Inclusion in Action : 3 Vital Lessons From Community Driven Leaders

In case you missed it:

Here are 3 popular posts from the last week:

Build an Inclusive workplace backwards 🤔

Research says pay attention to these 6 things if you are serious about Inclusion at work.

A lingering regret of mine is paying attention to the “wrong” people. It cost me a lot and so every month I ask myself two questions to keep me on track.

Last week I was in Madrid with a client.

Actually it was as if I was in Madrid with 100 clients!

I was asked to help 100 leaders from different organisations all over the world to help them address Systemic and Unconscious Bias in order to create Inclusive and Equitable Organisations.

If you’re a regular member of our audience you already know that I’ve got some unpopular opinions about Unconscious Bias training. 

Of course I explained that to them BEFORE I showed up! 

Of course I explained what would actually help them to solve the challenges they faced. 

You already know some of what I covered: 

The lack of evidence to show that unconscious bias training is effective 

The 3 Biggest Problems Organisations experience on their inclusion journey. 

Evidence Based Inclusion… because this underpins everything we do. 

That’s before we got into the practical stuff! 

It’s worth noting that these were people who were already comfortable with evidence based practices in their work.

And their work saves lives. 

- People living with HIV 

- People living with Cancer 

- People living with Hepatitis C 

These are just some of the communities being supported by these leaders and their organisations. 

These are the kind of people who: 

- If they decided not to show up to work.

- If their organisations ceased to exist. 

Then it would cost people their lives. 

They have a clear and measurable impact on our society. 

I was in awe of these leaders. 

Here’s 3 things we can learn from them: 

1) They Were Compelling and Precise 

Everyone who I spoke to was compelling. 

They were fully involved in their organisations. 

They were really precise in their thinking. 

These people deal with serious issues.

Evidently, platitudes don’t solve their problems. 

2) They were willing to learn. 

I was speaking to people with real deep subject matter expertise. 

Some of them had a lived experience of the challenges their community was facing. 

They also had developed a critical mass of knowledge. 

- They knew what intersectionality was 

- They knew what under represented means

- They knew about privilege means.

Not as punchlines but as part of their every day work. 

I was asking them to use our signature insights to complement the work they were already doing. 

3) They were willing to apply it quickly 

This made me reflect on my own privilege and the contributions I make. 

Let’s get specific. 

Think of privilege as benefits and advantages.

If you have a privilege, you have benefits and advantages that other people do not.

Not everyone has that advantage 

Not everyone has that benefit. 

I also like to distinguish between earned privileges and unearned privileges.

As a society, we seem to be ok with people having earned privileges. 

We are less ok with people having unearned privileges.

I gave myself as an example. 

I introduce myself as Dr. Jonathan. 

I was literally standing on a stage (not all the time) but I was in an elevated position. 

I had a microphone. 

I spoke about the earned privilege that allowed me to be there. 

- My PhD 

- My years of experience. 

- My ongoing contribution to the market (this newsletter is an example)

But I was also reminded of the privilege I had being a native English speaker.

I was in Madrid.

I was talking about Inclusion. 

I was speaking English. 

The leaders were from all over the world. 

If you spoke English you enjoyed advantages and benefits that others did not, in that context. 

If you spoke English you were privileged, in that context. 

I say this to draw attention to something important. 

Even the systems and processes meant for Inclusion can reproduce advantages and benefits for a small number of people. 

This can happen where you work. 

This is happening right here. 

I’m on a mission to help a million people like you to make your workplace inclusive. 

I am a prolific podcaster. 

I host the longest running inclusion podcast in the world.

I am a prolific writer here. 

I write on LinkedIn 7 days a week, sometimes, 3 times a day. 

All of this is free. 

Our free stuff is better than others people’s paid stuff.

I know this because you tell me. 

But it’s all in English which makes it limited. 

Depending on who you ask, this means that 75 - 80% of the world can’t benefit. 

Linkedin has almost a billion users, this means 7 billion people can’t benefit. 

I say this so that we can recalibrate ourselves in the work that we do. 

If you put into practice the insights and knowledge I share. I’m confident that your impact is more than “most people”. 

But it doesn’t mean we’re not contributing to inequality. 

My hope is that our actions are net positive. 

But that doesn’t mean it’s ideal or perfect. 

After spending time around inspirational leaders who were: 

- Motivated

- Determined

- Committed 

I was encouraged to think about how much more I can contribute and make an impact. 

I'm already putting a plan together.

I'm willing to learn so I want to apply it to something precise that can benefit you.

I hope this has inspired you to do the same for the community you serve.

Next week we're speaking with Sharon Hurley Hall (she/her)

Author of I’m Tired of Racism

True Stories of Existing While Black

I talk about the book here.

Here's why you should join us:

- Practical Strategies: Actionable steps to apply immediately.

- High-Impact Insights: Transformative ideas for you to use.

- Actionable takeaways : Tactics you can implement for yourself.

You know what I think of the book. 

Now it’s time to hear from The Authority. 

It’s not just about reading. 

It’s about doing. 

Register here.

As always

I’m cheering you on.

Dr. Jonathan

Whenever you're ready, there are a few ways I can support your Inclusion Journey:

1. Work with me 1:1

2. Get Practical Book Insights

3. Get our Free Email Course