Here’s what I mean when I say, “Culture of Growth”.

It’s a workplace experience where all people know they can show up authentically, not know the answer to something, ask for help with humility, make mistakes, and believe they will still be accepted and whole.

It’s an environment where shame, oppression, bias, and judgment do not exist (or flourish, at least).

According to the Harvard Business Review, creating a culture of growth requires a blend of individual and organizational components:

1. An environment that feels safe, fueled first by top by leaders willing to role model vulnerability and take personal responsibility for their shortcomings and missteps.
2. A focus on continuous learning through inquiry, curiosity, and transparency, in place of judgment, certainty, and self-protection.
3. Time-limited, manageable experiments with new behaviors in order to test our unconscious assumption that changing the status quo is dangerous and likely to have negative consequences.
4. Continuous feedback — up, down, and across the organization — grounded in a shared commitment to helping each other grow and get better.

Remember What Really Matters

Here’s what I don’t mean when I say “Culture of Growth”.

ROI, revenue, expanding reach, aka, the ways we’re taught to view growth, value, merit, success.

Maybe that’s a risky statement, but hear me out.

While those things are important, in actuality, people don’t stay in jobs just because of the CEO’s bottom line. They stay at jobs and work harder when they believe they will benefit, their families will benefit, they will grow, and ultimately contribute to values and a purpose they believe in.

It’s the People

Think about your organization in a holistic manner; as an entity needing holistic growth. What needs to come first? Or actually, who?

It’s the ideators, planners, developers, producers of your customer base, renewers of the contracts, and the implementers of your solution. The People. People who crave growth, a path, a purpose, belonging, community.

An organization’s greatest asset is its people and with individual growth comes a fantastic ripple effect of success.

Own It

Perhaps the most important element to all this is to own your growth — and the growth of those around you.

You’ve heard the idiom, “it takes a village”. Perhaps, too many times. This includes evolving your career. Own the fact that you need others to help you develop in your role.

Talk to peers and managers about your growth and learn about their goals, so you can help elevate each other along the way. And do this often — Gallup found that employees receiving daily feedback from their managers are 3.6x more likely to be motivated to do outstanding work. It’s important ot recognize that employees of color are often not receiving the same quality of feedback as their white colleagues are.

In a growth culture, people build their capacity to see through blind spots; acknowledge insecurities and shortcomings rather than unconsciously acting them out; and spend less energy defending their personal value so they have more energy available to create external value.

How does this relate to a culture of social equity and inclusion? Black and Brown professionals won’t see themselves thriving in an organization that doesn’t already value growth, others owning their mistakes, and detachment from ego. Even if they’re hired, they won’t stay long. This recent post of mine explores this topic deeper >> Why Your Retention Issue is Costing You Big.

By enrolling in The Collective Culture Model, we’ll create your goals around these types of things. We’ll establish a strategy to help you create and nurture a culture of growth, amongst many other workplace culture objectives to propel equity and inclusion throughout the employee experience.

Contact me here to learn more.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on January 15, 2021.

We’ve been seeing light bulbs go off in all kinds of industries this year.

From the outdoor industry, restaurant industry, tech industry, finance industry, social work, to now law enforcement, there’s no question that the work we do and how we do it has been up for some major scrutiny.

As a result, it’s allowed us to take some good, hard looks at the impact our industries have on society. So, what’s the realization?

To put it simply, we need to be better. There’s been a shift from the “do no harm” attitude to the actively anti-harm approach. It’s become increasingly clear that we can no longer rest on allyship alone. We need to demonstrate our actions as accomplices, advocates, and co-conspirators in the way we live and work.

In this article, I examine various trends across industries that have made some incredible advancements. Though, all the while, let’s ask ourselves, does this industry actually operate in a way where all can thrive?

I’ll share how you can advocate for real-world issues where you work, ways to spark some creative problem solving, and what can happen when we look under the hood of status quo.

How We Market

Modern marketers have taken to trends like centering diverse representation in images and ads, leveraging micro-influencers to reach new and diverse demographics, and shifting the overall narrative. Because of this, we’re definitely starting to see a lot less bs out there.

When it comes to being sold stuff, consumers are starting to see through those old and limiting narratives. We no longer need to subscribe to the status quo in order to be happy. In fact, we’re encouraged to reject it.

Now, we’re seeing expansive, accessible, and real versions of success and happiness out there.

How We Recruit

When it comes to looking for work, technology is our friend. Modern recruiting platforms like Handshake focus on diversity and help college students connect with prospective employers.

All sorts of modern strategies are influencing the approach of our recruiters and hiring teams.

We’re establishing more realistic job requirements, combing for convoluted or misleading language in job descriptions, and being more proactive about building candidate relationships before the urgency to fill a role arises.

Ultimately, how we approach our diverse talent communities matters greatly.

How We Serve

In the hospitality industry, frontline workers are no longer tolerating abusive, sexist, or racist behavior from customers or between co-workers.

Social media continues to influence where our attention goes and the local establishments we choose to frequent. In cities all over the country, Instagram accounts like the86List have become a place to anonymously share stories of racism and abuse in the service industry.

These ever-present injustices no longer simply remain in the back of the house and are largely informing whether or not patrons choose to continue supporting the establishments.

Grocery stores, bars, and coffee shops now proudly display Black Lives Matter signs and are intentionally diversifying their teams.

When it comes to running a business that serves your local community and neighborhoods, your clientele care about how your employees are treated.

