Reflections
Are you a leader scared of saying the wrong thing? So am I
At RADIUS, we believe inclusive leadership competencies aren’t a nice-to-have - they are essential in modern workplaces and today’s workforce.
Many people still consider diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) as one-time, standalone work rather than ongoing strategy itself. I think it’s because everyone has different understandings of what DEI work and inclusive leadership competencies are. These perspectives may understandably have been forming over the last few years - from observing solo DEI managers trudge through trying to change large organizations, to frustration in quota-based hiring decisions, to cynicism from taking single DEI training sessions, to fear of hearing about people being cancelled on social media.
For us, inclusive leadership and DEI is a muscle, one that requires practice to build and ongoing work to maintain. It’s not about doing or saying right or wrong things, it’s about building our perspectives and skills that have been undervalued and underpracticed, but are increasingly needed.
Consider these scenarios:
Scenario 1: You’re leading the programming team, and several team members have shared with you that the current programs are missing the mark - they have low participation, and not reaching the intended audiences. They come to you with a lot of ideas and feedback they’ve heard from current and prospective participants. It feels a bit overwhelming, especially when you have to launch the next program cohort soon and report on its performance indicators to your boss (and their boss and board), and have little budget to redesign it. You have so much you’re already juggling. How would you navigate the situation with these team members and with your boss?
Scenario 2: You have a member of your team whose extended family is in Iran. You have another member of your team with a trans brother living in the US. You have another team member who is Palestinian. You know the weight of the world is impacting your team and its morale. You also know that you have some tight timelines to meet, a boss who is less empathetic, and no budget to bring in additional capacity or cover any extended leaves. What are ways you could support the health, wellbeing, and productivity of your team?
Scenario 3: You know everyone you supervise has different needs, ways of working, and communication preferences, and managing your team is getting harder and harder each day. You hear that one of your staff members no longer feels comfortable and safe getting feedback from you. How do you feel when hearing that? How do you respond? How do you move forward with this staff member, and your team?
Navigating these complex scenarios can be challenging. While there are no objective “right” or “wrong” outcomes, there are choices leaders make that can minimize harm, build trust, and support the wellbeing of the team, while striving to meet organizational needs. In all these scenarios, building your inclusive leadership skills and competencies might look like:
building awareness and managing defensiveness
understanding trauma and earning trust
cultivating relationships and collaboration
meeting specific rather than general needs
thinking of impact more than intent,
leaning into conflict engagement rather than avoidance.
I often like to say “assumptions make an ass out of you and me” (ASS+U+ME). Maybe you’ve heard this before, and sorry if that’s too crass for you.
My point is this: it is neither effective nor strategic to assume that we are managing a homogeneous team, made of similar working styles, ways of thinking and approaches, within a specific type of work culture that is allowing everyone to thrive.
Inclusive leadership competencies are modern and necessary in today’s workforce that cannot be ignored.
Our upcoming Inclusive Leadership Masterclass is a specific cohort for white leaders, where we will explore and build competencies to navigate scenarios just like these. You’ll learn alongside people and program managers who are likely in the same boat - doing a lot with very little, when needs are increasingly more complex, and when our positions and identities can play a crucial role in how we manage our people and programs.
Why only for white leaders? There are few spaces designed specifically for white leaders to ask difficult questions, examine their own racial identity, privilege, and also be encouraged in spaces without blame or shame. We believe white leaders are crucial players and allies in advocating for and advancing positive change.
This Masterclass cohort for white leaders is rooted in our own individual and collective journey of RADIUS’ learnings, shared in our Designing for Equity documentary and our blog post: A story of white leaders and a racialized team doing equity work
Join us. You’re not alone.