Learn and self-educate on how to be a compassionate, authentic, inclusive leader that is brave enough to have necessary and uncomfortable conversations, understands exclusion from various experiences, especially those who are the most marginalised, and can create brave spaces, facilitate conversations, while being an anti-racist leader, co-conspirator and creators of systemic change that drives equity.
UAL (University of Arts, London) created Shades of Noir where you can explore extensive reading and conversational resources. For books, you can explore an extensive collection of 127 books by Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic authors, including other education resources and curated insightful journals by Shades of Noir. A public library of all resources by Shades of Noir is also a useful resource.
The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety: Defining the Path to Inclusion and Innovation by Timothy R Clark (Author)
This book is the first practical, hands-on guide that shows how leaders can build psychological safety in their organizations, creating an environment where employees feel included, fully engaged, and encouraged to contribute their best efforts and ideas.
Moving Diversity Forward: How to Go From Well-Meaning to Well-Doing by Verna A. Myers (Author)
“If you believe that your organization has done everything it can to enhance its diversity, and if you are still frustrated at how little progress you have made, Moving Diversity Forward is for you. It is an instructive read for all of those who wish to live and work in a multi-cultural world where everyone has a fair chance to succeed and contribute.”
— Frank P. Barron, Chief Legal Officer, Morgan Stanley
What If I Say the Wrong Thing?: 25 Habits for Culturally Effective People by Verna A. Myers
In this compelling new tip book you’ll find innovative and surprising ways to keep your personal diversity journey moving and the diversity commitment of your organization. Written to make this information bite-size and accessible, you’ll find quick answers to typical What should I do? questions, like: What if I say the wrong thing, what should I do? What if I am work and someone makes a sexist joke, what should I say?
Purchase copies for everyone at your organization to make sure everyone knows the culturally effective way to approach diversity situations. With this book they can be prepared and practiced at moving diversity forward!
Inclusive Conversations: Fostering Equity, Empathy, and Belonging across Differences by Mary-Frances Winters (Author)
“What is impressive is not only how Winters builds a case for the urgency and need for bold, inclusive conversations but that she also gives specific strategies and competencies to turn her theory into practice.”
–Dr. Sheila Robinson, publisher and CEO, Diversity Woman Media
Effective dialogue across different dimensions of diversity, such as race, gender, age, religion, or sexual orientation, fosters a sense of belonging and inclusion, which in turn leads to greater productivity, performance, and innovation. Whether in the workplace, faith communities, or educational settings, our differences can tear us apart rather than bring us together if we do not know how to communicate. Recognizing our collective responsibility to earnestly address our differences and increase understanding and empathy will not only enhance organizational goals but will also lead to a healthier, kinder, and more compassionate world.
Award-winning diversity, equity, and inclusion consultant Mary-Frances Winters has been leading workshops on what she calls Bold, Inclusive Conversations for years. In this book she offers specific dialogue strategies to foster greater understanding on the following topics:
- Recognizing the importance of creating equity and sharing power
- Dealing with the “fragility” of dominant groups–their discomfort in engaging with historically subordinated groups
- Addressing the exhaustion historically marginalized groups feel from constantly explaining their different lived experience
- Exploring how to build trust and create psychologically safe spaces for dialogue
This guide is comprehensive for anyone who wants to break down the barriers that separate us and facilitate discussions on potentially polarizing topics.
Dare to Lead: Brave Work. Tough Conversations. Whole Hearts. by Brené Brown (Author)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • Brené Brown has taught us what it means to dare greatly, rise strong, and brave the wilderness. Now, based on new research conducted with leaders, change makers, and culture shifters, she’s showing us how to put those ideas into practice so we can step up and lead.
Look for Brené Brown’s new podcast, Dare to Lead, as well as her ongoing podcast Unlocking Us!
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY BLOOMBERG
Leadership is not about titles, status, and wielding power. A leader is anyone who takes responsibility for recognizing the potential in people and ideas, and has the courage to develop that potential.
When we dare to lead, we don’t pretend to have the right answers; we stay curious and ask the right questions. We don’t see power as finite and hoard it; we know that power becomes infinite when we share it with others. We don’t avoid difficult conversations and situations; we lean into vulnerability when it’s necessary to do good work.
But daring leadership in a culture defined by scarcity, fear, and uncertainty requires skill-building around traits that are deeply and uniquely human. The irony is that we’re choosing not to invest in developing the hearts and minds of leaders at the exact same time as we’re scrambling to figure out what we have to offer that machines and AI can’t do better and faster. What can we do better? Empathy, connection, and courage, to start.
Four-time #1 New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown has spent the past two decades studying the emotions and experiences that give meaning to our lives, and the past seven years working with transformative leaders and teams spanning the globe. She found that leaders in organizations ranging from small entrepreneurial startups and family-owned businesses to nonprofits, civic organizations, and Fortune 50 companies all ask the same question:
How do you cultivate braver, more daring leaders, and how do you embed the value of courage in your culture?
In this new book, Brown uses research, stories, and examples to answer these questions in the no-BS style that millions of readers have come to expect and love.