How We Innovate

In the tech industry, CEOs are releasing statements about their stances on BLM and figuring out how to allow political discussions in the workplace. People are meeting during their lunch hour to discuss equity topics. Companies are creating Chief Diversity Officer positions and DEI Program Managers left and right.

Technology brands now have a conscience and realize their consumers need to see it.

The movement toward accessibility has become a more widely acknowledged factor in developing and iterating on our products.

Ultimately, who we’re helping with our products matters greatly and when it comes to running tech companies, and users care about what your company stands for.

Employees need to feel like they belong and can bring their whole selves to work, everyday. It’s not your PR strategy, but the lived experience of being part of your team, that needs to be center.

How We Educate

In the education industry, educators are shifting to incorporate social justice topics into their curriculum. They’re empowering more students to develop an interest in computer science and teaching their students about our actual US History, to name a few ways our core subject areas are evolving.

We’re also integrating restorative justice strategies into our schools and relying less on having police on our campuses.

It’s become undeniable that the erasure and misinformation students have been subjected to for generations has to stop. Educators are dutifully taking on this role of appropriately shaping young minds so that our students grow into the professionals we need to take us forward.

All sorts of modern strategies are influencing the instructional approach educators are taking.

PD tools like DebiasVR are emerging from developers like Clorama Dorvilias.

As early as 3rd grade, after school programs like Girls Inc. are teaching students about allyship.

In an article I recently published with Learning.com’s digital magazine, I share more strategies for inclusive 21st-century education in computer science.

How We Buy and Who We Follow

Finally, consumers are getting creative about which businesses, financial institutions, and thought leaders they want to support. Our public figures are realizing that their opinions and values matter to their followings and scramble to get their message (or PR nightmares) under control.

These are amazing advancements in the way we do business, work, learn, and buy.

Though, are these in-good-faith-efforts enough? Does this behavior help these industries truly become more hospitable to professionals of color?

Is your industry a place where people of color can thrive?

In a recent panel discussion I was apart of with AMA PDX, we discussed how DEI Strategy impacts Marketing and Business. The resounding sentiment was we cannot celebrate the fact that we’re finally now taking these steps. However, we are on the right track.

Ultimately, how we communicate out to shape our world matters greatly.

Whether you’re a marketer, recruiter, educator, or business owner, consider how you target your audiences. Always ask yourself,

What assumptions are being made about the populations I’m working with?

Which populations are missing from our outreach?

What can we do to support equitable experiences for all?

Meggie Abendschein, CEO of Moxie Mouth and agency I admire says,

Move away from business strategies that rely on savior complexes, poverty porn, us v. them narratives and other power dichotomies. When organizations center their work and narratives around the people and issues they are working for, the true social impact follows.

How can you advocate for real-world issues where you work and spark some creative problem-solving?

It’s a myth that Human Resources is solely responsible for launching, maintaining, and growing your culture and Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion initiatives.

HR may have ownership over some of the practices, procedures, and processes that impact the culture, but without the internal work and momentum across the organization, there’s no vehicle to move those HR components into a position of authenticity and actual effectiveness.

Visionary leaders know the importance of applying an equity lens to everything the business does and is, which ultimately results in a true representation of today’s talent wanting to come work with you and a safer environment for all.

Try this:

• Start tracking diversity data in collaboration with your Equity Team and cross-reference with the current census data for where you live. Don’t have an Equity Team? Let’s start there. I can help you do this.
• Encourage your Equity Team to utilize focus groups or beta testers. Never work in silos.
• Add a cultural competency field to include this identifier in your CRM, campaigns, or product roadmaps.
• Continue including and centering the points of view of BIPOC whenever possible.
• Continue working to diversify your teams.

Most importantly, think about how your industry may have historically enabled oppression in ways you wouldn’t have expected.

What are we seeing when we take a deeper look?

As a present-day example, social work has emerged as a more appropriate strategy for crisis response than relying on law enforcement. However, when you look at the roots of the profession in America, there is much to see.

Nicole Cardoza, creator of the Anti Racism Daily writes,

Because they are unarmed and trained in de-escalation and crisis management, social workers can seem like the perfect solution.

In theory, this makes sense, but propping up social workers as the solution to systemic racism ignores the past and present role of social workers as the implementers of racist policies in America ( National Association of Social Workers).

Social work students, professors, and practitioners create and perpetuate environments that overlook blatant racism every day.

Learning this surprised me. Have you ever thought about how unsuspecting forms of policing show up in different professions and industries?

If I’ve learned one thing as I analyze our way of life and path forward, it’s to expect non-closure. Though, if we take a deep enough look and immerse ourselves in these very real problems, we will start to see why asking these questions and thinking about the path forward is more important than ever, and it’s possible. Let’s remain hopeful of that.

Ready to analyze your industry and create a plan for change? Contact me here and let’s design your custom strategy.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on November 23, 2020.

In 2019, Partners in Diversity conducted a study in collaboration with PSU Academic and Organizational Psychologist Dr. Larry Martinez to show what professionals of color are saying about today’s self-proclaimed progressive cities (namely, where I currently reside, Portland, Oregon).

The study found that professionals of color largely don’t believe Portland is a place they could call home long-term. Even if their workplaces were tolerable, life out in the community is more or less unbearable.

Portland has made a large shift into focusing on intentional recruiting efforts within communities of color. For the better part of a decade, the city has ranked as famously liberal and forward-thinking.

From the outside, it seems like a welcoming place. Many perceive Portland to be quirky, accepting of difference, and attractive to many young professionals looking for a place to call home, establish fulfilling careers, and raise families.

