Operationalizing Justice: What One White Leader is Learning on the Journey

Like many organizations, mine was profoundly affected by the social justice movement that sprung to life after the murder of George Floyd in 2020. I’m a white executive team member for a global human resources consulting, technology and administration firm. We have more than 2,000 employees, with a significant presence in the U.S. This is the story of how I became a member of our newly–formed Black Leadership Council, as their executive advocate champion and ally, and what I learned along the way. My hope is that others can benefit from understanding my experience, and the discoveries I’ve made over the past year. 

Following the horrific events of last spring, an amazing group of our Black employees banded together to form what has since been named the Black Leadership Council (BLC). This group is made up of courageous individuals who decided it was time to do more to speak up against, and educate their colleagues about, racism. They sought to root out any forms of racism that found their way into our workplace, including unconscious bias, micro-aggressive behaviors, and even forms of racism in our systems. The BLC also wanted to see our firm achieve a better level of intercultural competence and awareness of difference — to facilitate a more inclusive culture where all employees could feel true belonging and bring their full, authentic selves to work each and every day. 

The BLC knew that to be most effective, they needed the executive team to work alongside them on a day-to-day, week-to-week basis, ensuring real progress through tangible actions. I was moved by the spirit of what the BLC was seeking to accomplish, and I already had some strong personal relationships with a few BLC members. When I received a call from the leader of the BLC requesting my advocacy and offering an invitation to become a member of the group as their executive champion, I was honored. I accepted without hesitation or reservation. 

Our firm is a highly reputable consultancy with a 104-year history, and our clients know us for our integrity and trustworthiness. However, like any organization or person, I recognize that we still have flaws and will always have room for improvement. With that starting point as my mindset, I dove into the deep end. Here’s what I’ve learned. 

1.) Humble yourself 

For any leader who has experienced career success, it’s easy to fall into the trap of believing you know it all and you have more intercultural competence than you actually do. With the help of The Winters Group, a global diversity and inclusion consulting company, I took the Intercultural Development Inventory® — a psychometric tool that measures how we respond to cultural difference. To my initial surprise, I wasn’t quite as interculturally aware as I thought I was. This was a pivotal moment for me; I could have taken issue with the results and said, “forget this!” Instead, I found the intestinal fortitude to accept that I wasn’t as enlightened as I thought, and prepared myself to invest time in getting myself to a more interculturally competent state. 

 2.) Listen and learn 

With the understanding that I had a lot to learn, it was important to take the time to listen to my Black colleagues and people of color to hear about their perspectives, their experiences, their concerns and hopes for the future. I learned that extending empathy and compassion in these conversations is important. I needed to continually remove my “I’m the boss and in charge” hat, and just listen. It takes intentionality and building trust to break through perceived barriers that prevent your colleagues from opening up and being their authentic selves. 

3.) Act 

While it’s important to take the time to listen and learn, there is also a time-based factor at play here. The moment and movement are now. It can be tempting to delay actions and commitments under the guise of seeking perfection, saying: “We really want to get this right, so let’s not rush it.” While acting strategically for DEI is essential, delaying action in the pursuit of perfection can stall useful progress for years. Instead, identify tangible steps that can be taken immediately. Every step counts. Even a small step forward is still progress. There are many actions that can be taken by an organization to improve the ability for all to feel included and valued. 

Over the past eight months, our company has taken steps to examine our recruiting and hiring processes for bias, conduct pay equity reviews and make adjustments that were warranted, implement training about unconscious bias, racial equity and inclusion. We’ve made donations to organizations that promote social justice. We connected our executive team to a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) consultant for expert guidance, which resulted in our conducting employee surveys to understand our “current state” from a DEI perspective.   

While each of these steps represents positive progress, it’s also important to align these tactics with an overarching DE&I strategy that is integrated as a part of the overall business strategy. If your organization doesn’t have a DEI strategy, now is an excellent time to create one. 

4.) Get ready to make mistakes 

As you’re self-reflecting, listening, learning and jumping into action, you are sure to screw up along the way. I’ve experienced this. You won’t always say the right things and, even with the best of intentions, you may find yourself discouraging or triggering your Black, Indigenous and people of color (BIPOC) colleagues in a way you never saw coming. I’ve had some sleepless nights after causing a few incidents like this. To recover from inevitable missteps in DEI work, you need to own your mistakes, recognize the difference between intent and impact, and ask for grace and forgiveness, which I was grateful to receive from my colleagues. None of us are perfect, and we all make mistakes. Plan on it. It’s also good to acknowledge that you won’t be able to please every stakeholder all the time. 

 5.) Integrate DEI into your overall Business Strategy 

It’s always imperative for leaders to find the correct balance in all matters, and to never forget the core mission of the organization. Whether you’re in healthcare, retail, financial services or transportation, you have customers or clients that you serve. You have to meet financial targets in order to pay salaries, rent and benefits. If DEI work is considered key to the organization’s success, it must be integrated into your overall business plans. Your DEI strategy can drive additional success with clients and improve overall engagement and productivity within your organization — a true win-win situation for all involved. 

6.) Don’t give up – and dedicate yourself to the “good work” 

Making real progress in the area of DEI is hard work, and with it comes a lot of additional stress, stakeholders unhappy for one reason or another, and some sleepless nights (see section 4!).  In response to this, it may feel tempting to give up after a brief effort and figure you’ve “checked the box.” I urge you to stick with it. What’s the point of being a leader if you’re not going to leave your organization a better place to work than when you took the reins of leadership? When we look back on our careers, it won’t be the extra dollars we drove to the bottom line that we’ll be most proud of, it will be the lives we helped improve by creating a more fulfilling, inclusive and healthy place to work. 

Becoming a white executive advocate for Black employees in your organization will not come without challenges, stress, mistakes and setbacks. However, I believe you’re not fulfilling your obligation as a leader if you’re not representing all of your employees by doing this important work now. It’s worth it. It’s the right thing to do. It’s the good work that will define your effectiveness as a leader, and it will be a highlight of your accomplishments when you reflect on the days when you had the privilege to lead.