Brown writes, “One of the most important findings of my career is that daring leadership is a collection of four skill sets that are 100 percent teachable, observable, and measurable. It’s learning and unlearning that requires brave work, tough conversations, and showing up with your whole heart. Easy? No. Because choosing courage over comfort is not always our default. Worth it? Always. We want to be brave with our lives and our work. It’s why we’re here.”
Whether you’ve read Daring Greatly and Rising Strong or you’re new to Brené Brown’s work, this book is for anyone who wants to step up and into brave leadership.
Leading with Character and Competence: Moving Beyond Title, Position, and Authority by Timothy R. Clark
“Leadership is an applied discipline, not a foamy concept to muse about,” says three-time CEO, Oxford-trained scholar, and consultant Timothy R. Clark. “In fact, it’s the most important applied discipline in the world.” The success of any organization can be traced directly to leadership. And leadership can be learned. But too many books and development programs focus exclusively on skills.
In reality, performance and ultimate credibility are based on a combination of character and competence. As Clark puts it, character is the core and competence the crust. He shows how greatness emerges from a powerful combination of the two, although in the end character is more important. A leader with character but no competence will be ineffective, while a leader with competence but no character is dangerous.
Clark spotlights the four most important components of character and competence and offers a series of eloquent, inspiring, and actionable reflections on what’s needed to build each one. Fundamentally, he sees leadership as influence—leaders influence people “to climb, stretch, and become.” You need character to influence positively and competence to influence effectively.
This is a book for anyone, no matter where they are on the organization chart. Because today employees at all levels are being asked to step up, not only can everyone be a leader, everyone has to be. Clark’s insights are profound, and his passion is infectious. “Leadership” he writes, “is the most engaging, inspiring, and deeply satisfying activity known to humankind. Through leadership we have the opportunity to progress, overcome adversity, change lives, and bless the race.”
How to Be an Antiracist by Ibram X. Kendi (Author)
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the National Book Award–winning author of Stamped from the Beginning comes a “groundbreaking” (Time) approach to understanding and uprooting racism and inequality in our society—and in ourselves.
“The most courageous book to date on the problem of race in the Western mind.”—The New York Times
NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR BY The New York Times Book Review • Time • NPR • The Washington Post • Shelf Awareness • Library Journal • Publishers Weekly • Kirkus Reviews
Antiracism is a transformative concept that reorients and reenergizes the conversation about racism—and, even more fundamentally, points us toward liberating new ways of thinking about ourselves and each other. At its core, racism is a powerful system that creates false hierarchies of human value; its warped logic extends beyond race, from the way we regard people of different ethnicities or skin colors to the way we treat people of different sexes, gender identities, and body types. Racism intersects with class and culture and geography and even changes the way we see and value ourselves. In How to Be an Antiracist, Kendi takes readers through a widening circle of antiracist ideas—from the most basic concepts to visionary possibilities—that will help readers see all forms of racism clearly, understand their poisonous consequences, and work to oppose them in our systems and in ourselves.
Kendi weaves an electrifying combination of ethics, history, law, and science with his own personal story of awakening to antiracism. This is an essential work for anyone who wants to go beyond the awareness of racism to the next step: contributing to the formation of a just and equitable society.
Praise for How to Be an Antiracist
“Ibram X. Kendi’s new book, How to Be an Antiracist, couldn’t come at a better time. . . . Kendi has gifted us with a book that is not only an essential instruction manual but also a memoir of the author’s own path from anti-black racism to anti-white racism and, finally, to antiracism. . . . How to Be an Antiracist gives us a clear and compelling way to approach, as Kendi puts it in his introduction, ‘the basic struggle we’re all in, the struggle to be fully human and to see that others are fully human.’ ”—NPR
“Kendi dissects why in a society where so few people consider themselves to be racist the divisions and inequalities of racism remain so prevalent. How to Be an Antiracist punctures the myths of a post-racial America, examining what racism really is—and what we should do about it.”—Time
The Employee Engagement Mindset: The Six Drivers for Tapping into the Hidden Potential of Everyone in Your Company by Timothy R. Clark
Create and deploy the most powerful competitive weapon in business today–the Self-Empowered Employee
The Employee Engagement Mindset outlines a simple six-part shared manager/employee model for increasing engagement: Shaping, Connecting, Learning, Stretching, Achieving, and Contributing. It shifts the paradigm of engagement from an employer-centered model to an employee-centered view. By emphasizing shared manager and personal responsibility, coupled with intrinsic motivation, you will dramatically increase employee engagement.
Timothy R. Clark is founder and CEO of TRClark LLC, a consultancy that provides advisory services in leadership, change management, and employee engagement.
Me and White Supremacy: Combat Racism, Change the World, and Become a Good Ancestor by Layla Saad (Author), Robin DiAngelo (Foreword)
The New York Times and USA Today bestseller! This eye-opening book challenges you to do the essential work of unpacking your biases, and helps white people take action and dismantle the privilege within themselves so that you can stop (often unconsciously) inflicting damage on people of color, and in turn, help other white people do better, too.
“Layla Saad is one of the most important and valuable teachers we have right now on the subject of white supremacy and racial injustice.”―New York Times bestselling author Elizabeth Gilbert
Based on the viral Instagram challenge that captivated participants worldwide, Me and White Supremacy takes readers on a 28-day journey, complete with journal prompts, to do the necessary and vital work that can ultimately lead to improving race relations.
