Worcester Business Journal

18 Worcester Business Journal | February 7, 2022 | wbjournal.com Successful leaders center 'belonging' T here must be an inten- tional mindfulness of leaders who commit to diversity, equity, inclu- sion and justice work. inking about DEIJ, and therefore being supportive and responsive to peoples' needs, with empathy and equitable and inclusive practice, cannot only happen in crisis, or when an organization is looking to recruit or retain diverse people, or when we are orchestrating the covers of our marketing material. It's not about the fun cultural festival that happens once a year, and it's not about the diverse speaker who comes in to showcase a diversity message. It's also not about one great DEIJ-focused professional development session, or one responsibility tied to DEIJ put in a job description, and certainly not about one diverse hire. It's about doing all those things, and none of them. Leaders who are committed to DEIJ work hard to center "belonging" for all members of their organization all the time in everything that they do. Frank - ly, to do this, leaders have to de-center whiteness and re-center everyone; this being their priority goal in committing to the efforts, and in decision-making every day. e first time I decentered whiteness in my consciousness was in the second grade. I remember my great English teacher, Mr. Mullen, and I remember him most vividly because he asked our class this question (and he had very strong coffee breath): When you read books about char - acters in a story, do you assume that the characters are white until they are explicitly defined as a person of color? Why wouldn't we assume they are of color until explicitly defined as white? To decenter whiteness in Ameri- ca is to rebel against every structure in place, every implicit and explicit message we've been taught as a society about what is important and who is superior. Decentralizing whiteness does not mean to erase it nor to under-serve or invalidate white people, rather it is to elevate everyone to a place of equal power, privilege, and influence, where no single person or group within the construct is greater than the whole. Leaders who center organizational "belonging" have a healthy self-re - lationship of introspection; they are committed to personal self-growth. ey are self-reflective so that they might grow. ey don't leave their assumptions unexamined, so that they can avoid their fears and remain the same-same in thought, belief, and action. To the contrary, leaders who commit to elevating "belonging," specifically when it comes to racial oppression, are committed to decentering whiteness. If we are not willing to do something different, we are settling on stagna - tion and living through egotistical confidence, or perhaps confirmation bias that tells us we are doing enough. And this breeds insular thinking that excludes rather than including. For many, it's easier to stay the same and keep things the same than it is to go through the growing pains. Am I actively seeking confirmation bias for my unexamined perspectives? Reflect on: What has my lived expe - rience been like? What is my lens to the world? Why does a specific DEIJ-relat- ed topic trigger me? Be sure that if you insist on having expectations, that you insist on having realistic ones. Remember, belonging champions do the following things as a baseline: • Have a mindfulness for DEIJ issues and work; • ink about their thinking in this realm and acknowledge their short- comings; • Manage their own and others' chal- lenging emotions tied to DEIJ; • Examine and re-examine their expectations and goals, making sure that they are realistic. Bonnie J. Walker is the director of equity and inclusion at Worcester Academy, plying this arena in education in Mass. for 16 years. Contact her at bonnie.walker@worcesteracademy.org. WOMEN I N B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WOMEN B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ n W O M E N B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ IN WOMEN I N B U S I N E S S O U T S T A N D I N G WBJ Worcester Business Journal Honorees will be featured in our October 17th edition NOMINATION DEADLINE: Friday, August 5, 2022 To submit your nomination visit www.wbjournal.com/womeninbusiness CALL FOR NOMINATIONS! Here is your chance to nominate a deserving business woman that you know, and have her accomplishments recognized and celebrated! Submit a nomination today! Worcester Business Journal is looking to recognize the achievements of strong, talented and remarkable women who are making their mark on the Central Massachusetts business community W WITH BONNIE J. WALKER Outside the Box

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