Reimagining Accountability: What Can We Learn From the MARC Experience?

By?Jose M. Romero, Director MARC Alumni Learning and Engagement at Catalyst

Advocacy journeys are not linear. Through our work and the diverse MARC programs designed to serve all levels across organizations, we aim to meet participants where they are, understanding that everyone is at a different stage of their DEI leadership development. This is true for individuals as well as organizations.

Catalyst research such as the Masculine Anxiety report, our MARC programs, and the ongoing MARC Alumni dialogues enable us to collectively share and unpack our relevant lived experiences. These teach us that people of all genders but more significantly men often lack the confidence to advocate for inclusion and fear they’ll say something wrong. This is especially prominent in the corporate context with an ever-evolving DEI lingo, and words being heavily scrutinized by internal and external stakeholders. But we can banish fear with preparation, practice, and a continuous learning mindset, co-creating organizations that are both challenging and supportive. Staying stagnant is no longer an option in today’s leadership ecosystem.

While it’s true that having good intentions doesn’t guarantee a positive impact, what is clear is that as humans we all make mistakes. How we own our missteps is what will change the course of our success, and for that, we can no longer hide in our comfort zone. We must maintain the humility to overcome our failures with the knowledge to become better equity and inclusion leaders. When we admit that we need help, we become more empathetic toward others and our own mental well-being can improve as a result.

Successful leaders are not born successful, they’re made. They come in different shapes and styles, but they learn before they lead and perhaps most importantly, they make mistakes too.

Masculinity and the stereotypical behavior expectations associated with it have influenced leadership at all levels within workplaces and society at large. When we unpack what being a man means, knowing that there is not just one way of being, we get closer to forming sustainable gender partnerships. When we focus on what we are trying to accomplish rather than how we think we are perceived as we do it, we find a lot more common ground with people of all genders.

With MARC, we create the space to be vulnerable, so we can share not only our successes but our challenges. More than Catalyst’s research and MARC’s many learning programs, it is you, our MARC Alumni and Catalyst Supporters, that make MARC the extraordinary movement it is today.

?C-Level executives with big aspirations to positively transform the organizations they lead have the power to ask for feedback to ignite that change. MARC has also taught us that accountability is often best started at the top by modeling behaviors that are then mirrored by teams, which are then accountable for influencing individuals in all directions. Everyone should have the opportunity and the responsibility to participate.

?What a polarized society needs, rather than focus on our differences, is people who wonder how each of us can individually and collectively contribute to de-polarize, proactively build bridges between our differences, unite strengths, and look for the common denominators that bring us together towards collective advancement in the workplace and beyond. One little action at a time.