Is the “Amy Cooper Mindset” Derailing Your Organization’s Diversity and Inclusion Efforts?

By Keith R. Wyche

Author of “Good Is Not Enough: And Other Unwritten Rules for Minority Professionals”

 For over a week now, the world has been coming to grips with horror and disgust over the George Floyd lynching in Minneapolis. The murder of yet another black man at the hands of, (or in this case, the knee of) a white police officer. What made this particular lynching so despicable is the fact that the officer in question, Derek Chauvin, committed this crime with a smirk on his face, a hand in his pocket, and in front of enough cameras to shoot a motion picture. His brazen, reckless and depraved actions made a clear statement…”I can do this because nothing will happen to me.”

Officer Chauvin’s actions were only one of several racist dominoes that have fallen in recent weeks. The videotaped shooting and execution of Ahmaud Arbery in Georgia, and the botched Kentucky manhunt that led to Breonna Taylor being killed in her bed, were dominoes that fell equally as hard. Together, these three events have been the cause of great pain and heartache in the black community. However, despite the fatalistic nature of these horrific crimes, the domino of Amy Cooper may well be the one who’s fall has the longest reach and biggest impact on the typical black professional and entrepreneur.

Ms. Cooper’s behavior that day in the Ramble area of Central Park, when she willfully and knowingly put Christian Cooper’s (no relation) life in danger has been well documented (and videotaped) for the world to see. Her shameful actions similar to Officer Chauvin’s, done knowingly in front of a camera speaks to her assuredness that the matter would be dealt with favorably on her behalf. Most discussions on Ms. Cooper focus on her arrogance in “weaponizing “her “privilege” for being asked to do the right thing by a black man. The more lasting damage could be in the attitudes, beliefs, conscious biases and behaviors an Amy Cooper can have in the workplace. While sadly many black people in America will have negative experiences with police officers, the vast majority will not end in death. However, it is extremely likely that millions of black workers, professionals and entrepreneurs interact on a daily basis with white men and women who demonstrate an “Amy Cooper” mindset.

What Is the Amy Cooper “Mindset”?

To be clear, an “Amy Cooper” mindset is not gender specific, and can manifest itself in men or women. The Amy Cooper in question was a 41-year old Vice President for Franklin Templeton, a global investment firm located in New York City the Monday morning she decided to walk her dog in Central Park’s Ramble area. A wooded area famous for it’s appeal to bird watchers, and that had signs requiring dogs to be leashed as not to disturb the brush and greenery designed to attract birds. Christian Cooper, a lifelong birder and a black man, request that she obey the rules and leash her dog. Rather than doing so, Amy opted to threaten Mr. Cooper that she would “call 911 and tell them that an African American man was threatening her life”. All the while damn near choking her poor dog to death!

By her comments and behavior (which cost her not only her job, but her dog) it is reasonable to assume several things about Amy Cooper's mindset:

1. She didn’t like the idea of being told what to do by a black person. In particular, a black man.

2. She believed the rules didn’t apply to her, or that she didn’t have to follow them.

3. She acted based on her bias regarding the color of his skin, without regard to his socio-economic status, background, or education (Mr. Cooper is a Harvard grad).

4. She felt retaliation against Mr. Cooper was justified. Thus, her bias was “conscious”.

Workplace Implications of the “Amy Cooper” Mindset in Your Organization

For decades now, many companies and organizations have made tremendous strides in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace. Many have robust Supplier Diversity programs, multiple Employee Resource Groups, hiring programs dedicated to hiring, developing, and promoting women and people of color. But as someone who has been a thought leader in the D&I and Talent Management space as a senior executive for years, I must admit, many aren’t seeing the returns they hoped for. Could it be that your organization has too many leaders in positions of authority with the “Amy Cooper” mindset?