However, the data was clear, racism in Portland is very much still part of the experience for people of color and Black people.

So, how does the issue of employee retention cost companies?

Partners in Diversity found,

“For employers, in addition to losing the benefits of having a diverse workforce, the cost of replacing an employee is expensive. According to the by the Work Institute, costs associated with volunteer employee turnover reached a total of $617 billion.

They estimated that the average hard cost of losing a U.S. worker is about one-third the worker’s salary. The price includes direct costs, such as paying a recruiter, background checks, drug screens and hiring temporary workers.

There are also soft costs associated with losing an employee, such as reduced productivity, the time it takes to interview candidates, on-boarding time and loss of knowledge; not to mention the issue of office morale.”

Ultimately, despite the intentional recruiting efforts to increase headcount diversity, for many professionals of color, the experience of living in Portland strains on their collective livelihood so much so that companies are seeing a massive loss and an over-exertion of resources.

A Reflection of Lived Experience

In an effort to amplify the work done by organizations like Partners and Diversity and to spark some creative problem solving out in the community, I posed this data to participants in a workshop I recently hosted.

Stories were shared about the difficulties non-white employees experience when speaking up and self-advocating at work. Some shared examples from their own lives about how Portlanders seem to on extra good behavior to our Black neighbors and neighbors of color. This led to a discussion around the flood of optical allyship or “credentialing behavior” now pervasive in our working and community spaces today. This behavior has emerged largely in an effort to get on the radar of their desired job seekers and diverse talent, though is still having a disappointing effect on new hires of color.

Participants of color shared strategies that have served them well like affinity groups and caucuses for BIPOC focused and anti-white supremacy advocacy. Throughout the session, creative ideas emerged like having more culturally relevant resources for communities of color, upholding the presence of mutual aid, and community care efforts.

Though it was clear this data did not come as a surprise, a sense of hopefulness prevailed. Participants aligned on Portland’s potential as a city to move beyond the status quo and create a culture where everyone can thrive. Many expressed an acute sense of urgency for wanting BIPOC to enjoy living in Portland, despite historically rooted challenges and oppressive laws that have kept them out or resulted in stolen and currently occupied land.

Looking Forward

Because cultural experiences and needs are so different, Portland as a city continues to reckon with true allyship, which the study refers to as integration. Until we reach that point, mistakes from the white dominant culture are expected. Though, we are now seeing more new cultural norms in place to acknowledge these mistakes and continue learning better behavior.

Dr. Martinez explained,

“Integration exists theoretically, not actually…the chicken and egg problems of tokenism and representation are actually nest problems.”

How can Portland become a nest where anyone belongs?

Learning about tokenism is a solution gaining more and more traction as this conversation continues. Becoming aware of tokenizing behavior means to avoid placing unnecessary burdens on individuals of color to solve the issues Portland (or any city) faces. One individual of a certain community does not represent the sentiments of an entire population and it’s incredibly taxing to feel like one must do so.

Over time, a natural increase in the representation of communities of color and continued practice of allyship may support Portland’s sense of urgency and aspirations to continue diversifying this place we call home.

The study also concludes with proposed community and workplace solutions, which can be found here.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on November 11, 2020.

Let’s be honest, there’s a lot required of all of us right now. From navigating our social and political climate to nourishing our own mental health, our faculties for stress management, critical thinking, and compassion are working hard for us.

So what are some ways we can strengthen bonds and practice compassion in the workplace?

Trauma-informed and compassionate workspaces result in a more inclusive culture. It’s all about acknowledging and honoring that everyone deserves a safe and welcoming work environment where any identity can belong. Companies who take a holistic trauma-informed approach can create more openness, understanding, and increase team trust, idea sharing, and connection, all conditions for compassion to thrive.

Not everyone can be a therapist or certified counselor, but we can all do more to be trauma-informed and mitigate compassion-fatigue in our workplaces. As leaders and managers, it’s important to uphold the conditions for a compassionate workspace to ensure an inclusive and equitable team culture.

Let’s examine our work settings, highlight opportunities to make changes, and earnestly metabolize the state of the world so we can continue to guide our teams with heart.

Here are a few key tips to strengthen team bonds and uphold a culture of compassion, even in a remote setting.

Create Opportunities for Honest and Open Conversation

Sometimes the simplest advice is the most overlooked. 38.2% of people say their company has not asked them if they are doing okay, and those same people are 38% more likely to say their mental health has declined.

To improve on this, managers and business leaders should work to be active and empathetic listeners, reciprocate when appropriate, communicate available resources, and be consistent with their interest in their staff’s mental health.

By showing up with a genuine interest in your team’s wellbeing, you can help support their mental health and combat feelings of isolation and mental exhaustion.

Set Boundaries and Clear Expectations

Compassion-fatigue can easily settle when there are unclear or inconsistent boundaries. Without clear expectations around work hours, communication norms, and overall team structure — team members can find themselves burned out by navigating dynamics like this. Team respect may also dwindle.

In contrast, staff who feel like they know what is expected of them have shown to be 30% more likely to have been more productive since switching to remote work.

The best thing managers and leaders can do is provide clear and consistent communication, ensure team members have access to the resources they need to do their job effectively and set clear expectations and goals for team members’ work.

Include Your Team in Decision-Making

As we continue to work from home, it’s not uncommon for teams to feel like high-level decisions are being made without them. Feeling like a new announcement, change, or update could drop in your inbox at any time often results in feelings of detachment or potential forms of cognitive dissonance. These are difficult conditions for compassion to thrive in.