Updated and expanded from the original workbook (downloaded by nearly 100,000 people), this critical text helps you take the work deeper by adding more historical and cultural contexts, sharing moving stories and anecdotes, and including expanded definitions, examples, and further resources, giving you the language to understand racism, and to dismantle your own biases, whether you are using the book on your own, with a book club, or looking to start family activism in your own home.
This book will walk you step-by-step through the work of examining:
- Examining your own white privilege
- What allyship really means
- Anti-blackness, racial stereotypes, and cultural appropriation
- Changing the way that you view and respond to race
- How to continue the work to create social change
- Awareness leads to action, and action leads to change. For readers of White Fragility, White Rage, So You Want To Talk About Race, The New Jim Crow, How to Be an Anti-Racist and more who are ready to closely examine their own beliefs and biases and do the work it will take to create social change.
“Layla Saad moves her readers from their heads into their hearts, and ultimately, into their practice. We won’t end white supremacy through an intellectual understanding alone; we must put that understanding into action.”―Robin DiAngelo, author of New York Times bestseller White Fragility
Leadership Bones: 5 Lessons to Lead Anyone, Anywhere, Anytime by Timothy R. Clark
If you were suddenly promoted to leadership without warning and had one hour to prepare, what would you do? Where would you look for advice? That is the formidable task of this book. A quick start resource, “Leadership Bones” will skill and scale you up and prepare you for exemplary service as a leader. The five leadership bones represent the foundation and irreducible minimum on which all good leadership is built. No leader ever graduates from living the bones, and no leader succeeds who ignores them.
And
The Leadership Test: Will You Pass? by Timothy R Clark (Author)
An insightful and engaging story about the essence of leadership. Izzy Kroll, a brilliant eccentric teaches high school in a tough section of Chicago. The story unfolds as Izzy mentors his former student, Marcus, in the first lessons of leadership, helping him navigate through the real world of egos, agendas, and ethical dilemmas.
A call to action for all leaders, this book is a quick and powerful read that will motivate you to reflect on your intent and influence as a leader.
The book includes a self-assessment based on the five elements of the leadership test:
- Fill Your Pack.
- Sign Your Name.
- Share the Stage.
- Take the Oath.
- Pour Your Cup.
“The book stopped me in my tracks. In a word, it’s brilliant.” Britt Berrett, CEO, Medical City Dallas Hospital.
“An instant classic.” Glenda Shelby, VP of Diversity, Accor Hospitality.
“This book should be required reading for anyone interested in leadership.” LaVell Edwards, Hall of Fame Football Coach.
“Beautifully succinct and packs a life-changing punch.” Sharlene Hawkes, Chief Marketing Officer, Story Rock, Miss America 1985.
“A high impact experience. Simple, elegant, and profound.” Christopher Germann, Vice President, Gartner, Inc.
“Masterfully defines the fundamentals of leadership.” James Larson, United Airlines.
“A wake up call for many leaders and a handbook for those of us preparing to move into positions of leadership.” Benjamin Bloomfield, graduate student, University of Virginia.
“Dr. Clark’s enlightening narrative will be extremely helpful to all students of leadership.” Steve Holtom, former principal, Idaho Falls High School.
“Dr. Clark does a brilliant job of bringing us back to basics. This book will be required reading in my company.” Wesley Bull, President, Sentinel Training & Logistics, LLC.
The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together by Heather McGhee (Author)
NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • One of today’s most insightful and influential thinkers offers a powerful exploration of inequality and the lesson that generations of Americans have failed to learn: Racism has a cost for everyone—not just for people of color.
“This is the book I’ve been waiting for.”—Ibram X. Kendi, #1 New York Times bestselling author of How to Be an Antiracist
Heather McGhee’s specialty is the American economy—and the mystery of why it so often fails the American public. From the financial crisis to rising student debt to collapsing public infrastructure, she found a common root problem: racism. But not just in the most obvious indignities for people of color. Racism has costs for white people, too. It is the common denominator of our most vexing public problems, the core dysfunction of our democracy and constitutive of the spiritual and moral crises that grip us all. But how did this happen? And is there a way out?
McGhee embarks on a deeply personal journey across the country from Maine to Mississippi to California, tallying what we lose when we buy into the zero-sum paradigm—the idea that progress for some of us must come at the expense of others. Along the way, she meets white people who confide in her about losing their homes, their dreams, and their shot at better jobs to the toxic mix of American racism and greed. This is the story of how public goods in this country—from parks and pools to functioning schools—have become private luxuries; of how unions collapsed, wages stagnated, and inequality increased; and of how this country, unique among the world’s advanced economies, has thwarted universal healthcare.
But in unlikely places of worship and work, McGhee finds proof of what she calls the Solidarity Dividend: gains that come when people come together across race, to accomplish what we simply can’t do on our own.