• How many black men and women have been overlooked during the hiring process, ignored for promotions, or denied contracts because one of your “Amy Coopers” allowed their mindset to overrule an obvious hire, employee or supplier?
• How many of your employees did not receive honest feedback (or any feedback at all) because you allowed your “Amy Coopers” to do so? And as a result, how many black men and women have missed out on critical growth opportunities that stifled or worse yet, derailed their careers?
• How many “Amy Coopers” do you have in key leadership positions that you are not holding accountable for their words, actions or behaviors that are incongruent with the core values of your organization? And how might employee engagement suffer? Causing the turnover of those who leave…and the “trauma” of those who stay and continue to work for you?
• Could YOUR Amy Cooper be ruining your organization’s culture by spreading the cancer of a hostile work environment where people are afraid to speak, have little trust in leadership, and lacks meaningful inclusion?
• How many Amy Coopers have you hired, developed and promoted who may have the technical and business acumen for the role, but not the self awareness and/or business maturity for the role? Worse yet, how many equally or better qualified black men and women didn’t get the role or opportunity because you chose Amy Cooper instead?
• What is your organization’s “reputational risk” if YOUR Amy Cooper is engaged in a similar altercation outside of work that brings unwanted media attention to your organization that goes viral? Could such behavior make your organization a less desirable employer? Less attractive to investors?

Mitigating the “Amy Cooper Mindset” in Your Organization

The reality is, the “Amy Cooper Mindset” only exists and thrives in climates where they are allowed to operate with impunity. This mindset spreads fastest in those organizations that only give lip-service to inclusion and water down the definition of diversity. Particularly, those with a “check-the-box” or “win the award” approach to inclusion, limited to the annual Unconscious Bias training and the obligatory Black History Month speaker.

Still, other organizations take comfort in and get a false sense of security from their laundry list of Employee Resource Groups (African American, Asian, Latino, LGBTQ, Veteran, etc.) many of which who are significantly underfunded, offer limited opportunities to partner and solve real business problems, and get little meaningful engagement from senior leaders.

While no organization is perfect in this area, and probably have a few Amy Coopers they aren’t aware of, there are steps every organization can undertake to limit the spread of this mindset, and the damage it creates:

 1. Visibly demonstrate a culture of Inclusion from the top…and make sure the behaviors are modeled in the middle: Ask most any organization’s executive team if theirs is an inclusive organization and undoubtedly they would say yes. And in fairness, the executive team may truly believe in and embrace inclusion. The problem is most of the organization is run by the managers in the middle, and unfortunately, they don’t always practice with the executive team preaches. Inclusive actions could include:

a. Demanding a diverse slate of candidates for Management roles, with candidates being interviewed by a diverse slate of leaders.

b. Being intentional and deliberate in identifying all high performing minorities (not just one segment of your diverse population) and making sure they receive the same level of opportunity and exposure as everyone else.

c. Provide a “Safe Space” for Blacks, Latino and other “visible minorities” to share their thoughts, ideas, feelings and concerns. For example, in the days since the George Floyd murder, many of your black workers are suffering emotionally. However, out of fear having their feelings misunderstood at best, or considered a weakness, they may choose to suffer in silence. In times of crisis and calm, they need to have a safe place to share and express themselves.

 2. Refuse to Reward, Promote and Protect your Amy Coopers, once they’ve been identified: In the case of Franklin Templeton, they moved swiftly to address the actions of their Amy Cooper. While some disagree with the severity of their decision, the fact is, the “Amy Cooper Mindset” must be addressed or it will be emboldened. I know these aren’t always easy decisions. Not long ago I had to terminate a successful, high performing leader once it was clear he not only violated company policy, but would not admit wrong-doing in the face of overwhelming evidence of his guilt. I didn’t want to lose him and was willing to take less serious disciplinary action instead of termination. However, when my “Amy Cooper” made it clear he felt the “rules didn’t apply to him”, he sealed his own fate.

 3. Make “PEOPLE” the Priority and Provide Feedback Mechanisms for Associates: One of the best ways to weed out an “Amy Cooper Mindset” is to provide your workforce a chance to provide anonymous feedback on their leaders on a periodic basis. This feedback could take the form of an Associate Engagement Survey, a 360 Degree Evaluation, or a skip-level meeting where they get to communicate with your boss. As a leader myself, I’m not always excited about the idea of my people providing anonymous feedback on me. But over the years I’ve come to appreciate two things about feedback:

 a.      Receiving feedback as a leader is a Gift: Whether I agree with the feedback or not, it gives me an insight into any perceptions that I might be blind to, and I can course correct.

b.       Giving Feedback is Empowering for Associates: At the end of the day, your team wants to know a few things from their leader: That they are valued, they are heard, and they are respected.

 There is no silver bullet or perfect playbook that will insure your company can avoid the “Amy Cooper Mindset”. But this mindset didn’t grow in a vacuum. Organizations can no longer afford to allow the “Amy Cooper Mindset” to exist without speaking up and taking action. By remaining “silent” in addressing such bad behaviors, you are by default, complacent and compliant.