Managers and leaders should work to create a feedback system for team members to provide their thoughts and insights on upcoming decisions. By communicating potential changes and providing opportunities for feedback in advance, leaders can help instill confidence, create buy-in, and improve team trust in their decisions.

Plan Clear and Inclusive Onboarding Practices

The first week of a new job is always a bit stressful and uncertain. And this easily doubles for new ‘quarantine’ hires who need to virtually navigate an entirely new team, work culture, and job expectations.

In a recent workshop I hosted, a participant said that when a new hire couldn’t get a sense of the team culture and dynamics, she eventually chose to resign. Not having clear and consistent onboarding practices can cost your business time, energy, and the ability to attract and retain talent.

As you virtually onboard new hires — make sure to share clear expectations, set ‘welcome meetings’ with team members, and provide helpful resources that communicate team culture to establish an early sense of belonging for new hires.

Overall, having an onboarding process that balances professional expectations with personal needs is the best way to ensure that your newest team member feels empowered and excited to tackle their new role.

Create Structures for Trust

Due to social distancing, managers that relied on ‘water cooler’ check-ins and ‘drop by your desk’ style communication needed to shift to new methods of ensuring that work is progressing.

Without these in-person check-ins, managers may feel like there’s a lack of trust and transparency in workflow and project progress. This can lead to over communication, micromanagement, and other practices that lead to bad boundaries, exhaustion, and team burnout. It’s important for managers and team leaders to create structures and systems that balance their need for updates with the team’s need for feeling trusted. It’s easier to extend compassion when there is trust.

Although there may be a bit of a learning curve, creating reliable systems and processes can help increase trust and transparency in your team’s work.

In conclusion, regardless if you’re front-line staff or a manager yourself — we’re all at increased risk of compassion-fatigue. By creating clear expectations, remote work norms, and open lines of communication, both managers and staff can enjoy a more supportive and inclusive work culture despite the times we’re in.

This is a guest post by Katie Zink, a strategist and facilitator that helps visionary leaders put actionable plans in place so they can create a positive, dynamic working culture that hears, recognizes, and supports all voices. Learn more about her signature program at katiezink.co.

The Practice of Compassion in a Global Reckoning was originally published in Aleria on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Let’s take an honest look at the values of white supremacy culture and how they show up in our personal and professional lives. It might slightly shock you to see how these elements are omnipresent in the ways we, as North Americans, describe ourselves, what we strive to be, and how we describe our societal makeup.

We’re praised for them, motivated by them, and even define success using them. Everything we know has been steeped in these values like a strong cup of tea, particularly in the ways they show up in our working environments.

Albeit in its most extreme form, let’s not forget the tone that’s been set by the current administration. They not only refuse to denounce those actively participating in extreme stances of white supremacy but dignify their place in society and have directed them to “stand by”. These leaders also refute any evidence of targeting the Black population, despite what we know about the history of policing. In their most extreme demonstrations, these nationalist groups have been fully absconded from any real consequences to their harmful and violent actions.

Insidious in nature to our societal upbringing, if modern professionals and visionary leaders take an honest look at where subtle traces of white supremacy appear in our own lives, where it may be harmful, and how to address it, we create space for some real change and innovation to occur.

Showing up for Racial Justice points to the many common ways white supremacy operates in our daily and professional lives and even offers new practices around what we can do about it.

Here are 3 values I’ve noticed in my life and business.

Either/Or Thinking

This is a current struggle for me. It manifests in how I want to show up in my business, in my niche, in my expertise, for my audience.

Thinking things like, I do this but I don’t do that. This is who I help. This is my expertise, not that. Based on what I know about business, not having this determined will affect the long term success of my work.

Either/or thinking assumes a villain and a victim. If you’re not this way, you’re that way. If you’re not with us, you’re against us. Our society demands us to make drastic decisions that impact people outside the conversation, synthesize complex issues that result in sweeping declarations, and we often end up experiencing decision-fatigue though are expected to keep up an image of strength.

Decision fatigue is the idea that after making many decisions, a person’s ability to make additional decisions becomes worse.

Thus, we’re praised for our abilities to work well under pressure.

Instead, try this:

• Notice when people use either/or language and advocate the potential for more than two alternatives.
• Notice when people are simplifying complex issues, particularly when the stakes seem high or an urgent decision needs to be made.
• When faced with an urgent decision, slow down the conversation and encourage deeper analysis; encourage creative problem solving; avoid making decisions under extreme pressure.

Individualism

This is one I grapple on and off with, but believe to be on my way to identifying and interrupting how it operates for me.

In the last juncture of my career, I had a dream to be more entrepreneurial and aspired for self-employment. I thought I struggled with collaboration, but realized the organizations I’d worked for did not value or teach people how to collaborate well. So, I thought I was better suited to do it all myself.

One way to detect the impact of individualistic tendencies is to examine them alongside collectivist behavior. Cross-cultural psychologists have discovered much in the way these each impact culture. A post by Verywell Mind shares,

Individualistic cultures are those that stress the needs of the individual over the needs of the group as a whole. In this type of culture, people are seen as independent and autonomous. Social behavior tends to be dictated by the attitudes and preferences of individuals. Cultures in North America and Western Europe tend to be individualistic.

Instead, try this:

• Place value on the ability to delegate and bring in outside resources.
• Evaluate the strengths in the way people collaborate and accomplish shared goals.