The Sum of Us is a brilliant analysis of how we arrived here: divided and self-destructing, materially rich but spiritually starved and vastly unequal. McGhee marshals economic and sociological research to paint an irrefutable story of racism’s costs, but at the heart of the book are the humble stories of people yearning to be part of a better America, including white supremacy’s collateral victims: white people themselves. With startling empathy, this heartfelt message from a Black woman to a multiracial America leaves us with a new vision for a future in which we finally realize that life can be more than a zero-sum game.
EPIC Change: How to Lead Change in the Global Age Kindle Edition by Timothy R. Clark (Author)
“More than ever, leaders are expected to be the change agents of their organizations. Yet CEO turnover continues to rise and organizations continue to struggle in their efforts to confront the fearsome adaptive challenges of the global age. Epic Change is a path-breaking contribution to the study of leadership and organizational change. Based on a landmark study of 53 cases of large-scale organizational change in business, healthcare, government, education, and the non-profit sector, acclaimed thought leader and researcher, Dr. Timothy R. Clark unveils the “Power Curve of Change” framework and EPIC system for change management (Evaluate, Prepare, Implement, Consolidate) for leaders who are charged to lead high-stakes change initiatives in their organizations.
Epic Change presents a strategic-level road map, along with tactical level tools, for the every-day needs of leaders who must respond to all types of adaptive challenge to remain competitive. It represents a comprehensive, research-based program for leaders who want to develop the indispensable competency of leading change in a permanently and profoundly different age.
Change rarely fails for lack of strategy—Clark shows that only the discretionary efforts of people can make change happen—and this requires leadership and energy management. The Epic Change approach has been successfully field-tested with leaders at all levels and in organizations around the world. This important resource provides leaders new research-based tools to increase and sustain the energy of any change effort.”
How to Be an Inclusive Leader: Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive by Jennifer Brown
We know why diversity is important, but how do we drive real change at work? Diversity and inclusion expert Jennifer Brown provides a step-by-step guide for the personal and emotional journey we must undertake to create an inclusive workplace where everyone can thrive.
Human potential is unleashed when we feel like we belong. That’s why inclusive workplaces experience higher engagement, performance, and profits. But the reality is that many people still feel unable to bring their true selves to work. In a world where the talent pool is becoming increasingly diverse, it’s more important than ever for leaders to truly understand how to support inclusion.
Drawing on years of work with many leading organizations, Jennifer Brown shows what leaders at any level can do to spark real change. She guides readers through the Inclusive Leader Continuum, a set of four developmental stages: unaware, aware, active, and advocate. Brown describes the hallmarks of each stage, the behaviours and mind-sets that inform it, and what readers can do to keep progressing. Whether you’re a powerful CEO or a new employee without direct reports, there are actions you can take that can drastically change the day-to-day reality for your colleagues and the trajectory of your organization.
Anyone can–and should–be an inclusive leader. Brown lays out simple steps to help you understand your role, boost your self-awareness, take action, and become a better version of yourself in the process. This book will meet you where you are and provide a road map to create a workplace of greater mutual understanding where everyone’s talents can shine.
Blindspot: Hidden Biases of Good People by Mahzarin R. Banaji (Author), Anthony G. Greenwald (Author)
“Accessible and authoritative . . . While we may not have much power to eradicate our own prejudices, we can counteract them. The first step is to turn a hidden bias into a visible one. . . . What if we’re not the magnanimous people we think we are?”—The Washington Post
I know my own mind.
I am able to assess others in a fair and accurate way.
These self-perceptions are challenged by leading psychologists Mahzarin R. Banaji and Anthony G. Greenwald as they explore the hidden biases we all carry from a lifetime of exposure to cultural attitudes about age, gender, race, ethnicity, religion, social class, sexuality, disability status, and nationality.
“Blindspot” is the authors’ metaphor for the portion of the mind that houses hidden biases. Writing with simplicity and verve, Banaji and Greenwald question the extent to which our perceptions of social groups—without our awareness or conscious control—shape our likes and dislikes and our judgments about people’s character, abilities, and potential.
In Blindspot, the authors reveal hidden biases based on their experience with the Implicit Association Test, a method that has revolutionized the way scientists learn about the human mind and that gives us a glimpse into what lies within the metaphoric blindspot.
The title’s “good people” are those of us who strive to align our behavior with our intentions. The aim of Blindspot is to explain the science in plain enough language to help well-intentioned people achieve that alignment. By gaining awareness, we can adapt beliefs and behavior and “outsmart the machine” in our heads so we can be fairer to those around us. Venturing into this book is an invitation to understand our own minds.
Brilliant, authoritative, and utterly accessible, Blindspot is a book that will challenge and change readers for years to come.
Praise for Blindspot
“Conversational . . . easy to read, and best of all, it has the potential, at least, to change the way you think about yourself.”—Leonard Mlodinow, The New York Review of Books
“Banaji and Greenwald deserve a major award for writing such a lively and engaging book that conveys an important message: Mental processes that we are not aware of can affect what we think and what we do. Blindspot is one of the most illuminating books ever written on this topic.”—Elizabeth F. Loftus, Ph.D., distinguished professor, University of California, Irvine; past president, Association for Psychological Science; author of Eyewitness Testimony
Subtle Acts of Exclusion: How to Understand, Identify, and Stop Microaggressions by Tiffany Jana (Author), Michael Baran (Author)
The first practical handbook that helps individuals and organizations recognize and prevent microaggressions so that all employees can feel a sense of belonging.
