Episode 30 - The Moving Walkway: Strategies for Creating Diverse and Inclusive Teams, Organizations and Lives | Justin Jones-Fosu

Do you want to have a diverse and inclusive team and culture? Have you struggled with creating a diverse culture despite your best intentions? Are you looking for ways to achieve your diversity and inclusion objectives? Our special guest Justin Jones-Fosu answers this question and many others as we explore the path to building diverse and inclusive teams, cultures and lives. Justin is an amazing speaker, author, serial entrepreneur, social entrepreneur and inspirer of people and organizations. Make sure to listen to Justin’s closing analogy about the different roles you can play on the moving walkway of life and leadership. Justin will be sharing with some unique insights and perspectives on difference and achieving diversity in our organizations and lives. Most important, Justin will give you insights and strategies to help you move past the obstacles to diversity and inclusion. The Impact Leadership Podcast is brought to you by Cardivera, the leadership development eco-system that helps your grow your people, grow your business and grow your life.

Show Notes

In this episode you’ll learn…

How important it is to assess the diversity (or lack thereof) in your personal life
About Justin’s six month challenge to explore a perspective that’s different than your own
The importance of intention and approach when exploring conversations around diversity and difference
To approach conversations around diversity and difference with vulnerability and humility
The importance of taking an inventory:
- Where are you / we now
- Where you want to be
- What are the barriers to getting there
- How can those barriers be removed
To ask questions of those who are underrepresented and just listen
To focus on a just a few areas for improvement (i.e. don’t try to address too many things at once)
The role that relationship plays in approach the issues of diversity and inclusion
That sustainable change often requires external pressure
The important role that peer-to-peer input and feedback in driving change especially around diversity and inclusion
To avoid rushing to action without enough listening and understanding
The importance of listening first and then taking purposeful action for change (not just reactionary statements)
That one of the biggest obstacles to change is failing to listen and therefore failing to understand the experience of others
The metaphor of left-handedness when applied to other people of difference
What it means to be an ally by understanding the different experiences of others
The one thing leaders need to know in order to be a part of the change when it comes to racism (the moving walkway analogy)
- What it means to be a conscious racist on the moving walkway
- What it means to be conscious non-racist on the moving walkway
- What it means to be an unconscious non-racist on the moving walking
- What it means to be an anti-racist on the moving walkway