Risk-Taking

This touches on a concept I visited in last month’s posts about intersectional safety.

Many of us might be familiar with the “fail fast” philosophy we hear from business owners, CEO, or others in leadership. CEOs I’ve worked for in the past seem to like this mantra, as it connotes a certain attitude of, we can afford to make mistakes as long as we move away from them quickly.

The ability to take risks is dependent on our sense of resilience, financial backing, and feeling both physically and psychologically safe enough to do so.

In these times, we’re repeatedly reminded that we collectively lack intersectional safety. This means the things that keep some of us feeling safe, do not help others feel that same sense of safety.

In our society, we’ve effectively made the connection to why risk-taking leads to success. In fact, some would say it’s essential and is even synonymous with the systemically dominant culture. Some may say being risk-averse is a detriment to our ability to achieve in life.

We women are a little more risk-averse because whenever you launch something there’s a big chance it’s not going to work. And we have a bigger problem with failure … [Women deal with] what I call the obnoxious roommate living in our head that constantly puts us down, doesn’t want us to fail because we become identified with our successes and failures. — Ariana Huffington

Our societal risk-taking mentality stems from generational praise of doing what’s more than expected, acting on impulse, and pushing our desires to continually achieve (or produce) every day. Themes in how we characterize success are often attributed to the risks we could afford to take.

Instead, try this:

• Consider what safety or job security means to an entrepreneur or someone who can work from home.
• How does this differ for professionals who don’t feel safe enough to work at all?
• Ask yourself, who can afford to take a risk right now? Why?

Pervasive white supremacy can no longer be the white elephant in the room. Let’s start collectively identifying if and when these characteristics are at play, and more importantly, are influencing the way we think, plan our lives, and see ourselves. Eventually, we may be able to interrupt and dismantle the ways we’re barring other cultures from thriving (with us) because of it.

In an effort to do better (though not always done completely to perfection) in my business today, I love to collaborate, define my own version of success that way, and created my signature program around collective success. I place value on creative problem solving and don’t work under conditions of decision-fatigue. I’m paying attention to who feels safe when and what conditions need to shift so that more people feel safe and empowered as a collective.

Seeking ways to accomplish this in your life and business? Let’s connect in a complimentary discovery call. >>Contact me here.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on October 15, 2020.

In my last post, I shared about the concept of intersectional safety.

This means, despite our situational and socially constructed identity, we must all have our foundational needs and a real sense of security in place if we are to extend our abilities to care for the collective.

Let community be the entity that helps us to always feel safe.

Having our safety always in question strains our ability for community care and to extend the necessary compassion required for equity and anti-racism work.

From the ability to stay engaged with what’s happening around us and the critical thinking lens to stay informed of our social and political climate, the perceived threats in our immediate periphery force us into survival mode and apathy.

Ironically, in the healthcare world, compassion-fatigue is categorized as a safety concern.

Systematic resources are in place to keep nurses and other healthcare providers engaged and recharged to deliver quality care to patients. It’s only been on the radar of these institutions since the early 90s, and now with our social uprise on the increase, it’s existence is making its way into the business and professional realms.

Symptoms of compassion-fatigue arise in response to caring for people with trauma. In a prior post, I make the connection to why being trauma-informed at work results in a more inclusive culture and how it is all about acknowledging and honoring that everyone deserves a safe, welcoming, and inclusive work culture.

Companies who take a holistic trauma-informed approach can create more openness, understanding, and increase team trust, idea sharing, and connection, all conditions for compassion to thrive.

Not everyone can be a therapist or certified counselor, but we can all do more to be trauma-informed and thus, mitigating compassion-fatigue.

This article acknowledges the existence of compassion-fatigue in the context of global reckoning. I’ll point out where it may arise through multiple work settings and highlight opportunities to make changes.

From here, my hope is that you’ll understand some ways to metabolize the state of the world in order to guide or show up on your teams with heart.As leaders and managers, it’s important to uphold the conditions for a compassionate workspace to ensure an inclusive and equitable team culture. This best happens when your own needs are met, too. Keep advocating to your executives for the necessary resources and support to ensure this can happen.

Here are a few key tips to strengthen team bonds and uphold a culture of intersectional physical and psychological safety (even in a remote setting).

Create Opportunities for Honest and Open Conversation

Sometimes the simplest advice is the most overlooked. 38.2% of people say their company has not asked them if they are doing okay, and those same people are 38% more likely to say their mental health has declined.

To improve on this, managers and business leaders should work to be active and empathetic listeners, reciprocate when appropriate, communicate available resources, and be consistent with their interest in staff mental health.

By showing up with a genuine interest in your team’s wellbeing, you can help support their mental health and combat feelings of isolation and mental exhaustion.

Set Boundaries and Clear Expectations

Compassion-fatigue can easily settle when there are unclear or inconsistent boundaries. Without clear expectations around work hours, communication norms, and overall team structure — team members can find themselves burned out by not knowing how to conduct themselves. Team respect may also dwindle.

In contrast, staff who feel like they know what is expected of them have shown to be 30% more likely to have been more productive since switching to remote work.

The best thing managers and leaders can do to combat poor expectations is to provide clear and consistent communication, ensure team members have access to the resources they need to do their job effectively, and to set clear expectations and goals for team member’s work.

Include Your Team in Decision-Making

As we continue to work from home, it’s not uncommon for teams to feel like high-level decisions are being made without them. Feeling like a new announcement, change, or update could drop in your inbox at any time often results in feelings of detachment or potential forms of cognitive dissonance. These are difficult conditions for compassion to thrive.

