DESIGN THE FUTURE OF WORK

How to be
an inclusive
leader
© 2022 Qualtrics LLC
Introduction
 Introduction More than ever, employees and customers expect to see meaningful progress on
inclusion from the companies they engage with.

But inclusion isn’t just a look-good, feel-good initiative. It has quickly become a
differentiator between a positive working culture and a negative one. And it’s a key
performance indicator of the employee experience.

We know from our research that employee perceptions of diversity, equity, inclusion, and
belonging (DEIB) efforts are improving. Employees recognize and appreciate the efforts
organizations have made, but the challenge going forward will be sustaining these efforts
and ensuring that the focus isn’t temporary.

Who can help drive these efforts at your organization? In short, leaders.

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 From hiring to development, decision-making to meetings, leaders are on the
frontlines, translating and navigating organizational culture and norms for employees.

Likewise, leaders are in the ideal position to listen to what people have to say –
and to take action on their needs.

A true commitment to inclusion is genuinely transformative, driving competitive

advantage by powering growth, accelerating innovation, and increasing profitability.

But leaders need to feel empowered to drive change towards a more inclusive
organization. They need the skills and resources to make inclusive decisions, hires,
and teams – and ultimately shape your organizational culture to be anti-racist and
a place where everyone belongs.

In this guide, we’ll share actionable advice on all of these topics, and more, so that
you can feel empowered to take action.

Let’s get started.

Farren Roper
Head of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,
Qualtrics

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 Contents 1 Bolstering inclusive leadership skills
2 Supporting inclusive hiring
3 Building and developing inclusive teams
4 Fostering inclusive decision-making
5 Utilizing inclusive language
6 Facilitating inclusive meetings
7 Embodying anti-racist leadership

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SECTION 1

Bolstering inclusive
leadership skills
 Bolstering As leaders, you hold the key to fostering an inclusive workplace.

inclusive Research by Deloitte found that teams with inclusive leaders are 17% more likely to say

leadership they are “high performing,” 20% more likely to make better decisions, and 29% more likely
to collaborate. A Catalyst study found that 45% of experiences in an inclusive workplace
skills could be explained by “managerial inclusive leadership.”

These statistics indicate two things: first, an inclusive leadership style can boost
productivity by a significant margin; and second, leadership is strongly correlated to how
included an employee feels in the workplace.

What leaders say and do makes up to a 70% difference as to whether an

individual reports feeling included. And this really matters because the
more people feel included, the more they speak up, go the extra mile, and
collaborate – all of which ultimately lifts organizational performance.”

Harvard Business Review

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 To accelerate 3 DIMENSIONS OF INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
progress and truly As an inclusive leader, you can intentionally leverage diversity and see through the lens
embed diversity, of inclusion at various levels within your organization.
equity, inclusion,
At the individual level, you manage diverse individuals (e.g., introverts versus
and belonging into
extroverts), and understand your own biases and how to mitigate them.
the culture and
operating rhythm of At the team level, you foster, grow, and develop diverse teams, lead inclusive meetings,
a company, make use inclusive language, and encourage everyone on your team to do the same. You
sure it’s measurable help and support your team members with understanding their own biases and how
and actionable so you best to challenge and/or navigate them. You also leverage diverse thinking in a work

can hold leaders to environment with increasingly diverse customers, markets, and talent.

account and meet the And at the organizational level, you understand how to dismantle systems of
commitments made power and privilege (e.g., creating an anti-racist organization), regularly audit your
to your people.” people processes (from hiring to development to retention), identify the gaps around
inclusiveness, and work to create rigorous inclusion strategies that are both data-driven
Farren Roper and measurable in impact.
Head of Diversity, Equity,
and Inclusion, Qualtrics

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 HOW TO DEMONSTRATE INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP

What leaders say and do makes a considerable impact on whether employees

feel included at work.

Inclusive leaders demonstrate:

01 Visible commitment

They articulate authentic commitment to diversity, challenge the status quo, hold
others accountable, and make diversity and inclusion a personal priority. As part of their
commitment, they also articulate a clear vision and mission that celebrates everyone, as
well as help to foster engagement and build shared goals.

