We write weekly on the issues that are top of mind for us as we do the work of driving equity, shifting culture and co-creating inclusion with our clients. To receive these posts via email, join our free weekly email series, Self-coaching for DEI advocates and leaders.
Every year at Co-Creating Inclusion, we take the month of August as a break from external meetings and facilitation in order to prioritize our own strategic planning, professional development and self-care. We do the same for the last week of every month (February, April, June, October and December). We also tried to hold Wednesdays and Fridays from 9am-2pm EDT as “slack and meeting free time” although we do make exceptions when needed.
Read MoreMany of us, especially those who are “professionally” successful, have been trained to be perfectionists, over-achievers, and fixers.
If there is a problem, our immediate reaction is to ask - how do we fix this?
We see this all the time when we do DEI and culture work with organizations. At the end of our initial discovery phase we present our findings, and the desire to react with solutions, actions, next steps, and a resolution is so deeply engrained, it creates a palpable kind of fix-it itchiness in the room.
Read MoreA question that often comes up, especially from our non-profit clients, is on how to retain valuable BIPOC employees so they don’t leave for better paying opportunities elsewhere.
While race and class are not necessarily inextricably intertwined, the history in this country means that a huge racial wealth gap continues to be pervasive, and BIPOC folks, particularly Black people, face inter-generational systemic marginalization that means they are least likely to be able to afford being under-compensated.
What is an organization to do, particular a non-profit where funds might be tight all round?
Read MoreIn our work at CCI, we hear a lot from organizations who are very earnestly and firmly committed to DEI and racial justice as a concept but are lacking the commitment to it as a practice.
As with any decision, committing to it is only the first step. In fact, it shouldn’t even really be the first step if you don’t actually have any idea what you are committed to DOING.
Read MoreWe know that feedback can be hard to hear.
It is perhaps one of the hardest things we ask leaders and others who align with power and privilege within their identities and their organizations to do when we do DEI work.
However, it’s the organizations that can work through the tough process of hearing difficult feedback that often make the most progress in shifting workplace culture to better serve their mission. We do a lot of scaffolding so leaders understand that feedback is a gift, even if you don’t like the wrapping paper, that it isn’t personal, that systems of oppression, although they manifest differently, show up in every organization, and that in order to change something, you first have to be able to name it.
Read MoreLast week we talked about how feedback may be painful but is critical for equity and inclusion. To follow up on that conversation, it also feels important to say that transparency matters.
I often like to say that the only thing worse than not gathering feedback is gathering feedback and then not sharing the results.
Seriously. The distrust and loss of morale that can be caused by this is not to be underestimated.
And I can’t tell you the number of times we hear from staff that this has happened when we start working with organizations.
Read MoreWhen I first started doing DEI consulting, I have to say I didn’t expect that so much of what we do would be about opening up spaces so our clients can gather feedback from across their staff.
However, it has proven to be one of the most valuable aspects of our work.
What we’ve realized is that we are hired to uncover the truths that may be painful for organizations to hear but that have the potential to be transformative if only they are open to it.
Read MoreThe other day, a walk around the block turned into a trip to check out a new ice cream store in my neighborhood, The Social. Excited to check it out, I quickly though, hmmm, this seems an awful lot like a knock-off of Ample Hills Creamery, a local-turned-national ice cream sensation my family has been enjoying for years.
A sign on the wall shared the story of the company - the owners of The Social actually WERE the original founders of Ample Hills, but had to declare bankruptcy right before the pandemic.
I sat down to enjoy my ice-cream (Chocolate Fudge and Ooeyer and Gooeyer for those who might be curious) and to google on my phone... what the hell happened????!
Read MoreBetween the ongoing global pandemic and the Delta variant, the situation in Afghanistan, Hurricane Ida hitting Louisiana, as well as all of the usual horrors of the world, vacation feels like the last thing to be thinking about.
The fact is, in the midst of our team's August "retreat month" where our team puts a pause on external facilitation, meetings or calls, I just returned from a 2.5 week "vacation."
Yeah, those scare quotes are no joke.
What even is "relaxing" in a global pandemic? I feel like I've completely forgotten how.
Read MoreThis past week was "retreat week" for Co-Creating Inclusion. Starting this year, we have blocked off the last week of every other month as well as the entire month of August from workshop facilitation or any external calls or meetings.
This time is essential for us to take a pause from holding space for our clients and to regroup, process, focus on our own needs, reflect, strategize, build our capacity and more. Some of us also use it for vacation time.
Read MoreAs DEI consultants, we hold space for a lot of grief and trauma. In 2021 alone so far, our team has conducted almost 50 one-on-one interviews with staff, not to mention countless hours of small group meetings and sessions, workshop facilitation and DEI coaching.
Staff of all backgrounds, identities and levels of power and privilege are carrying a lot of hurt. We create space for them to say the things they cannot say elsewhere in the workplace. By creating anonymity (we do not disclose to our clients who we have interviewed) staff can be more candid, knowing they are protected while also knowing that we will take our findings back to the organization. It's not just venting.
Read MoreSomething I've been thinking about is how I managed to go through my entire education and graduate from college without any real idea of my true talents and strengths. I only knew the things I was good at that other people and systems wanted me to be good at - in other words, being a good student. You don't have to have any real self-knowledge to be a "good student" in the traditional sense. In fact, all too often, passion and curiosity get in the way.
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