Managers and leaders should work to create a feedback system for team members to provide their thoughts and insights on upcoming decisions. By communicating potential changes and providing opportunities for feedback in advance, leaders can help instill confidence, create buy-in, and improve team trust in their decisions.

Plan Clear and Inclusive Onboarding Practices

The first week of a new job is always a bit stressful and uncertain. And this easily goes double for new ‘quarantine’ hires who need to virtually navigate an entirely new team, work culture, and job expectations.

In a recent workshop I hosted, a participant said that when a new hire couldn’t get a sense of the team culture and dynamics, she eventually chose to resign. Not having clear and consistent onboarding practices can cost your business time, energy, and the ability to attract and retain talent.

As you virtually onboard new hires — make sure to share clear expectations, set ‘welcome meetings’ with team members, and provide helpful resources that communicate team culture to establish an early sense of belonging for new hires.

Overall, having an onboarding process that balances professional expectations with personal needs is the best way to ensure that your newest team member feels empowered and excited to tackle their new role.

Create Structures for Trust

Due to social distancing, managers that relied on ‘water cooler’ check-ins and ‘drop by your desk’ style communication needed to shift to new methods of ensuring that work is progressing.

Without these in-person check-ins, managers may feel like there’s a lack of trust and transparency in workflow and project progress. This can lead to over communication, micromanagement, and other practices that lead to bad boundaries, exhaustion, and team burnout. It’s important for managers and team leaders to create structures and systems that balance their need for updates with the team’s need for feeling trusted. It’s easier to extend compassion when there is trust.

Although there may be a bit of a learning curve, creating reliable systems and processes can help increase trust and transparency in your team’s work.

Regardless if you’re front-line staff or a manager yourself — we’re all at increased risk of compromised feelings of safety and the capacity for compassion.

By creating clear expectations, remote work norms, and open lines of communication, both managers and staff can enjoy a more supportive and inclusive work culture despite the times we’re in.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on September 24, 2020.

Have you ever been told to “stay safe and healthy” this much?

This newly normalized nicety shows up on the daily now on our regular exchanges at the grocery store, emails, corporate statements, and COVID 19 webpages. Because the notion of safety has been coming up so much this year, it begs the question, what is this constant hyper-awareness of our safety doing to us?

For me, this queues up questions around the intersectionality of safety.

Who feels safe when? What conditions allow me to feel safe but don’t for someone else? When it comes to taking collective action for social good, have we defined who picks up the slack when some of us don’t feel safe enough to act for the collective wellbeing?

The roles of fear and hypervigilance are playing big parts in our collective lives right now.

Oftentimes, we’re having to enforce boundaries and make decisions around our individual vs collective safety, since the current administration isn’t.

Is our long term collective safety really in question? If you’ve been paying close enough attention, you might be thinking “yes” and some might add that it has been for a while now.

When the pandemic started, I was displaced. I left my home and moved with my partner and his brothers. It was a family waiting for me with open arms. I had my own room, a kitchen, a big backyard, and was within walking distance of anything I needed. For 6 months, I lived in quarantine with nothing but a few clothing items, a computer, and could safely shelter in place. I felt safe.

When the Summer protests started, I could attend on my own time with my own vehicle. I knew the routes of the marches and I didn’t have to stay past dark if I didn’t want to. I didn’t have to go where the violence was and I stayed with the crowds. I chose not to attend when it felt unsafe. I knew the guidelines for protest protection, always went with others and knew what to do to feel safe.

During the wildfires in Oregon, I was out on the road. I had (relatively) clean air to breathe. I knew my stuff would be handled by my partner’s brothers and assumed family. I knew my other belongings would be covered by renter’s insurance. I created a small evacuation list and otherwise had what I needed on the road. I was with my family and loved ones, who were all safe. I had good food and comfort available to me. I felt safe.

The times I felt unsafe was when I put myself in certain situations that I could easily navigate.

I had the tools available and the social capabilities to pass as majority culture, wherever I was. The issues for me included possible car troubles, losing belongings that could be replaced, or being in red states, a socially constructed fear on its own. I could handle these things on an individual level. My safety was not dependent on collective safety, or anyone else’s.

This is one story of a privileged person who could access feelings of safety on her own terms.

Because of my race and identity, are there times when I need my safety and protection to be handled by the whole? Am I ever fully dependent on my community? Do I ever find myself thinking, “those are my people and together we are safe”? When I’m without my people, does that do away with my safety and protection? Usually, no.

When does a Black woman feel safe? When does a Black man feel safe? A Trans person? I don’t know. Because they may not know, either.

I can work from home, feel safe in my house, and can safely do my job. The delivery driver feels unsafe approaching my door and doing their job. Those deemed essential workers grapple with feelings of unsafety every day. For remote workers, some of our jobs don’t feel secure, but are we safe? Mostly, yes. In fact, some of us in the business world are still encouraged to take risks.

I know when I will be safe, but others may not. Many must consider dangerous strangers with violent motives, having vulnerable identities, the potential for harm, a lack of dignity, a history of abuse, and systemic oppression with much harsher consequences than the majority culture may know.

Their lived experience is often shaped by the lack of safety, which may even be the core of it.

Feeling safe is a ground-level, human need and it must be intersectional. It must include and encompass the needs of any identity and anyone. Most importantly, we each need our foundational needs in place to continue our abilities to care for the collective. Because, in community, we are safe.