Our workplaces and society are growing more diverse, but are we supporting inclusive cultures? While overt racism, sexism, ableism, and other forms of discrimination are relatively easy to spot, we cannot neglect the subtler everyday actions that normalize exclusion. Many have heard the term microaggression, but not everyone fully understands what they are or how to recognize them and stop them from happening.
Tiffany Jana and Michael Baran offer a clearer, more accessible term, subtle acts of exclusion, or SAEs, to emphasize the purpose and effects of these actions. After all, people generally aren’t trying to be aggressive–usually they’re trying to say something nice, learn more about a person, be funny, or build closeness. But whether in the form of exaggerated stereotypes, backhanded compliments, unfounded assumptions, or objectification, SAE are damaging to our coworkers, friends, and acquaintances.
Jana and Baran give simple and clear tools to identify and address such acts, offering scripts and action plans for everybody involved. Knowing how to have these conversations in an open-minded, honest way will help us build trust and create stronger workplaces and healthier, happier people and communities.
We Can’t Talk about That at Work!: How to Talk about Race, Religion, Politics, and Other Polarizing Topics by Mary-Frances Winters (Author)
Instead of shutting down any mention of taboo topics, Mary-Frances Winters shows how to structure intentional conversations about them, so people can safely confront biases and stereotypes and create stronger, more inclusive organizations.
Politics, religion, race – we can’t talk about topics like these at work, right? But in fact, these conversations are happening all the time, either in real life or virtually via social media. And if they aren’t handled effectively, they can become more polarizing and divisive, impacting productivity, engagement, retention, teamwork, and even employees’ sense of safety in the workplace. But you can turn that around and address difficult topics in a way that brings people together instead of driving them apart.
As a thought leader in the field of diversity and inclusion, Mary-Frances Winters has been helping clients create inclusive environments for over three decades. In this concise and powerful book, she shows you how to lay the groundwork for having bold, inclusive conversations.
Even with the best of intentions, you can’t just start talking about taboo topics – that’s wandering into a minefield. Winters offers exercises and tools to help you become aware of how your cultural background has shaped your perceptions and habits and to increase your understanding of how people from other cultures may differ from you, particularly when it comes to communicating and handling conflict.
Once you’re ready (you can take the self-assessment included in the book to make sure), Winters gives detailed instructions on exactly how to structure these conversations. She emphasizes that this is a process, not a destination—you may not be able to resolve major issues nicely and neatly in just one conversation. And while the process is important, so is intent. She urges readers to “come from your heart, learn from your mistakes, and continue to contribute to making this a more inclusive world for all.”
Black Fatigue: How Racism Erodes the Mind, Body, and Spirit by Mary-Frances Winters (Author)
This is the first book to define and explore Black fatigue, the intergenerational impact of systemic racism on the physical and psychological health of Black people–and explain why and how society needs to collectively do more to combat its pernicious effects.
Black people, young and old, are fatigued, says award-winning diversity and inclusion leader Mary-Frances Winters. It is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining to continue to experience inequities and even atrocities, day after day, when justice is a God-given and legislated right. And it is exhausting to have to constantly explain this to white people, even–and especially–well-meaning white people, who fall prey to white fragility and too often are unwittingly complicit in upholding the very systems they say they want dismantled.
This book, designed to illuminate the myriad dire consequences of “living while Black,” came at the urging of Winters’s Black friends and colleagues. Winters describes how in every aspect of life–from economics to education, work, criminal justice, and, very importantly, health outcomes–for the most part, the trajectory for Black people is not improving. It is paradoxical that, with all the attention focused over the last fifty years on social justice and diversity and inclusion, little progress has been made in actualizing the vision of an equitable society.
Black people are quite literally sick and tired of being sick and tired. Winters writes that “my hope for this book is that it will provide a comprehensive summary of the consequences of Black fatigue, and awaken activism in those who care about equity and justice–those who care that intergenerational fatigue is tearing at the very core of a whole race of people who are simply asking for what they deserve.”
Reading group discussion guide available.
Dirty Diversity: A Practical Guide to Foster an Equitable and Inclusive Workplace for All by Janice Gassam PhD (Author), Debra Palmer (Editor), Shantia Coleman (Illustrator)
Dirty Diversity is a practical guide for organizations looking to strengthen their diversity, equity and inclusion efforts. This guide includes strategies for effective conversations on challenging topics, tips for creating workplace training sessions and workshops and cost-effective ways to improve the corporate culture. Gassam reveals her success stories as well as not-so-successful stories from her consulting experiences, and what was learned along the way. This book was written with employees, practitioners and organizational leaders in mind.
So You Want to Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo (Author)
In this New York Times bestseller, Ijeoma Oluo offers a hard-hitting but user-friendly examination of race in America
Widespread reporting on aspects of white supremacy — from police brutality to the mass incarceration of Black Americans — has put a media spotlight on racism in our society. Still, it is a difficult subject to talk about. How do you tell your roommate her jokes are racist? Why did your sister-in-law take umbrage when you asked to touch her hair — and how do you make it right? How do you explain white privilege to your white, privileged friend?
