What progress has been made with diversity, equity, and inclusion and what steps are needed next? Jason Barger is joined for a powerful conversation with Kevin Clayton from the Cleveland Cavaliers, Ken Boyer from EY, and Lachandra Baker from National Church Residencies.
SHOW NOTES
Jason introduces Season 6 episode 2 of the podcast, DEI: Progress, But What’s Needed Next?. Welcome back to the podcast on corporate culture and leadership and thank you for listening. We engage thought leaders like CEOs, CFOs, managers, VPs, directors, and more for this podcast. We wish to create content that engages your mind and heart and allows you to step back and think and add some positivity to your life. We deep dive into today’s topic.
We can’t control everything but what we can control is our response. Still a lot of work to do but wanted to remind the audience what is within our control is the temperature we create in the organizations and teams we work with. If you have a suggestion, please send it to info@jasonvbarger.com
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
1:10 – Jason introduces Lachandra Baker Senior Director for Employee engagement and DEI at National Church Residencies, Kevin Clayton Vp of Diversity and Inclusion with the Cleveland Cavaliers, and Ken Boyer from EY’s America’s inclusiveness recruiting leader.
6:45 – Jason and the panel share where they have seen progress in various industries and businesses recently and how racism impacts us all. We are starting to see it in board rooms and with our clients, the panel explains. Employees are also starting to hold others accountable which is a major step in the right direction. The panel expresses optimism based on this discussion in what they are seeing in the workplace. DEI is not an add-on it is part of the ecosystem.
“A lot of major organizations are providing lip service and a bandaid (with regard to DEI)”
11:30 – Diversity is when people all see yourself a part of the DEI puzzle and it just isn’t an event. It is still an event to many people and it needs to be mainstream from start to finish and be in the rhythm of an organization. Representation matters but power also matters.
14:37 – How do we stimulate progress? No organization is perfect and it is important to understand that the discussion is very important and that we are not perfect. Jason and the panel discuss what are some specific examples that they have seen in organizations.
“Representation matters but power also matters”
20:00 – The panel talks about bias and how it impacts decisions in an organization. Doing impact bias studies in organizations help but don’t be a “glossy brochure organization” when it comes to DEI.
29:20 – The truth of the world is that the color of your skin does impact your ability to navigate this world based on how other people perceive you. The panel discusses what is “white privilege” as words matter here. Howard Behar former CEO of Starbucks joins in the discussion. What does it even look like when it is done right? Language matters, leadership matters, we all need to speak the same language. How can we create an ecosystem where we are learning and modeling is discussed.
33:00 – Example of positive action from an organization at the top with DEI from Kevin Clayton. When their white male president of the organization sees something on the news, will then text the head of DEI at the organization at 11 o’clock at night about a racist action that happened. The president says, “Kevin, I am not sure, but I think this is something we may want to address at our senior leadership meeting tomorrow.” That is leadership chiming in saying, “Kevin what do you think?” cause he saw it through his own eyes (meaning perspective), which is something very different than what would have happened even 3 years ago. Further examples follow.
“Organizations can look at DEI now as a strategy to retain talent & to keep talent.”
Please leave a review for the podcast It really helps the podcast to spread these messages out into the world. Please share this podcast with your organization, on your team, or in your life to help spread these messages. Thank you!
Remember, the best leaders, teams, & cultures stimulate progress by recalibrating their thermostat together.
If you like the podcast, have a question, or just want to share your thoughts about daring to begin please leave a comment below or please leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Google Podcasts.
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ABOUT THE THERMOSTAT
Conversations and micro-thoughts to engage your mind and heart.
A thermostat is proactive. It sets the temperature in a room. Controls the temperature. Regulates the temperature. But in today’s distracted, fast-paced and digital world, it’s easy for individuals and organizations to act more like thermometers, slipping into reactionary thinking, becoming scattered and inconsistent. The most compelling leaders, teams, organizations, families, or collection of humans of any kind operate in thermostat mode. They calibrate their mind and heart to set the temperature for the vision and culture they want to create. Jason Barger, globally celebrated author, keynote speaker, and founder of Step Back Leadership Consulting, is the host of The Thermostat, a podcast journey to discover authentic leadership, create compelling cultures and find clarity of mission, vision, and values.