On becoming the type of leader equipped for infusing organizations with anti-racist and anti-oppression principles.

Photo by "My Life Through A Lens" on Unsplash

In December, I wrote in my first post that I believe in the idea that “public servants at all levels can be part of an emerging movement to create a public service that is infused with anti-racist and anti-oppression principles.” In this post, I want to share how I strive to do my part to infuse the public service with principles and strategies that can bring about the transformative changes needed to realize a federal public service that is more inclusive, equitable, and representative because no talent is left behind.

#1 Know your “Nia” (Define your purpose):

• Nia is a Swahili word for Purpose. Within the context of the African Diaspora celebration — Kwanzaa, Nia is the fifth day of the seven day celebration and it signifies a commitment “to make our collective vocation the building and developing of our community in order to restore our people to their traditional greatness.”
• With a clearly defined purpose also comes an understanding that leaders have a generational responsibility to contribute towards more positive outcomes for others including those yet to come. This aligns with my promise to be a Good Ancestor. I believe a key part of leadership is using our influence and social capital to create/expand brave spaces and establish sustainable structures that enable and empower others along with fostering feelings of psychological safety.
• I want the team to truly feel safe, seen and supported. As a leader, I find ways to work well with others to put in place the right conditions for people, especially those who have been harmed by systemic racism, to begin a journey towards healing and eventually flourishing. I will unpack my ideas on healing as part of leadership in the future. For now, I will say that there are mental health impacts for Black employees when they finally are able to experience a shift from career stagnation and being told to dim their light, to having a leader who says their name positively and often, supports their development, champions their creativity and reminds them to “shine bright like a diamond.”
• So, what kind of leaders do we need to bring about the changes so desperately needed? I believe Toni Morrison said it best, “When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.” That is leadership. Leadership that empowers and liberates others.

#2 Learn, respect, and practice the teachings of Black liberation and feminist scholars

• I set aside time each day to read and contemplate the works of Audre Lorde, bell hooks, the Combahee River Collective, Dr. Kimberlé Crenshaw, James Baldwin and so many other important Black thinkers (In a future post I will discuss and celebrate the many contributions of Black queers to the Black inclusion and the broader social justice movements). My home library has multiple shelves filled with Black fiction and non-fiction Black literature. The walls of my office are covered with excerpts from their books, and the photo album on my phone is filled with screenshots of important quotes and videoclips of their lectures.
• As an undergraduate at York University and as a graduate student at Saint Paul University, I was exposed to Black feminist scholars. Collectively, they have shaped how I approach and understand interpersonal relationships, community building, social struggles, and the desire to feel a sense of belonging while experiencing the pains that come with loving something/someplace that doesn’t always love you back.
• I understand the risks of designing public policy responses without consideration of power imbalances and how discrimination on the grounds of gender, racial and ability may manifest differently based on relevant identity factors. Black liberation scholars have developed analytical frameworks to better understand the experiences of service delivery shortcomings and gaps when we fail to consider how barriers can exist on the basis of race, gender, ability and combination of all three.
• In my view, there is no gender equity in the public service if Black women continue to be punished for exhibiting the same behaviours that are praised in white women. When Black lesbians in the workplace have to constantly push back on the pervasive negative stereotype that they are more hostile, aggressive and overbearing than white lesbians, organizational efforts to create positive spaces and promote pride are not as successful as was initially assumed because they are not serving the most vulnerable.
• To those who wish to achieve better results, I direct you to the words of Audre Lorde:

“There is no such thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.” Learning from the 60s

“I cannot afford the luxury of fighting one form of oppression only. I cannot afford to believe that freedom from intolerance is the right of only one particular group.” There is no hierarchy of oppression

• Despite the whitewashing of many organizational equity efforts and the continued single narrative about Black suffering and trauma while completely ignoring Black intellect and brilliance, there is a huge debt owed to Black scholars. In her Harvard Business Review article How to infuse liberatory practices into work practices, Alli Myatt examines the extractive and exploitation organizational practices that emerge from the centring of whiteness, creating exclusionary workplaces for those who do not identify as or can claim proximity to the cis-gender, able-bodied, heterosexual, Christian, white and male identity. Contrasting this oppressive hierarchical structure with one that is based on liberation and centres human connection, Myatt writes, “I believe we can use theories of liberation inspired by the ideas and work of Black feminists and other thought leaders of colour to find an alternative way of working together so everyone can thrive.”

#3 Believe in the collective needs and not just your own.

• Leadership is about actions and I am on a journey towards being a courageous, vulnerable, adaptive and most importantly an anti-racist leader. Amplifying the voices of others, breaking down structural barriers and replacing them with inclusive and equitable systems, protecting the well-being of Black talent in all their diverse identities, fostering Black inclusion and celebrating Black joy, are the personal performance metrics that I will use to evaluate and assess my impact as a leader.
• I am vulnerable about my challenges in my new role and those that come with working to address anti-Black racism while still experiencing anti-Black racism. I am open about the support system that I depend on for sage advice and their reminders to pause and nurture my cup so that I continue to do this work that means so much to me.
• Courage is my friend. The courage to demand that others be accountable for their words and actions. The courage to challenge myself to do better. The courage to risk my own social capital because I believe in something much more significant than just my own immediate needs. The courage to exist in places that would rather tolerate me than accept me fully — which by extension means that when I display courage it is not always viewed the same as when my non-Black colleagues demonstrate their courage.
• When I speak up about harms, my words may not always be welcomed, and they might even make some at the table feel uncomfortable for we are challenging the existing exclusionary systems that have allowed some to reap many rewards while others have been harmed. But if you are serious about creating inclusive and equitable workplaces, it takes lots of courage. Courage prepares you to dig deep and examine the organizational culture and then reimagine, repair, and then redesign it so we can achieve anti-racist and anti-oppression inclusion.

What about you? How are you preparing yourself to be part of a movement to create a public service that is infused with anti-racist and anti-oppression principles?

P.S: The quote for this post comes from Toni Morrison,

“When you get these jobs that you have been so brilliantly trained for, just remember that your real job is that if you are free, you need to free somebody else. If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”

If it resonates with you, please let me know in the comments. Thanks for reading this post and I hope you return for future ones.