In So You Want to Talk About Race, Ijeoma Oluo guides readers of all races through subjects ranging from intersectionality and affirmative action to “model minorities” in an attempt to make the seemingly impossible possible: honest conversations about race and racism, and how they infect almost every aspect of American life.
“I am in awe of Ijeoma. She is the smartest, most courageous and electrifying young writer on race relations today — the voice of our times.” ―Robin DiAngelo, author of White Fragility
“Simply put: Ijeoma Oluo is a necessary voice and intellectual for these times, and any time, truth be told.” ―Phoebe Robinson, New York Times bestselling author of You Can’t Touch My Hair
The Racial Healing Handbook: Practical Activities to Help You Challenge Privilege, Confront Systemic Racism, and Engage in Collective Healing (The Social Justice Handbook Series) by Anneliese A. Singh PhD LPC (Author), Derald Wing Sue Ph.D. (Afterword), Tim Wise (Foreword)
A powerful and practical guide to help you navigate racism, challenge privilege, manage stress and trauma, and begin to heal.
Healing from racism is a journey that often involves reliving trauma and experiencing feelings of shame, guilt, and anxiety. This journey can be a bumpy ride, and before we begin healing, we need to gain an understanding of the role history plays in racial/ethnic myths and stereotypes. In so many ways, to heal from racism, you must re-educate yourself and unlearn the processes of racism. This book can help guide you.
The Racial Healing Handbook offers practical tools to help you navigate daily and past experiences of racism, challenge internalized negative messages and privileges, and handle feelings of stress and shame. You’ll also learn to develop a profound racial consciousness and conscientiousness, and heal from grief and trauma. Most importantly, you’ll discover the building blocks to creating a community of healing in a world still filled with racial microaggressions and discrimination.
This book is not just about ending racial harm—it is about racial liberation. This journey is one that we must take together. It promises the possibility of moving through this pain and grief to experience the hope, resilience, and freedom that helps you not only self-actualize, but also makes the world a better place.
Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence: Understanding and Facilitating Difficult Dialogues on Race by Derald Wing Sue (Author)
Turn Uncomfortable Conversations into Meaningful Dialogue
If you believe that talking about race is impolite, or that “colorblindness” is the preferred approach, you must read this book. Race Talk and the Conspiracy of Silence debunks the most pervasive myths using evidence, easy-to-understand examples, and practical tools.
This significant work answers all your questions about discussing race by covering:
- Characteristics of typical, unproductive conversations on race
- Tacit and explicit social rules related to talking about racial issues
- Race-specific difficulties and misconceptions regarding race talk
- Concrete advice for educators and parents on approaching race in a new way
“His insistence on the need to press through resistance to have difficult conversations about race is a helpful corrective for a society that prefers to remain silent about these issues.”
―Christopher Wells, Vice President for Student Life at DePauw University
“In a Canadian context, the work of Dr. Derald Wing Sue in Race Talk: and the Conspiracy of Silence is the type of material needed to engage a populace that is often described as ‘Too Polite.’ The accessible material lets individuals engage in difficult conversations about race and racism in ways that make the uncomfortable topics less threatening, resulting in a true ‘dialogue’ rather than a debate.”
―Darrell Bowden, M Ed. Education and Awareness Coordinator, Ryerson University
“He offers those of us who work in the Diversity and Inclusion space practical tools for generating productive dialogues that transcend the limiting constraints of assumptions about race and identity.”
―Rania Sanford, Ed.D. Associate Chancellor for Strategic Affairs and Diversity, Stanford University
“Sue’s book is a must-read for any parent, teacher, professor, practioner, trainer, and facilitator who seeks to learn, understand, and advance difficult dialogues about issues of race in classrooms, workplaces, and boardrooms. It is a book of empowerment for activists, allies, or advocates who want to be instruments of change and to help move America from silence and inaction to discussion, engagement, and action on issues of difference and diversity. Integrating real life examples of difficult dialogues that incorporate the range of human emotions, Sue provides a masterful illustration of the complexities of dialogues about race in America. More importantly, he provides a toolkit for those who seek to undertake the courageous journey of understanding and facilitating difficult conversations about race.”
―Menah Pratt-Clarke, JD, PhD, Associate Provost for Diversity, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health: Navigate an Unequal System, Learn Tools for Emotional Wellness, and Get the Help you Deserve by Rheeda Walker PhD (Author), Na’im Akbar PhD (Foreword)
An unapologetic exploration of the Black mental health crisis—and a comprehensive road map to getting the care you deserve in an unequal system.
We can’t deny it any longer: there is a Black mental health crisis in our world today. Black people die at disproportionately high rates due to chronic illness, suffer from poverty, under-education, and the effects of racism. This book is an exploration of Black mental health in today’s world, the forces that have undermined mental health progress for African Americans, and what needs to happen for African Americans to heal psychological distress, find community, and undo years of stigma and marginalization in order to access effective mental health care.
In The Unapologetic Guide to Black Mental Health, psychologist and African American mental health expert Rheeda Walker offers important information on the mental health crisis in the Black community, how to combat stigma, spot potential mental illness, how to practice emotional wellness, and how to get the best care possible in system steeped in racial bias.
