Take Action to End Racism in Your Organization

As a leader, how do you take action to end racism in your organization?

I believe we are at a pivotal moment; we can choose to address the disparity of equality by identifying the harm to Black people and the specific actions to remedy the harm, and to hold ourselves accountable. It is time to make all Black lives matter.

As I wrote in my last post, here, it’s time for business leaders to break the silence.

Break the Silence

Dr. Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility (Beacon Press, 2018), has identified two common challenges white leaders face in cross-racial discussions:

1. The fear of making a mistake and losing face
2. Certitude regarding racial perspectives (and negating open dialog that results in learning)

To address these challenges, DiAngelo has created a list of Silence Breakers for white people: statements or questions that promote curiosity, open dialog, and learning. Here are just a few examples:

• I’m really nervous/scared/uncomfortable to say this…and/but…
• It feels risky to say this and/but…
• I’m afraid I may offend someone, and please let know if I do, but…
• I just felt something shift in the room. I’m wondering if anyone else did.
• I’m still working through/processing this, but right now where I am at is…

As you can see, most of these are “I” statements, which I find helpful in keeping me responsible and accountable for my own learning. They also work well in a group situation, which allow leaders to model the behavior of authentic engagement.

Examine Your Accountability Practices

Leaders must also examine their personal and organizational accountability practices. For example:

• How do you engage and challenge yourself in a conscious, intentional, and ongoing understanding of your participation in racism?
• What anti-racism systems of support have you put in to place, for yourself, and groups within your organization?
• How frequently do you participate in feedback conversations with a person of color, who is not your friend or spouse?

Examine Your Hiring and Promotion Practices

When this topic comes up with my coaching clients, we discuss the importance of reviewing all hiring and promotion practices for unintentional discrimination and disparities. This should be done by a diverse committee, and include three critical components:

1. Collection of data: regardless of the size of your organization, you should be able to sort applicant, hiring, and employee promotion data for any disparities. If you don’t have a system in place, create one now.
2. Analysis of your data: If you find any disparities, determine how and why.
3. Correction of any flaws in your practices: create pre-determined, objective criteria for hiring and promotion. Review for concrete, objective indicators and outcomes to reduce standard stereotypes. This should include: structured resume review, interviews, and evaluations to assess individual contributions for promotion.

What Not to Do

While it’s imperative to have cross-racial discussions, it’s not up to people of color to carry the burden.

• Don’t ask your Black co-workers/colleagues/employees to point out specific racism to a group of white people.
• Don’t stop learning. For more information, check out this reading list for leaders, recommended by DiversityInc.com

What do you think? How do you take action to end racism in your organization? I’d love to hear from you. I can be reached here, on LinkedIn, or give me a call: 561-582-6060.