02 Humility

They are modest about their capabilities, admit and own their mistakes, and create space
for others to contribute. They understand they are not the smartest or the singular source
of truth in the room – nor do they desire to be. They champion great ideas regardless of
where or from whom they originate.

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 03 Listening with empathy

They seek out opportunities to gain exposure to different sources or types of diversity.
They welcome and value different perspectives and experiences in efforts to gain a better
understanding of the needs and challenges their teams may be facing.

04 Deep self-awareness

They show awareness of personal areas of development, bias, as well as gaps in their
thinking. Inclusive leaders not only demonstrate a deep level of self-awareness for
themselves, but they also foster this level of awareness in others.

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 05 Curiosity about others

They demonstrate an open mindset and keen curiosity about others, listen without
judgment, and seek with empathy to understand those around them.

06 Cultural intelligence

They are attentive to others’ cultures. They also possess the competence to effectively
engage and interact with individuals from worldviews and belief systems outside their own.

07 Effective collaboration

They empower others, pay attention to diversity of thought and psychological safety,
and focus on team cohesion.

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SECTION 2

Supporting
inclusive hiring
 Supporting As a leader, you are the gatekeeper for talent that joins your organization, so it’s critical to
support inclusive hiring practices and mitigate bias where you can.
inclusive
hiring

Every candidate interviewing with Airbnb will answer questions about

their commitment, experience, and shared values related to diversity and
belonging. We want to signal to anyone joining our organization – from the
beginning – that diversity and belonging are priorities to us.”

Melissa Thomas-Hunt
Global Head of Diversity & Belonging, Airbnb

HOW TO CLOSE CANDIDATE EXPERIENCE GAPS

To attract and hire diverse talent, you have to pinpoint where there are gaps in the
candidate experience – and then take action to close those gaps.

The candidate experience has four stages: application; screening; interview; and offer.
And within each stage are myriad experiences depending on a variety of factors, such as
success (or failure) moving through the process as well as communication (and follow-
through) about next steps.

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 These moments represent opportunities to delve deeper into how candidates feel
your organization has treated them – insights that you can leverage to then design
and improve your process.

Here’s where to start.

01 Attract diverse talent at the application stage

To start, fostering inclusion in the candidate experience requires taking a close look
at your sourcing and attraction strategies – as well as your talent brand strategies.

If you aren’t investing in or building an external presence in diverse communities

(e.g., establishing a diverse pipeline), you may not find success attracting and
hiring diverse talent.

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 Here are a few ways to do that work:

+ Articulate your DEI strategy. Commit to a clear vision and communicate how you’re
going to – deliberately and intentionally – meet diverse candidates where they are. Not
having a well-articulated DEI strategy can come off as lip service or less than authentic
to diverse candidates.

+ Invest in diverse communities. Reach out and foster relationships with

community and education partners, such as historically Black colleges and universities
(HBCUs). Doing this well reflects authentic action on the part of your organization,
and will help to push your presence beyond what people know about you from your
brand and/or product.

+ Communicate about your culture. Specifically, talk about what your organization
is doing to actively move the dial on your DEI metrics. What you’re doing (or not doing)
speaks volumes, especially when it comes to what people have heard about your
hiring practices.

+ Eliminate any barriers to applying. For example, make sure your careers
site is accessible to people with disabilities and use gender-inclusive language
in your postings.

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 02 Avoid bias at the screening stage

Bias can derail your entire interview process – ultimately hindering your organization’s
ability to hire employees with diverse backgrounds and experiences.

To promote DEI – and remove bias – at the screening stage, your recruitment team can:

+ Select non-traditional candidates that meet the knowledge, skills, and abilities
(KSAs) of the job versus those who meet an education or other requirement that may
not be necessary. Making sure you are focusing on the critical KSAs will help to limit the
tendency to overlook talent that may come from non-traditional spaces or backgrounds.

+ Consider removing personal information from resumes such as candidate

names, addresses, and/or graduation dates, before sharing them with others in the
hiring process. The key here is to present a diverse and equitable pool, but without the
information that might incite bias.

+ Utilize application software to screen resumes but, be sure that the software
is screening relevant information based on the candidates you’re looking for –
and that you aren’t inadvertently screening out qualified candidates. Periodically
spot-check your rejected applicant pool to ensure the software is up to date
(and using the most relevant keywords or algorithms) so that you aren’t
reintroducing bias into the screening process.