This breakthrough book will help you:
- Recognize mental and emotional health problems
- Understand the myriad ways in which these problems impact overall health and quality of life and relationships
- Develop psychological tools to neutralize ongoing stressors and live more fully
- Navigate a mental health care system that is unequal
It’s past time to take Black mental health seriously. Whether you suffer yourself, have a loved one who needs help, or are a mental health professional working with the Black community, this book is an essential and much-needed resource.
The 5 Disciplines of Inclusive Leaders: Unleashing the Power of All of Us by Andrés Tapia (Author), Alina Polonskaia (Author)
Diversity initiatives are falling short. This book shows leaders how to develop the skills needed to build sustainably inclusive organizations using a tested, research-based model developed by the global organizational consulting firm Korn Ferry.
According to the journal Human Resource Management, companies are spending over $8 billion a year on diversity programs. Yet today, the senior leadership teams at Fortune 500 companies are far from mirroring the diversity of its workforce and its customers. Andrés Tapia and Alina Polonskaia, senior leaders at Korn Ferry, argue that to build sustainable diversity and inclusion, organizations need to have inclusive leaders at all levels.
In this book, Tapia and Polonskaia draw on Korn Ferry’s massive database of 3 million leadership assessments to reveal the essential qualities of inclusive leaders. They discuss the personality traits these leaders share and detail how to develop what they call the five disciplines of inclusive leadership: building interpersonal trust, integrating diverse perspectives, optimizing talent, applying an adaptive mindset, and achieving transformation.
Tapia and Polonskaia also outline the competencies behind each discipline, describe individual and organizational exemplars of inclusive leadership, and show how the five disciplines enable leaders to unleash the power of all people and to build both structurally and behaviourally inclusive organizations. This book will help leaders foster the skills to deal with today’s complex challenges and create a more inclusive, sustainable, and prosperous future for all of us.
Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture by Amber Cabral (Author)
Learn to create an inclusive environment with this actionable and insightful resource
Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture delivers a powerful and useful message about inclusion and diversity in everyday life. Author Amber Cabral, a celebrated inclusion strategist, speaker, and writer, shows readers how to move away from discriminatory and unjust behaviors to supporting and building meaningful connections with people across our diverse backgrounds and identities.
While some books settle for vague advice and catchphrases, readers of Allies and Advocates will benefit from the book’s:
- Straightforward style and applicable action items
- Real-world examples highlighting inclusion best practices
- Implementable tactics to assist people in seeing how they can help create an inclusive environment
Perfect for anyone who works in a professional environment, Allies and Advocates is especially useful for those in middle and upper management and those involved in the training and orientation of employees. If you are looking forward to building a culture of inclusivity at work or in your personal relationships, and want to learn how to use your privilege to be a better ally, Allies and Advocates: Creating an Inclusive and Equitable Culture is a must-have.
UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias at Work by Stacey A. Gordon (Author)
Let the CEO of Rework Work help you understand diversity, equity, and inclusion concepts to actively remove bias from the workplace
Dismantling unhealthy workplaces involves much more than talking about it, and more than charts, graphs, and statistics—it requires action. Although it’s increasingly common for businesses of all shapes and sizes to appreciate the importance of diversity and inclusion in the workplace, many are often unaware of bias in the cultures they’ve created. Others might know there’s a problem, but don’t know how to properly address it.
UNBIAS: Addressing Unconscious Bias At Work helps you understand concepts of workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion, shows you how to identify bias, and provides you with the tools for actively removing barriers and ensuring equity throughout your organization. Written by Stacey Gordon—CEO of Rework Work, a company on a mission to reduce bias in global talent acquisition and management—this real-world handbook offers step-by-step guidance on creating workplace cultures where employees feel they belong.
UNBIAS teaches you to:
- Identify and address bias in the workplace
- Understand what you can do to be more inclusive
- Handle potentially uncomfortable conversations
- Discuss race in an authentic and meaningful way
- Use workplace-proven tools that make concepts of diversity and equity actionable
- Help your employee resource groups without giving them extra work
- Place accountability on organizational policies that allow biased behaviour
UNBIAS is a must-have resource for all employers, managers, and HR professionals seeking to create and sustain healthy, inclusive, and equitable workplace environments.
Inclusion: Diversity, The New Workplace & The Will to Change by Jennifer Brown
Embrace Diversity and Thrive As An Organization
In the rapidly changing business landscape, harnessing the power of diversity and inclusion is essential for the very viability and sustainability of every organization. Talent who feel fully welcomed, valued, respected, and heard by their colleagues and their organizations will fuel this growth. We will only succeed in this transformation if those in leadership pivot from command and control management styles to reinvent how we look at people, every organization’s greatest asset. It’s also critical that we build systems that embrace diversity in all its forms, from identity and background to diversity of thought, style, approach, and experience, tying it directly to the bottom line.
Inclusion: Diversity, the New Workplace & the Will to Change stands up and embraces what true diversity and inclusion represent to any organization in any industry-an opportunity.
