Social Justice Resources for Informed and Engaged Leaders
Posted onAs leaders in our organizations, we must be willing to engage with issues that make us uncomfortable. When it comes to racial justice, now, more than ever, our people and our communities at large are asking us to roll up our sleeves. We’ve collected a list of resources for you, whether you are just getting started or want to dig in a little deeper.
Hire a BIPOC* Consultant For Your Business
Looking for a consultant for your business? Consider this diverse list of talent. Here is an unbelievable list of 350+ resources. Know a BIPOC business consultant that should be added to the list? There is information on how to do that in the link.
*Wondering what BIPOC stands for (we just learned, too)? It means Black, Indigenous, People of Color.
Subscribe
A quick read on race and culture that’s honest, data-informed, engaging, and real. Sign up for Fortune’s twice-weekly raceAhead by Ellen McGirt.
Watch
13th (free to watch here and on Netflix): The numbers speak for themselves. Dive into this documentary, directed by Ava DuVernay, on the issue of mass incarceration in the United States.
I Am Not Your Negro: From the Civil Rights Era to Black Lives Matter, narrated by Samuel L. Jackson against the beauty, poetry, and truth of James Baldwin.
For Parents + Children
Learn how to talk to your kid about race with Monique Melton’s Shine Talk for Kids course.
This book series walks you through how to talk to your kids about anything, including racism. A Kids Book About Racism.
We found this gem of a podcast, This Kid Life, from the Sydney Opera House, of all places. Here’s an episode on Celebrating Diversity.
Ibram X Kendi, the author of How to Be an Antiracist, just launched his children’s book, Antiracist Baby.
Sesame Street’s Town Hall on Race
Separate is Never Equal: An excellent picture book about the Latinx fight to integrate schools in California before Brown v Board of Education.
The Conscious Kid creates parenting and educational resources through a critical race lens. Check out their Patreon account for some great resources. We found the following through them.
- A TED Talk of Dr. Bevery Daniel Tatum speaking about talking to kids about skin color
- 20-minute listen from NPR: Talking Race With Young Children
- Book: Raising White Kids, a book by Jennifer Harvey
Read
If you are located in Austin, Texas, consider buying your bookshelf additions from Black Pearl Books*. They are a black, woman-owned indie bookstore devoted to diversity, inclusion, equality, and cultural awareness. No matter where you are, buy local if you can. Here’s a great list of black-owned bookstores in the U.S.
So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo
White Fragility by Robin D’Angelo
Me and White Supremacy by Layla F. Saad
Algorithms of Oppression by
How To Be An Antiracist by Ibram X Kendi
*Please note: Black Pearl Books has gotten so much love at the time of this post, that online ordering has been temporarily disabled, while they catch up.
Listen
Floodlines: The Story of an Unnatural Disaster
Intersectionality Matters: Exploring daily experience through conversations between journalists, writers, and politicians.
1619: Part of The New York Time’s incredible initiative, “The 1619 Project,” observing the 400th anniversary of the beginning of American slavery.
Throughline: A series that seeks to understand our present by looking into the moments that shaped our world. We recommend the following episodes on systemic racism: “American Police,” “Mass Incarceration,” and “Milliken v. Bradley.”
These were all recommended by NPR. They have a comprehensive list of resources to check out here.
More
Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man Part 1 by @EmmanuelAcho
A great list of antiracist resources to read and share from Fortune staffers.
17 Ways to Care for Your Body, Mind + Spirit During Quarantine
Posted onWe’re betting that you have been tested these past few weeks and have experienced resistance in ways you never thought possible. Here’s a curated list of all sorts of goodness for your mind, body, and spirit for this very weird time period.
A Better Way to Meeting: Smooth Flight
Posted onOur resident Improv Performer and Trainer, Shana Merlin, leads us through an exercise, based on the work of Dr. Rick Brinkman, that will improve any meeting, whether video, conference call, or in-person.
Leadership Currency: What Is It and How To Earn It
Posted onLeadership Currency: A new leadership mindset for 2020
Carla Harris, speaker, author, and Managing Director at Morgan Stanley talks about two kinds of reputation and influence you build in your career, performance currency, and relationship currency. Combined, we like to refer to these as your leadership currency. In this video, Lead Trainer and Creative Executive Coach, Lauren Russo explains leadership currency and why effective leaders both earn it and spend it across their careers.