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 + As for additional screening mechanisms, use technology to automate (or email)
questionnaires instead of conducting phone and video screens. This can also help
remove bias from the process.

The screening stage is also where technology can start capturing data about
recruitment processes – data that will help you identify additional experience gaps
that need to be closed.

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 03 Prepare for the interview stage

At the interview stage, recruiters are responsible for guiding applicants through the
remaining (and most critical) steps of the process.

Meanwhile, hiring managers (that’s you!) can help candidates feel connected to your
organization – even before they join. You play a critical role in communicating your
organization’s value proposition, as well as what it means to belong.

At this high-stakes phase, hiring managers can make or break the candidate experience – a
time when experience gaps can mean losing your top candidate(s).

This makes collecting and analyzing candidate feedback all the more critical for identifying
gaps and determining what you should be doing differently.

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 Representation For example, your data might reveal that you need to:

helps diverse + Consider who is participating in the process and ensure that everyone

candidates make has been adequately trained.

decisions about + Establish protocol with interviewers to create consistency across the
joining your process and alignment with recruiters. Utilize rubric-based interviewing to

organization.” help eliminate interviewer bias.

+ Diversify your interview panel with panelists representative of your organization.

Lindsay Johnson, Ph.D.
Senior Diversity, Equity, + Work to not overextend your diverse employees. Instead of asking your diverse
and Inclusion Program employees to interview candidates time after time, leverage their expertise and insights
Manager, Qualtrics at scale (think: webinars, podcasts, and other employer branding opportunities).

Closing experience gaps at the interview stage will help ensure that your most qualified,
diverse candidates are engaged and interested ahead of an offer.

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 04 Make equitable offers

The offer stage is the time for your organization to exhibit its commitment to the
advancement of diverse candidates – as well as its persistence in making equitable offers.

An offer is the entry point for setting an equal playing field. If you want diverse talent to
join your organization, you have to make a fair and equitable offer. Otherwise, they’ll either
always be playing catch up on pay, or they’ll accept another (better) offer elsewhere.

Also, remember to audit your offers to ensure that you’re achieving your DEI metrics. While
this is a reactive tactic, it’s a helpful way to level set, measure, and improve the offers you
extend in the future.

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SECTION 3

Building and developing

inclusive teams
 Building and Building and developing an inclusive team requires that all team members feel they are
treated fairly and respectfully, that they are valued, and feel they belong.
developing
inclusive Recent studies have found that employees desire and place a high amount of value
on the ability to be their authentic selves at work.
teams
Research also overwhelmingly indicates that diverse teams perform better, resulting in
positive outcomes for the organization such as greater profitability and value creation.

By design, diverse teams create dialogue, challenge the status quo, and generate more
thoughtful and robust products or solutions.

However, having a diverse team isn’t enough; boosting diversity numbers does not
automatically create an inclusive culture. Focusing disproportionately on diversifying the
pipeline, without also addressing the employee experience (beyond the offer), is often a
miss for leaders and organizations.

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 When an organization DEVELOPING YOUR TEAM SHOULDN’T BE A ONE-SIZE-FITS-ALL APPROACH
tackles DEI as an To nurture and retain diverse talent, it is critical to take a look at current learning and
initiative or a program development processes with an eye towards creating conditions that promote equity and
rather than a strategic inclusion on a daily basis.
imperative, we’ve seen
You can prioritize learning and development for team members by:
time and again that it
simply doesn’t stick. + Ensuring each employee has a career development plan that is tailored to their
The end goal is to professional and personal goals.
continually bake DEI + Serving as a mentor or sponsor to team members within and beyond your direct team.
into everything we do –
+ Proactively taking time to discuss additional growth opportunities such as internal
that’s when it becomes
transfers, or cross-functional stretch assignments, and so on.
truly transformational.”
+ Each of these efforts help to enhance career mobility and advancement
Fayruz Kirtzman for team members.
Associate Client Partner,
Korn Ferry DEI, Integrated
Solution Area

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 HOW TO LEVERAGE DIVERSITY AND FOSTER INCLUSION ON YOUR TEAM

Here are eight ways to create an inclusive environment where everyone on your
team can thrive.

