Organizational Leadership In The Face Of Racism

I know what you're thinking: Will this be a difficult article to read? Yes, most likely it will be. Should you still read the article? That is something that you will have to decide for yourself. Leaders have the hardest responsibility of opening their minds and dealing with things that others may be uncomfortable addressing or confronting.

Still here? Happy to see it. However, I need you to take yourself out of the situation and see things from a different point of view. To open your mind and to just allow yourself to soak in the information. Shall we begin?

The United States is in crisis...

Videos of racial violence and racist threats toward Black people in America flood social and news media channels. Public demonstrations against injustice are happening in at least 30 localities. A Black child was placed in a choke hold for selling water on the street. Two Black students had their windows broken and tasered by law enforcement officers while on the way to their home. A law enforcement official assaulted two little white girls for posting racial injustice signs in their neighborhoods. A group of KKK members attacked a vehicle full of Black students in front of law enforcement officials and instead of stopping the attack, the law enforcement officials chose to push the angry citizens back trying to help the students instead of arresting the radical members. All of this occurring within the last five days, and I haven't even brought up George Floyd or Breonna Taylor, that several cities are burning, COVID-19 continues to rage throughout the country, and the fact that it's hitting minority communities the hardest.

How do we start real conversations about race in our organizations? 

In a week that focused on “reopening the economy,” everyone has become keenly aware that there is more than one pandemic affecting U.S. lives and local economies. As the American Psychological Association has declared, "We are living in a racism pandemic" too. Just when you don't believe that racism is an issue. Think about this: protests are happening in the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada, Italy, Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, Israel, Argentina, Berlin, and Australia. The United Nations has stepped in and urged action.

So what is it like to be Black:

• It is mandatory in the Black household that sons are given hands-on training when dealing with law enforcement. This occurs at 15, 16, 18, and 21 years of age. Sons are actually placed in the vehicle, while parents simulate being police officers to coach them on what should be done in the daylight and nighttime. When was the last time you even thought of doing this with your son?
• At birth, Black parents have to think about the name they will give their child. Why? If Black parents give them ethic names such as "Andre", "LaKeisha", "Marcus", or "Monique" this means it will be harder for them to be successful. So Black parents will name their children "James", "Claire", "Jacob", or "Katelyn" so they can at least get an interview...and this means just the interview. When was the last time you had to wonder if the name of your child means they will have to fight harder to get in the door for a job?
• Many Blacks have experienced racism in the workplace. Blacks also know that it is difficult to prove that someone is racist. Calling someone racist without documented proof means that the individual still has to be supervised by them, knowing that their career will suffer. So instead of saying something, many choose not to say anything at all. Who do they tell? Will they believe the story? Will they get a new supervisor to ensure that everything is okay?

No matter your racial, political, or other identity, these events are almost impossible to escape. In particular, millions of Black people and their allies are hurting. And these issues are not ones that supervisors, organizations, businesses, corporations, and their leaders at the top of the hierarchy to team managers on the frontline can ignore.

• A survey conducted by the Women in the WorkPlace highlighted that Black women are not only significantly underrepresented, they are far less likely than others to be promoted to manager, more likely to face everyday discrimination and less likely to receive support from their managers.
• Research was conducted by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago that highlighted that only 3.2 percent of executive level and senior-level managers are African-American.

• According to a Pew Research Survey taken in 2019, Americans see disadvantages for Blacks and Brown. 56 percent of all adults say being Black hurts their ability to get ahead, and 59 percent of all adults say being White helps their chances of getting ahead.

• Katherine A. DeCelles, the James M. Collins Visiting Associate Professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, highlighted that Blacks are "Whitening" their resumes in "Whitened Resumes: Race and Self-Presentation in the Labor Market" by deleting references to their race with the hope of boosting their employment rate, and the strategy is showing to pay off. More importantly, many companies state "equal opportunity employer" on their job advertisements, leading Blacks to believe they can list their ethic information, only to find out that this is utilized to separate them from the other applicants.

