Prioritizing Inclusion

 

When it comes to Prioritizing Inclusion, your results indicate you are in the Advocate stage.

In this stage, you question underlying policies, practices, and assumptions, even if you are an “insider” who benefits from them. You think the status quo is unacceptable and are unafraid to challenge norms and assumptions or risk ostracization from your peers.

In this stage, you are deeply committed to the work of allyship. You understand the inequities and exclusion different identity groups experience, and you align yourself in solidarity with them and leverage your power, influence, and social capital to help speed their impact. You model the way for others to stand up to discrimination and inequity and actively champion DEI as a priority in the workplace.

You also recognize that being an ally is not a label you give yourself, but rather one that you earn through your words and your actions. You take responsibility for your impact and you own it when you miss the mark.

Resources to learn more

• Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace and the Will to Change, by Jennifer Brown
• Will to Change podcast series with Jennifer Brown. Episode 232: The Four Traits of Inclusive Leaders: Getting Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
• Code Switch, NPR podcast about race and identity
• 12 Ways Companies Are Boosting Their DEI, SHRM

To advance your knowledge about DEI and build the skills and competencies to get actively involved, consider registering for our 6-week Level I DEI Foundations Course.

 

Awareness of Intent vs Impact

 

When it comes to Awareness of Intent vs. Impact, your results indicate you are in theAdvocate stage.

In the Advocate stage, you have stepped into your role as an ally. You recognize that allyship needs to be authentic, and that superficial words, slogans, or one-off commitments to allyship are performative at best when they are not followed by meaningful action.

You recognize the difference between intent and impact, and understand good intentions are not enough. You realize the impact of your actions, words, and behavior is more important than the intent behind it, and that impact is defined not by you, but by others—those you aim to support and stand alongside. If your actions unwittingly offend, hurt, or further marginalize someone else, you do not defend yourself and your intentions. Instead, you listen, learn, and then you correct the course.

Being an inclusive leader means holding yourself accountable when you make mistakes, apologizing, and committing to improvement. You cannot expect to be good at this right out of the gate. You are going to have to apologize when your impact doesn’t match your intent. It’s about getting a little better each time. This is about practice, taking it from an intellectual exercise to an embodied way of being.

Resources to learn more

• How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive (second edition), by Jennifer Brown
• DEI Deconstructed: Your No-Nonsense Guide to Doing the Work and Doing It Right, by Lily Zheng
• Will to Change podcast with Jennifer Brown: Episode 206: Waymakers Takeover: Author Tara Jaye Frank and Leilani Brown on DEI’s Great Awakening
• Guide to Allyship

If you already have a foundational understanding of DEI concepts and are looking for practical ways to apply those concepts in workplace practices and processes, consider registering for our 8-week Level II DEI Foundations Course.

 

Embracing Change

 

When it comes to Embracing Change, your results indicate you are in the Advocate stage.

In the Advocate stage, you draw attention to systemic inequities and get involved in solving them. You work in allyship with others to shift systems and behaviors and leverage your power and influence to propel change.

You recognize that aligning in solidarity with people who may not benefit from the dominant systems means looking critically at those same systems, even if you are an insider who benefits from them. You understand this is hard work. It can mean breaking with groups you are a part of, and there is, of course, risk in this. And the risk level increases as you become more public about your actions and advocacy in this stage.

It takes resilience to keep moving forward in the face of resistance or when it feels like the amount of change that is called for is insurmountable. But the true measure of leadership is not how an individual performs during the good times, rather the fortitude they display during times of uncertainty and their willingness to take a stand—especially when the stakes are high.

Resources to learn more

• How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive (second edition), by Jennifer Brown
• Born on Third Base: A One Percenter Makes the Case for Tackling Inequality, Bringing Wealth Home, and Committing to the Common Good, by Chuck Collins
• Will to Change podcast with Jennifer Brown: Episode 195: Leading Systemic Change with Former Diversity Officer Rohini Anand
• Racial Economic Inequality, Institute for Policy Studies

To hear from DEI experts and learn more about the lived experiences of individuals from different identities and backgrounds, check out Jennifer Brown’s free podcast series: The Will to Change.

 

Bias Awareness

 

When it comes to Bias Awareness, your results indicate you are in the Advocate stage.

In this stage, you are actively challenging biases and inequities in the systems and processes around you. The reality is, many processes that organizations follow perpetuate bias because they have never been critically examined under a systems lens.

Ultimately, being an advocate is an opportunity to move beyond the superficial to something deeper, to use whatever power, privilege or influence you have to challenge existing norms and move the conversation toward more public commitments to change. It means being hyper-aware of your biases and being willing to point out bias in the systems and behaviors that surround you.

When you begin to question and disrupt systems, you will learn more deeply just how inequitable and discriminatory they are, and sometimes you will also learn how your own unexplored biases and behaviors may have contributed to or perpetuated the problem. Part of the resilience you need to build at this stage is the ability to humbly acknowledge this, be accountable for it, but at the same time, not let it hamper your progress. This is not easy work, but inclusive leaders are committed for the long-term, they are marathoners not sprinters.

Resources to learn more

• Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World, by Rohit Bhargava and Jennifer Brown
• Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People, by Mahzarin R. Banaji
• Inclusion Revolution, by Daisy Auger Domínguez
• Implicit Bias Resource Guide, SHRM

To learn more about the issues from DEI experts and practitioners, and find out what leading organizations are doing to advance DEI, join our free Community Calls.

 

Language

 

When it comes to Language, your results indicate you are in the Advocate stage.

In this stage you recognize the importance of inclusive language and you reflect carefully upon the language and words you choose to ensure they convey respect. As an inclusive leader, you take steps to ensure that inclusive language is used in marketing, internal and external communications, and imagery.

Being an advocate and ally also means speaking up when you observe others using language that is exclusionary or harmful. You don’t call people out when this happens, instead you call them in by explaining why inclusive language is important and suggesting alternatives.

In this stage, you understand language is fluid, and that the meaning and connotation of words is always evolving and can change rapidly. You continually seek new information and input to ensure your own language is inclusive. When you make mistakes, you learn from them and adopt new practices and choices.

Resources to learn more

• Beyond Diversity: 12 Non-Obvious Ways To Build A More Inclusive World, by Rohit Bhargava and Jennifer Brown
• We Can't Talk about That at Work! How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics, by Mary-Frances Winters
• The Will to Change, podcast series with Jennifer Brown. Episode 184: Critical Conversations: Finding the Courage to Discuss and Dismantle Racism
• Inclusive Language Guidelines, American Psychological Association

To learn more about Jennifer’s story and the evolving conversation around inclusive leadership, watch her docuseries at Jennifer Brown Speaks.