01 Establish a clear vision that celebrates and values everyone

For each individual to bring their best self forward, a sense of belonging must first be
established. Collaborate with your team to co-create a meaningful team vision and mission
to help foster engagement and build shared goals.

02 Practice empathy

To better understand and appreciate team members who have different experiences and
backgrounds than you, you have to make a point to understand their perspective and meet
them where they are.

03 Emphasize open and consistent communication

Having good communication is the foundation of any high-performing and inclusive team.

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 04 Establish inclusive team norms

Be sure to document your team’s processes and norms (e.g., team communication, team
interaction during meetings). Always iterate and seek feedback on processes, norms, and
codes on a consistent basis to ensure team members are not being left behind.

05 Be persistent

Learning how to be inclusive takes ongoing effort, not a one-off training. It requires
individuals to identify key moments in which to build new habits or micro-behaviors (daily
actions that can be practiced or measured).

06 Distribute opportunities equally

Ensure all team members are given access to challenging assignments that match their
skill sets, interests, and/or development needs.

Challenges open up new ways of thinking, and offer team members both the motivation
and opportunity to learn new skills.

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 07 Use objective methods when evaluating others

Feedback is a fundamental tool for learning. It’s critically important for you to give direct,
specific, behavioral feedback and to do this in ways that can be received by people from
different backgrounds, cultures, and more.

08 Acknowledge and reward work to improve diversity and inclusion

Recognition can take many forms (beyond promotion and salary) such as credit,
praise, and awards.

Recognition should be distributed equitably; limiting recognition to only similar others

can inadvertently hinder the development of team members from underrepresented or
historically excluded groups.

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SECTION 4

Fostering inclusive
decision-making
 Fostering When making business decisions, have you ever stopped to think about who is in the room
and whether the decision-makers represent the true diversity of your team – including
inclusive diversity of thought?
decision-
Inclusive decision-making is about managing and improving who is involved and how
making business decisions are made, in a way that improves innovation, engagement, and results.

As reported in Forbes, research shows that inclusive decision-making leads to better

business decisions up to 87% of the time.

A diverse and inclusive workforce represents an enormous opportunity to improve

decisions and consequently business performance. More involvement in decisions will
also lead to higher engagement, satisfaction, and a greater sense of belonging.

Use the voice of your employees as a compass to inform how you think
about decisions, what plans look like, and their diverse needs. Create an
opportunity for every voice to be heard.”

Julia Anas
Chief People Officer, Qualtrics

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 WHY YOU SHOULD LEVERAGE DIVERSITY IN DECISION-MAKING

Inclusive decision-making leverages diversity in a way that provides different

perspectives. But this doesn’t just happen by itself. Leaders need to be intentional
about including diversity.

Diversity includes the full spectrum of human differences, including diversity of thought.
By leveraging diversity, you can harness the full intellectual power across your company
by hearing many different viewpoints.

On the other hand, a lack of inclusivity in decisions can lead to group-think and or a
decision that is missing a key insight or perspective. A homogeneous group is likely to
come up with similar ideas and agree with each other.

A lack of inclusivity in decision-making can also look like:

+ Not having any underrepresented or historically excluded groups as part of the decision-
making process.

+ Only making decisions with those who are likely to assimilate to one point of view.

+ Not leaving any room for dissent or disagreement.

+ Only taking into account the perspectives of certain personality types.

+ Making isolated decisions that affect employees’ work without any input from them.

As an inclusive leader, work to avoid these pitfalls – and encourage others to do the same.

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 HOW TO MAKE MORE INCLUSIVE DECISIONS AT WORK

Now that we’ve covered what a lack of inclusivity in decision-making looks like, here are five
ways to get started making more inclusive decisions in the workplace.

01 Get more diverse voices involved

Set guiding practices that allow for divergent thinking and include preferred methodologies
for different personality types (e.g., introverts and extroverts) and making your workplace
accessible for different disabilities.

Actively seek ideas and input from everyone on the team.

Ask yourself:

+ Am I including people who might agree and disagree in this decision?

+ Am I hearing every voice?

+ Am I mindful of people who cannot be in the room?