The more people, the safer the community will be. -Octavia E. Butler

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on September 23, 2020.

As a job seeker, you are faced with so many decisions to make, all while under immense pressure. Especially now, you’re at the mercy of what positions even exist, timed perfectly with where your skillset lies.

My near-term prediction is that companies who are hiring now will be faced with increased turnover rates once things stabilize. Candidates may not be able to afford to hold out for their next ideal fit and will accept positions to suffice for the short term.

With unemployment rates surging, what’s to come of job seeker agency and choice until we’re well onto the other end of this economic crisis?

Under typical circumstances, the median tenure for salaried employees is 4 years. There’s something to learn from this. Because it no longer ultimately benefits modern professionals to stay with one company our entire career, we have the power to uniquely design our trajectories. Codependence is not a career path.

Another thing you have control over is the culture and community you want to be apart of and ideally, add to.

So, how is organizational culture currently defined?

The underlying beliefs, assumptions, values and ways of interacting that contribute to the unique social and psychological environment of an organization.

It’s really difficult to initially detect the total realities of a company’s working culture, and if aspects of it are only expressed or actually lived. There’s a big difference.

Some things to consider when weighing your decisions around accepting a new job are often that of an actualized DEI commitment. This means:

• Benefits and policies that truly serve you and your unique identity in the long run.
• Equitable interviewing and hiring experience.
• First impressions of your next boss and leadership team that demonstrate empathy and allyship.
• A clear path to progress in your career and growth opportunities.
• A culture that hears, recognizes and supports all voices.

…and not just surface-level, perfunctory efforts for the sake of optics or reputation. Company leaders, now I’m speaking to you.

Modern professionals expect institutionalized inclusion. In order to attract diverse talent, employers need to be able to identify and articulate where they are on the spectrum to reaching this.

Champions in the DEI space are excited that minds are opening and there’s even been a line item created in budgets for education and new initiatives. However, we and prospective diverse talent aren’t falling for “check the box” efforts.

Especially given COVID-related uncertainties and the woeful lack of people-first responsive measures taken across the United States, this is a key time for leaders to reassess policies and practices to demonstrate institutionalized DEI.

Here’s what I’ve been hearing in my conversations lately:

Company A: “We sent a few of our managers to Justice, Equity, Diversity, Inclusion (JEDI) training a few weeks back, but I haven’t heard much report out to the rest of us regarding what they learned. Seems like scattered one-off efforts, but no strategy.”

Even when companies are ready to do the work, there is rarely a strategy in place. Training is a clear and pursuable goal, but to cut to the chase without an intentional strategy and scalable plan, efforts stall out eventually. The justification of spending time and resources with it becomes more difficult.

Going through all the trouble of scheduling a company-wide training or revamping all marketing materials are good efforts, but something so one-off or one dimensional will end in fatigue, frustration, or be seen as inauthentic.

Company B: “I think we are all passionate about the subject, but I’d like to see a bit more organizational, day-to-day style of approaching it, instead of just leaving it to our managers to handle.”

Passion goes a long way in this work and can often manifest as in-good-faith efforts, but without anyone to guide the bigger picture (while keeping the people represented), it won’t lead to the transformation needed.

Lily Zheng says it well in a recent article,

“Be creative about finding the right people to help you tackle the specific challenges you identify. Your company may already have people with the necessary skills or expertise but who aren’t in formal DEI roles.

Consider temporarily flexing their role to allow them to take on these challenges. If you choose to work with an external firm, try to find a group that offers flexible, context-dependent services (rather than off-the-shelf solutions).”

Ultimately, having an objective point of view and the ability to recommend proven techniques can serve as your north star.

For companies looking to demonstrate your value on people-first culture, this can be measured.

Consider:

• The self-identification rates of your org. Do employees feel safe indicating their true identities?
• The disparities between people who identify in majority groups and people who belong to underrepresented minority (URM) groups. What factors exist or maybe even contribute to that divide?
• Employee perception of management. If everyone feels that managers are unfair it’s one problem. If only URMs feel that managers are unfair, it’s another problem.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on May 22, 2020.

When I hear people admit with frustration things like, “we need a more diverse applicant pool”, “a more diverse leadership team”, or “a more diverse network”, I get that feeling I always get right before I’m about to maybe go out on a limb (or challenge someone’s belief).

Don’t get me wrong, hoping for a diverse array of people who want to work at your company indicates massive potential to me. If this is you, you’re almost ready to make a real commitment to organizational DEI.

DEI practitioners are working hard to foster a mindset and debunk some of the inaccuracies of how workplace diversity is done. It never ceases in importance to slow down and take these terms (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) as individual parts.

Much of the blame and onus of workplace diversity falls onto the shoulders of our HR teams, but it’s bigger than one person or one team’s function. Fostering inclusivity requires company-wide commitment to change and is part of the collective culture. Simply wanting to hire for diversity is just one piece of the puzzle.

What’s the right mindset to have?

When done authentically, DEI is a transformational activity for the entire organization and uses an equity lens at all times. What does that mean?

It’s:

• Not just “checking a box”.
• Knowing it will take time.
• Coming to terms with your own privilege.
• Understanding how history has contributed to the problems we still have today.
• Knowing there’s a spectrum of understanding, and an educational component needs to happen first before progress can be made.

Here are three things to start noticing about the environment you’re working in.

(1) Take a mental inventory of how your culture operates and the gaps.

Are there knowledge gaps, blind spots, or biases in daily operation? (hint: there always are.)