Create Momentum with Structured Freedom
Posted onThe most creative and rebellious amongst us bristle with the word structure. And most of us would place it at odds with the word freedom. But, the right kind of structure is a necessary element of freedom. We’re talking about structure, in its most perfect form: Structured Freedom.
Everyone understands the value of having some structure to meet our team and individual goals, but most of us tend to deploy structure in two inefficient ways: too much and too little. The key is finding the balance, finding the right structure framework, one that creates momentum for you, and your team.
Why We Love Improv For Teams
Posted onImprov For The Win!
What is fun and can help you practice risk-taking and communication at all levels? Improv! In this leadership video, we’re talking about why we love this for teams.
Navigating Conflict in the Workplace
Posted onThree Tools to Help You Address Conflict
Deftly navigating conflict in the workplace is never fun, but it’s imperative to being an effective leader. In this leadership video, learn about our three favorite tools for addressing conflict at work. Get beyond the conflict by understanding priorities, scope, and social threat triggers for yourself and the other party.
Motivating People Up, Down, and Across Your Organization
Posted onHow to Motivate Others
You inspire and galvanize your direct reports, but how do you motivate people across your organization? In this leadership video, get insights into our two favorite strategies for motivating others above, below, and across your organization.
Level-up Without Leaving Others Behind
Posted onYour People Deserve Better Team-Building
Team building should be more than just swag t-shirts. Design a team-building experience that’s worthy of your smart, talented, and engaged people. In this leadership video, we are talking about the three filters you should use to evaluate your next team-building experience.
Create a Leadership Development Program That Sticks
Posted onLeadership Development Programs: Four Resources to Consider
Considering creating a leadership development program for your organization? In this video, we discuss the four things you need to think about before you start.
Culture: How to Assess and Improve It
Posted onWhy You Need a Culture Assessment
As a creative leader, you need candid feedback on how people experience their workplace. How do you get this intel when people aren’t exactly transparent with the boss? In this leadership video, we’re breaking down the what, who, and why of culture assessments.
Why Are We Here? Purpose Matters
Posted onWhy Purpose Matters
Leading human teams is about much more than simply managing resources. There’s the transactional aspect of overseeing resources + workflow. There’s also a crucial relational component to managing people. In this leadership video, we’re getting relational. Let’s talk about how sharing purpose, or “the why,” with your people can lead to better work experiences and more sustainable results over the long term.
Lauren Russo Rethinks Structure
Posted onMeet our Creative Executive Coaches
At the Creative Executive, we work with some pretty amazing people. We work with teams who are striving to communicate and collaborate better. We work with corporate clients to improve the way that work gets done throughout the organization, with an eye towards a more sustainable culture and profitable outcomes. We couldn’t do any of this work without our incredible team of coaches who work alongside these clients. In this ongoing series, we’ll be profiling all of our coaches. Our talented coaching team helps fuel the magic we facilitate for companies, teams, and leaders every day. This month, meet Lead Trainer and Coach, Lauren Russo.
Culture-Centric Hiring: Win the New Talent Game
Posted onWhen it comes to the job hunt, it’s a buyer’s market these days. And job searchers are looking for more than just a set of benefits. They are looking for fit. What does this mean for organizations looking to hire?
It means you will need to work harder to find the right talent that will help you move your organization forward. Here are five insights to help your organization navigate this hiring frenzy and come out the other end with the right people.
How to Scale Management and Leadership in Your Company
Posted on
We just finished a fun project with a client creating a Management and Leadership Style Guide. The partners of this company wanted to guide the development of their new managers in a way that’s meaningful both to them and to the staff they oversee.
10 Years, People! A LOT Happens in 10 Years
Posted on
As I’m coming across my 10-year anniversary this month, I’ve been reflecting on the immense amount I’ve learned about myself, about business, and about humans.
Here are just a few things I wanted to share … Read more…
Mid-Career Check-in: How to Figure Out Your Next Steps
Posted on
Here are some ways to explore what’s next. Read more…
Questions To Help You Troubleshoot Team Issues
Posted on
With the fast pace and client-centric focus in creative environments, it can be hard to pause for a second to check in on how your team is working. Before you realize it, dynamics take root that can damage your productivity and your entire work culture.
When you know that something needs to change on your team, but you can’t quite pinpoint the problem, ask yourself these questions to help identify your issues and set a course of action.
Career Pathing: A Blueprint for Developing Leaders
Posted onWhether you call it career design, career mapping, role planning, or professional development, it is essential to map out how your people can gain the skills, experience, and expertise to grow toward a particular role, responsibility, or outcome. We call it Career Pathing.
