Posts tagged #lipservice
Learning builds trust
Learning builds trust

It is interesting to me how defensiveness functions in an environment where the goal is to shift towards equity and inclusion. Defensiveness is a natural and human reaction, but it often functions in the exact opposite way than we intend and would like.

Perhaps within a hierarchical environment, defensiveness helps us maintain power by shutting down feedback or criticism that feels like an attack. We maintain credibility and trust by being able to shoot down other perspectives, thus proving ourselves to be “right.” In academia, you are expected to literally defend your thesis. It’s a pretty standard format in debate, courts of law, art school critiques and… well, pretty much everything.

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Inclusive LeadershipAlethea Fitzpatrick#defensiveness, #learning, #trust, #lipservice
Lip service
Lip service

I'll admit that, up until recently, I had thought more of lip service as saying something when you don't actually mean it.

What we're seeing is a kind of lip service where the organization or person may actually genuinely mean what they say, or think that they do, but when it comes to taking action, especially actions that come with some sort of cost, they balk.

It's the gap between intention and action that we have long seen, recognized, identified, and named, but only recently have I started to connect that to lip service.

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Inclusive LeadershipAlethea Fitzpatrick#lipservice, #characteristicsofwhitesupremacyculture, #inclusiveleadership, #powerhoarding, #fearofopenconflict, #righttocomfort, #defensiveness, #lillawatson