Do you see opportunity gaps (e.g. patterns of people getting hired and promoted, patterns of people getting invested in, and certain folks accessing available opportunities, or straight-up pay inequity)?

Do you notice minimal representation or disenfranchised voices (e.g. what do leadership teams look like, who speaks the most in meetings, who’s always taking the notes)?

What would the attendance be like if you were to host a workshop with your colleagues to discuss topics affecting race, gender, abilities, experiences, or backgrounds?

Do you and others believe all opportunities in the company are open to anyone who is qualified?

Yeah, heavy stuff.

I know how demoralizing some of this may be. I’ve felt all the fatigues: outrage-fatigue, decision-fatigue, and yes, even compassion-fatigue.

But remember, allowing discomfort is the first step to long-lasting change.

(2) Who’s in your community and why?

What does expanding your “reach” really mean to you? Is it the ability to make connections with and have an impact on the lives of as many identities as possible?

Or, is it just making more sales…?

Who does your product and service resonate with? Is it a homogenous audience without consideration of those who may be underserved or excluded? What if during the design process, considering and centering underserved identities actually resulted in the ability to serve more people?

Are you attracting clients that also value DEI work and share this as a common goal? What do you think that could do for the collective success of our societies?

For example, one of my favorite collaborations from last year was a meetup project with Portland Public Schools. The purpose was to increase access for educators of color to the Ed-Tech industry. This led to participants making unique connections and addressing ways to increase their representation in education. For those who are familiar, a lack of diversity in education has resulted in deeply-embedded systemic issues like The School To Prison Pipeline. Initiatives focused on increasing access to educators of color and restorative justice efforts will impact our future generations and result in an expanded opportunity for more students, not just students of the majority.

When you think about the role your organization plays in the community, more meaningful partnerships can grow.

Brands who demonstrate visibly conscious behavior, exist with integrity, and truly care about making a difference and justice, versus reputation and optics, are becoming favored in their market. Buyers want to trust that a company’s Why is more than just profits. They are expecting company leaders to articulate and demonstrate this commitment, too.

(3) What are your blind spots?

To adopt the mindset for workplace DEI, be a lifelong learner. This work calls for a fully-new set of terms, vocabulary, and lost history lessons to be understood and articulated.

Vernā Meyers gives my favorite explanation of how to identify your biases and walk boldly toward them.

Before doing or acting, first, seek to understand. Practice humility. Start having more open discussions with others on the subject matter of equity if it’s new to you. Our brains are wired to take action often well before we really understand what we need to do.

It’s a journey.

TBH, dismantling these aspects of the culture will take a long time and the landscape is changing constantly. It will be a gradual process and will require lots of internal work and self-education.

Once you get started with your first vision, first goals, and first plan, you can then create steps for sustainable and ongoing action. It’ll take a well-planned strategy.

This is the stuff I live and breathe. To see first-hand how we can recreate the success I’ve seen in other organizations, click here.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on May 2, 2020.

The landscape of DE&I work will be ever-evolving and the work is never done. Many might ask, why is now the time to solve these problems? Won’t a lot of this stuff just sort itself out naturally? Why is it my job to fix it?

I’ve witnessed people who are underrepresented continuously feel isolated, disenfranchised, and finally leave a company due to no clear path for them. I’ve wondered why there aren’t existing resources out there to help hiring managers career path for their teams. I’ve heard people’s hiring managers say “you’ll never get promoted”, “I’m not measured by how inclusive my team is”, or bar people from growth and accepting new responsibility while majority culture continues to coast upwards swiftly.

Equity work is deemed “noble” but often seen as extracurricular to how the business operates, not intrinsic to.

Finally, this is changing.

When I surveyed participants about what would truly motivate an executive leadership team to make organizational DE&I work a priority, I received responses like,

• “Having a better understanding of the long-term negative impact an inequitable, non-diverse workforce and workplace has.”
• “Seeing very tangible actions leading to very tangible results.”
• “Examples of what other companies have done.”
• “An increase in employee retention, job satisfaction and corporation loyalty.”
• “I think leadership understands it is a priority, but there are so many priorities right now.”

It’s simple. We know that when all people feel that they can be fully themselves, great work happens. By fostering psychologically safe working conditions, we thereby operate from a place of belonging, values, and integrity.

These are also the conditions for innovation, creativity, and change.

What may not be so simple, is the transition to operating under values that breed equity and inclusion. In fact, discovering how harmful one’s actions may have been, despite the best of intentions, can be an intense experience for anyone. I sincerely believe that people are inherently good and most are operating under the best intentions. But, that’s not enough; an impact-driven mindset must be where we shift to.

As Brene Brown would say, avoiding difficult conversations is the definition of privilege. In my latest favorite from her, she discusses daring leadership.

Courageous leaders are never quiet about discussing the hard topics around diversity and inclusion. To not want to have these difficult conversations is the definition of privilege. Brave leaders choose courage over comfort. It is not the job of the people targeted by racism to invite people to the conversation. It is the role of the leader to start the conversation.

The problems we’re seeing in organizational spaces may not always be unique to one group or culture, but the solution will always be.

So to the leaders out there, I ask

• How do we create workplaces that are safe for humans to show up as themselves?
• How do we create organizations of belonging?
• What’s standing in the way of doing this? What are the long term impacts of not doing it?

The truth is, opportunity is a social construct and power is the benefactor. It’s time we intentionally shift power to allow for abundance in opportunity.

Originally published at https://katiezink.co on April 25, 2020.