
S12 E2: Courage Over Compliance: A Conversation We Should've Had Already with Keisha Toussaint
From I Hate It Here by Hebba Youssef
April 20, 2026 · 52 min
About this episode
The episode discusses the importance of courage in HR and features a conversation with Keisha Toussaint about advocating for change within corporate structures.
If you've been in HR long enough, you know this feeling. You see something wrong, you know it's wrong, and then you look around and realize the system you work inside of wasn't actually built to let you fix it. Today I'm talking to Keisha Toussaint, founder of BCC'd HR and someone who did what most of us only think about doing: she removed the corporate muzzle entirely. We're getting into the moment that changed how she saw this job forever, what happens when you advocate for the right thing and leadership responds with escalation instead of accountability, and why courage isn't optional in HR, even when the org makes it feel that way. Another day of tough convos, but important convos nonetheless! 00:00:00 - Intro 00:02:20 - Something Keisha Believed About Work Early On and Had to Unlearn 00:06:10 - A Difficult Conversation Keisha Had at Work 00:11:17 - How Keisha Thought HR Operated Vs How it Actually Does 00:18:43 - When the Energy in the Room Shifts 00:22:19 - Understanding What HR Roles Actually Require From You 00:28:29 - Moments That Require Courage 00:37:44 - How Orgs Respond to Outspoken Employees, Especially Employees of Color 00:44:57 - Advice For Folks Dealing with…
People in this episode
Host: Hebba Youssef
Guest: Keisha Toussaint
Topics covered
- HR challenges
- advocacy in the workplace
- courage in HR
- corporate culture
- employee accountability
Keywords
- HR
- courage
- advocacy
- corporate culture
- employee rights
- difficult conversations
- leadership
Sponsors
The Predictive Index
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BCC'd HR
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