02 Create a space that’s psychologically safe

Create space for team members to have differing points of view even if different from
your own. Communicate that it is safe to have a different point of view.

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 03 Be clear on the criteria

This will help set the guidelines for how ideas are filtered. It’s important that team members
understand the who, how and why behind each decision. By adding a clarity lens to each
decision, team members are able to better understand decisions and buy into the outcome.

04 Increase transparency in the decision making process

Actively show that you are capturing all perspectives with no judgment, even if you need
additional time to consider their suggestions and the outcome.

05 Communicate the outcome

Funnel out ideas that don’t meet the criteria and communicate the outcome, while
explaining how it was arrived at.

Keep in mind that once this is done, you must own the result.

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SECTION 5

Utilizing inclusive language

 Utilizing Using inclusive language is essential to having a workspace where people feel safe,
included, and a sense of belonging.
inclusive
language WHAT IS INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE?

Inclusive language is language that makes others feel safe and is not harmful to
underrepresented groups. Sometimes non-inclusive words are used in conversation, but
other times they can be subtly built into processes. Non-inclusive words, whether intended
or not, can have a harmful effect on underrepresented groups.

Any person or group can be excluded with language, but typically, this term is used for
traditionally underrepresented or underprivileged groups.

HOW TO ADOPT INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE AT WORK

Not sure what non-inclusive language can look like, or how to change your language to be
more inclusive? Take a look at the chart below where we’ve listed non-inclusive words and
phrases to avoid – and inclusive language to use instead.

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 NON-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TO AVOID INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TO USE INSTEAD

Gendered plural pronouns like “you guys” can Use words like “folks,” “people,”
have the effect of making women or gender non- “everyone,” or “you all”
binary teammates feel excluded

“Man hours” or “manpower” can make women or Use words like “person hours,” “work hours,”
gender non-binary teammates feel excluded “FTEs,” and “person power”

“Female” as an adjective reduces women to their Use the word “woman” Using it as an
reproductive capacity in contexts where it plays adjective, e.g., female doctor, is grammatically
little to no role correct, but not necessarily inclusive

“Grandfathered” can have ageist Use words like “legacy status”

and sexist connotations

“Whitelist” or “blacklist” can have a harmful effect Use words such as “allow list” or “deny list”
on communities of color as the use of color has no
bearing on the description

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 NON-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TO AVOID INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TO USE INSTEAD

“Sanity check” has an unnecessary connotation Use words like “quick check” or
to mental health and can have unintended “confidence check”
effects for people with disabilities

“Dummy value” can have a harmful effect Use words like

on contributing towards stigmas of people “placeholder value”
with disabilities

Using “husband” or “wife” to identify Use the terms “significant other” or “partner”
someone who has not told you about their until they lead with their preference
family relationships

Using the term “non-white” can reinforce Use words like

racial stereotypes and establish whiteness “underrepresented minorities”
as a default/norm

Phrases like “blind spot,” “tone deaf,” or “blind Use words like “missing insight”
leading the blind’ unnecessarily contribute
towards stigmas around sensory disabilities

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 NON-INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TO AVOID INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE TO USE INSTEAD

Words like “lame,” “nuts,” “insane,” “psycho,” or Use words like “wild” or “chaotic”
“crazy” (e.g., “I’ve been crazy busy” or “That’s
so lame”) can stigmatize physical disabilities or
mental health issues

Lumping atheism and other groups that are not Use “belief identity” when talking about a larger
faith-based when addressing a larger group by group, as you don’t know if they belong to a
referring to someone’s faith faith or part of a group that isn’t represented by
the word “faith”

Using common terms when referring to a Use the term “place of prayer/worship/
place of worship or retreat such as “mosque,” retreat” represented by the word “faith”
“synagogue,” “temple,” or “church” when you do
not know a person’s belief identity

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SECTION 6

Facilitating inclusive meetings

 Facilitating Hosting inclusive meetings means everyone gets a chance to contribute and all voices are
valued and have equal weight. Whether participants are in the room or online, across the
inclusive table or the ocean, everyone should feel welcome to participate.
meetings

We need to be intentional about including diversity – diverse perspectives,

diversity of thought – and giving everyone not just a chance to contribute,
but also making them feel it’s safe to do so.”