While conventional diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives focus on employee engagement and belonging, today’s challenges reach far beyond marginalization in the workplace. We now see and hear Black people who are suffering from the weight of dehumanizing injustice and the open wound of racism that has been festering for centuries. Danielle Cade's blog cautioned, “Your black colleagues may look like they’re okay...chances are they’re not.”

Another social media message in corporate America hit home: “There are black men and women in Zoom meetings maintaining ‘professionalism,’ biting tongues, holding back tears and swallowing rage, while they endure attacks from a pandemic and police. Understand and be mindful.”

The psychological impact of these public events and the way it carries over into the workplace cannot be overstated. Research shows that how organizations respond to large-scale, diversity-related events that receive significant media attention can either help employees feel psychologically safe or contribute to racial identity threat and mistrust of institutions of authority. Without adequate support, minority employees are likely to perceive their environments as more interpersonally and institutionally biased against them. Leaders seeking to create an inclusive environment for everyone must find ways to address these topics.

So what is the common missteps that leaders should avoid concerning racism?

4. Overgeneralizing. 

When triggering events occur, there is a tendency to make sweeping generalizations about groups of people involved in the public conflict. Though individuals of the same race, gender or other identity often have shared experiences, there is diversity within groups that should be recognized. Instead of presuming that all members of your in-group or out-group think and feel similarly and talking about what “everybody knows,” how “all of us feel,” and what “none of us would ever do,” leave room for dissenting points of view. When in doubt, ask employees about their individual experiences to honor their uniqueness. Think about how you can allow your employees to discuss what’s happening without putting them on the spot or asking them to speak for everyone in their identity group.

Best Buy’s senior leadership team offered one of the first statement regarding racism: “We write about these...events...not because most of us know what this fear must be like. We are as a group, by and large, not people of color. We write this not because most of us have known anyone personally in a situation like this. Thankfully, most of us do not. We write this because it could have been any one of our friends or colleagues at Best Buy, or in our personal lives, lying on the ground, struggling to breathe or filming someone as they threatened us.”

Citigroup CEO, Mike Corbat acknowledged that many employees have experienced racism in their everyday lives in overt and subtle ways. “I want you to know that your colleagues and I will always stand with you,” he said in a memo to employees. “While I can try to empathize with what it must be like to be a black person in America, I haven’t walked in those shoes.”

3. Becoming Overly Defensive.

Another common misstep when approaching uncomfortable conversations about racial injustice is to react defensively, especially when our world views, positions, or advantages are questioned or challenged. Robin DiAngelo’s research on fragility highlights this phenomenon. For instance, when learning about police brutality against unarmed Black people, one reaction might be to search for evidence about what the victim did to deserve abuse, rather than demonstrating compassion and empathy. Another example is diminishing protesters by focusing on and judging those who engaged in looting instead of discussing the unjust act that drove people to the streets. Leaders must resist such reactions because they do not allow for constructive engagement. Instead, they make members of targeted groups feel even more alienated. Remember that comments on systemic inequalities are not personal attacks.

2. Keeping Silent.

For people not directly impacted by these events, the default response is often silence. Many Whites avoid talking about race because they fear being seen as prejudiced, so they adopt "strategic colorblindness" instead. You will hear individuals say, "All Lives Matter!" Master Sergeant Jermaine Smith, Shaw Air Force Base Career Assistance Advisor, stated this analogy to me one day:

There's a community of houses. However, there is one house in the community that is on fire. The house burns down and the house is rebuilt. The house catches fire again, and again the house is rebuilt. Somehow the house catches fire again.

All of the houses in the community matter, however, all of the houses are not on fire. Why doesn't the community care about that one house that is always catching fire? How come everyone in the community isn't asking questions about why that particular house is always being set on fire and none of the other houses are being lit on fire?

Another analogy:

Everyone arrives for a breast cancer awareness run. Some shouts, "All Cancer Matters!"

All cancer does matter, however, at this particular moment we are here in support of breast cancer.

What Blacks are saying is, "Why are we being targeted?", "Why are we being treated unfair?", "Why can't we live in peace with everyone?", and "Why can't we all be treated equally in the work center?"

