microsoft and beyond, and shows exactly how “Show Me You Know Me” wins deals, builds careers, and changes company culture. Enjoy!