Yesenia Cancel
XM Scientist, Qualtrics

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 HOW TO PREPARE FOR A MEETING TO MAKE IT MORE INCLUSIVE

If you’re not sure how to get started planning an inclusive meeting, the good news is: you
probably already prepare for meetings – now it’s a matter of shifting your perspective to be
in your participants’ shoes.

Consider these best practices:

+ Be mindful of the time of day and local time zone when setting the meeting – aim for
normal business hours and respect the time that attendees have blocked off.

+ Make sure the meeting is not being held on major cultural or religious holidays.

+ Send the agenda out ahead of time and if appropriate, pre-reads.

+ Set expectations for any goals, objectives, and/or decisions that are to emerge or
unfold from the meeting.

+ Identify and assign roles and responsibilities as appropriate and try

to rotate responsibilities.

+ Review your list of attendees. Ensure that you’re not missing people who represent
diverse or dissenting points of view.

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 + Ensure the physical meeting space is accessible for those who may have mobility,
ambulatory, visual, hearing, and/or sensory disabilities. This includes checking that any
lifts or elevators to space are functioning properly.

+ Ask attendees beforehand if they require any visual or audio accommodations

(note: this does not mean to ask for conditions). This can include subtitles/speech-to-
text, text-to-speech, accessible fonts, and colors, or pacing discussion to allow for
breaks in the conversations.

WHAT TO DO DURING A MEETING TO MAKE IT MORE INCLUSIVE

Now that we’ve covered planning and preparing for pre-meeting logistics, here’s how to
focus on being inclusive during the time you’re spending together.

+ As the meeting is starting, be mindful that pre-meeting chatter should be inclusive about
topics that everyone in the room can relate to (e.g., your weekend, weather) rather than
topics that only some groups may be able to (e.g., sports).

+ Be respectful of others’ schedules. Try to start and end meetings on time.

+ Introduce yourself with your pronouns. Encourage others to do the same.

+ Set clear ground rules upfront, codifying these will help attendees be aware of their
responsibilities, as well as how they should engage and interact with each other
(e.g., no interrupting or talking over others; encouraging alternate viewpoints).

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 + Be mindful that some people might be in the room and some might be online
when it comes to audio, whiteboard, or other forms of collaboration. Turn on the video
as soon as you get into the room and stay in view of the camera and near the
microphone when talking.

+ If some participants are attending in person, make sure that there are no audio or
physical barriers preventing those online from participating.

+ Greet each meeting participant warmly, by name, so everyone feels welcome.

+ Formally introduce new participants.

+ Remain engaged in the conversation from beginning to end and remove distractions
such as your cell phone. Encourage others to do the same.

+ Ensure any accessibility assistance technology is working properly.

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 HOW TO MEDIATE AND FACILITATE INCLUSIVE MEETINGS

In addition to being more inclusive, you also want to run meetings that are
effective and productive.

Here are a few ways to get the most out of your meetings:

+ Keep track of who’s talking and who isn’t.

+ Exhibit zero tolerance for interruptions.

+ Prevent anyone from dominating or derailing the discussion.

+ Give credit, acknowledge input from others, and highlight contributors.

+ Provide momentary breaks in the conversation so others can stay apace and
not be left behind.

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 WHAT TO DO AFTER A MEETING

What you do after a meeting is just as important to make people feel included as
what you do before and during a meeting.

To start, be sure to follow up after your meeting through email or instant message
(such as Slack) to thank participants for attending and to ask for their feedback.

Also, share the next steps or actions following the meeting. Be sure to remind meeting
participants how work will be evenly (and equitably) distributed and how you will ensure
follow through on objectives.

Holding inclusive meetings helps every employee feel like they belong at your organization
and that their contributions matter. With these tips, you can run more inclusive, and more
productive, meetings in an ever-evolving world of work.

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SECTION 7

Embodying anti-racist
leadership
 Embodying As a leader, your goal is to create an environment of psychological safety and trust;
one where all employees feel seen, heard, valued, and can do their best every day.
anti-racist
leadership And yet, those who have experienced racism first-hand know how painful it is to be
perceived as less worthy than others.