We know that many managers also think they lack the skills to have difficult conversations around differences. But no one has the perfect words to address atrocities in our society. It is the leader’s responsibility to try, conveying care and concern for all employees but especially targeted groups. As Desmond Tutu once said, “If you are neutral in the situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor.” You might be tempted to rest on the laurels of your organizations’ diversity statements and active employee resource groups. But that is not enough.

1. Not Being Genuine

Have you ever had a supervisor that you knew wasn't being sincere or genuine with you? How did that make you feel? What you have to understand is that Black people know when you are doing something simply because you had no other choice. Right now many Black employees are wondering why it is taking leaders so long to speak out on what is going on. More importantly, they are wondering why you have to wait for the middle manager to say something, or the CEO, or the Chairman of the Board, or the shareholders.

Black employees will now look at leaders that the only reason why they are rushing to do something about racism is because they are being direct to do so, or they would have done so long time ago.

The one thing you should not to do is to blow the dust off the racist injustice template speech and state, "Together we stand, divided we fall", "A house divided cannot stand", and the most famous, "We hear you. We're listening." Why? Because Black people feel for the last 65 years they haven't been heard. Speak from the heart, and not from a scripted speech that Black people can tell came from the public relations team.

So how do you as a leader take meaningful action?

Leaders must not only offer physical and psychological safety.

They also have the power and platform to lead change. Statements from the top are valuable, but they are just a start. Anyone, at any level of the organization, can take small steps to exercise greater compassion and initiate action that provides needed support and promotes racial justice for Black workers as well as others who are marginalized. Managers have a particularly important role in connecting with their employees on these issues. Here’s how:

Acknowledge any harm that Black and Brown coworkers have endured. This means committing to lifelong learning about racism. Seek the facts about racist events, as well as the aggressions and micro-aggressions that your minority coworkers have most likely faced inside and outside of your organization:

• Conduct the research to fully understand events, using data from reliable sources. Take the initiative to search beyond social media.
• Allow Black and Brown employees the space to be angry, afraid, disenchanted, or even disengaged from work.
• Do not ask Black and Brown leaders or employees to comfort or advocate for colleagues or justice initiatives. Why can't you do so?

Affirm their right to safety and personhood and help them feel protected. This means offering continued opportunities for reaction, reflection, conversation, growth, development, impact, and advancement. Affirmation can start with creating a space for employees to share. For example, when asked, “How are you today?” many people of color respond in a scripted manner, instead of answering honestly. Instead, use more thoughtful prompts and questions.

You might say something like this: “I’ve been thinking about the harm of racism in our country, especially considering recent events.” Next, describe your personal reaction and concerns, then make a commitment. “I’d like to help in promoting equity, so here’s one thing I plan to do to help prevent future tragedies like these.” Explain those intentions. Then, offer to engage. “Please let me know if there’s anything else I can do to be supportive, even if you just want to talk about what’s happening. I understand if you don’t, and I won’t be offended. But I just want you to know that the door is open, and that I care.” The last line is important. Not everyone will be interested in or comfortable with discussing racism at work, especially if they haven’t built a solid foundation of trust.

Act by utilizing positional, referent, and transformational power to effect change. Employees value words of understanding and encouragement, but leaders’ and organizations’ actions have a more lasting impact.

• Where are the mandatory town-hall meetings?
• Where are the mandatory face-to-face racial awareness training? The same type of annual suicide awareness training that is conducted in organizations, instead of a computer-based training concept.
• Where are the section meetings by leaders? This isn't because it was directed by your leaders. It's being done because it's the right thing to do.
• Where are the onboarding and professional development courses? Diversity & Inclusion is just as important as LGBT Awareness, Suicide Awareness, and Emotional Intelligence.

However, it doesn't just stop there. What can you and your organization do in your community? What would promote equity and justice and activate meaningful change? Whether you are a senior or junior leader, how can you advocate for such action?

Racism isn’t just Black people’s problem; it’s everyone’s problem because it erodes the fabric of society. Leaders at every level must use their power, platforms, and resources to help employees and communities overcome these challenges and build a better world for us all.

Did you soak it in? Now it's up to you as a leader to determine what you will do with the information.