In order to create a truly anti-racist organization, you need to address the experience gaps
that many employees experience on a day-to-day basis.

An anti-racist leader supports anti-racist or anti-oppressive policies or ideas through

action or expression. The anti-racist leader fiercely interrogates the systems and
structures that perpetuate racism and shows up as an ally.

Being anti-racist is about stepping up and stepping out. It is about committing and
recommitting to doing the work, even though it can be hard, scary, and messy.

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 UNDERSTANDING RACISM

Racism is a system of political, social, and economic arrangements that result in

the inequitable distribution of resources, privileges, and opportunities by racial
groups. Racism relies on prejudice, cultural norms, discriminatory acts, or policies
that support the false assumption that racially subordinate groups are inferior to
racially dominant groups.

Racism is an intentional or unintentional expression of power operating across history,

social relationships (for example, slavery and colonialism), and social institutions (such
as law andeducation). Some aspects of racism are openly visible, but what we often don’t
see are the day-to-day personal experiences of individuals and communities of color. The
sad truth about racism is that for so many, it can, and does, happen anytime, anywhere.

DISMANTLING POWER AND PRIVILEGE

We can define privilege as “rights and benefits, granted to members of a dominant group,
who by birth or acquisition, knowingly or unknowingly, operate with an unfair advantage.”
Privilege is connected to different aspects of our identity, like our race, ethnicity, gender
or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, physical ability, religious affiliation, or socio-
economic status. And sometimes, these identities are compounded, where access to
power and resources become limited and/or a challenge.

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 HOW TO TAKE ACTION AS AN ANTI-RACIST LEADER

If we have the courage to face the realities of where we have been, and where we are,
we can begin to create a future grounded in principles of equity, inclusion, justice, and
belonging, where each and every one of us can bring the best of who we are to our lives
and work every day.

Getting there means doing the work. And as a leader, it starts with you.

Here’s where to begin:

01 Slow down

+ Listen

+ Seek first to understand

+ Get curious

+ Reserve judgment to the greatest extent possible

+ Take the time to come with an open mind and an open heart

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 02 Educate yourself on issues impacting communities of color

+ Read fiction and non-fiction books, articles, and blogs

+ Watch films about people from other cultures, e.g., documentaries

+ Seek out trusted news commentators and podcasts

+ Find like-minded folks and start a book group or a conversation circle

03 Expand your circle

+ Seek proximity and expose yourself to other cultures, e.g., go to a religious service, play
a sport, join a club, attend a concert or a cultural festival

+ Find affirming role models who will help you challenge your assumptions

+ Find diverse people in your organization and establish relationships

+ Seek out people who don’t look like you on social media

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 04 Create brave spaces

+ Commit to creating environments where everyone can be seen, heard, and understood

+ Acknowledge the elephants in the room and have uncomfortable conversations

+ Take risks, try things, make mistakes, clean up your messes, and if need be, ask for help

+ Encourage productive debate

05 Practice holistic empathy

+ Humanize others, avoid generalizations, and be on the watch for stereotyping

(in yourself and others)

+ Get curious about people as individuals and learn their stories

+ Make space for the whole person

+ Consider how others may be impacted by racism and other forms of oppression

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Resources & Citations
 Resources & SECTION 1

Citations The Key to Inclusive Leadership

6 Steps for Building an Inclusive Workplace

Inclusive Leadership: Steps Your Organization Should Take to Get It Right

Getting Real About Inclusive Leadership (Report)

The diversity and inclusion revolution: Eight powerful truths

SECTION 3

How to Retain Diverse Talent

Diversity, Inclusion and Culture: How to Build Great Teams

Diversity and inclusion: Eight best practices for changing your culture

Follow These 5 Steps to Build a High-Performing Inclusive Team--Even

If You’ve Struggled in the Past

Chrobot-Mason, D., & Ruderman M. N. Leading in a diverse workplace. In M.S. Stockdale & F.J.Crosby (Ed.),
The Psychology and management of workplace diversity (p.100-121). Blackwell Publishing.

SECTION 6

Run Meetings That Are Fair to Introverts, Women, and Remote Workers

How often are women interrupted by men? Here’s what the research says.

10 ways to have a better conversation

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