Open your heart and prepare to be inspired as award-winning entrepreneur, dynamic speaker, and respected diversity and inclusion expert Jennifer Brown shares proven strategies to empower members of your entire organization to utilize all of their talents and potential to drive positive organizational change and the future of work.
Inclusive Leadership: The Definitive Guide to Developing and Executing an Impactful Diversity and Inclusion Strategy: – Locally and Globally by Charlotte Sweeney (Author), Fleur Bothwick (Author)
Inclusive Leadership has been officially shortlisted in the ‘Management Futures’ category for the 2018 Management Book of the Year prize which has just been announced by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the British Library.
The most successful organisations are those with the most diverse and engaged workforces. Studies show an 80% improvement in business performance among those with high diversity levels. When people feel included and able to reach their full potential, they are more engaged, more productive and often more creative.
Inclusive Leadership will help you drive culture change using organisational development principles. It takes you through the key components of leading change throughout the employee lifecycle, your supply chain, and through product development. Crucially, it will help you make a genuine impact on your business, through your people, both now and in the future.
Compassionate Leadership: How to create and maintain engaged, committed and high-performing teams by Manley Hopkinson (Author)
Forcing compliance is easy. Anyone can ‘make’ another do a task or a job. It will get done, but when, and to what standard? High performance and, more importantly, sustained high performance can only come from engagement with and commitment to the job in hand.
This book will introduce you to the art of compassionate leadership – the art of getting the best for and out of people through the fulfilment of self-worth. It will show leaders how to give their teams a real sense of purpose and direction in order to motivate and inspire them to perform at a high level.
To illustrate his message, author Manley Hopkinson draws on his background as a board member of companies including ATLAS Consortium and Hewlett Packard Defence UK, his career as an inspirational speaker and his adventure experiences as skipper in the BT Global Challenge (a round the world yacht race) and The Polar Race (an expedition style race to the Magnetic North Pole).
Inclusive Education: A Practical Guide to Supporting Diversity in the Classroom by Joanne Deppeler (Author), David Harvey (Author), Tim Loreman (Author)
Inclusive education continues to be an exciting but challenging component of the everyday life of the classroom teacher. Whist there is no recipe for successful inclusion, meaningful inclusion involves engaging in a flexible process in which educators work in partnership with parents, students, and other professionals in order to meet the needs of all children.
Drawing from conceptual principles and empirical findings, this fully revised edition of Inclusive Education demonstrates how to empower teachers and leaders and foster professional practices that create a successful inclusive school community. Presenting a hands-on process that addresses evidence, partnerships, curriculum and instruction, this book strikes the right balance between theory and practice. The authors provide educational leaders and school reformers with tools for collaborating and doing the work of improving inclusive practices for equity and student learning.
Including links to web resources that include a huge range of planning templates and assessment tools, as well as procedures to create school-based leadership teams to drive and sustain discussions and decision-making, this extensive text and collection of tools is invaluable for students, school leaders and teachers who are serious about ensuring success for all students.
Erasing Institutional Bias: How to Create Systemic Change for Organizational Inclusion by Tiffany Jana (Author), Ashley Diaz Mejias (Author), Jay Coen Gilbert (Foreword)
All humans have bias, and as a result, so do the institutions we build. Internationally sought after diversity consultant Tiffany Jana offers concrete ways for anyone to work against institutional bias no matter what their position is in an organization.
While it is easy to identify intentionally built systems of oppression like Jim Crow or the paralysis caused by the glass ceiling for women in the workplace, confronting systems that perpetuate subtle, unconscious bias is much harder. Erasing Institutional Bias will help people tackle structural bias regardless of their positional power.
Eliminating systemic bias can seem an insurmountable task from the vantage point of an ordinary individual, yet Jana and Mejias empower readers to recognize that each of us has the ability to affect systemic bias through a deliberate, coordinated effort. Institutional bias afflicts all industries –including business, education, health care, government, tech, the arts, nonprofits, and finance and banking. Among the types of institutional bias addressed are hiring bias, gender bias, racial bias, occupational bias, and customer bias.
Jana and Mejias focus their attention on bias in the workplace and give readers practices and activities to create organizational trust to challenge these implicit biases. Erasing Institutional Bias will help people recognize that each of us has the power to affect systemic bias. Each of us can evaluate our own current role in perpetuating systemic bias and define our new role in breaking down systemic bias.
Why Are All the Black Kids Sitting Together in the Cafeteria?: And Other Conversations About Race by Beverly Daniel Tatum (Author)
The classic, New York Times-bestselling book on the psychology of racism that shows us how to talk about race in America.
Walk into any racially mixed high school and you will see Black, White, and Latino youth clustered in their own groups. Is this self-segregation a problem to address or a coping strategy? How can we get past our reluctance to discuss racial issues?
Beverly Daniel Tatum, a renowned authority on the psychology of racism, argues that straight talk about our racial identities is essential if we are serious about communicating across racial and ethnic divides and pursuing antiracism. These topics have only become more urgent as the national conversation about race is increasingly acrimonious. This fully revised edition is essential reading for anyone seeking to understand dynamics of race and racial inequality in America.
The Pink Elephant: A Practical Guide to Creating an Anti-Racist Organization by Janice Gassam Asare PhD (Author), Debra Palmer (Editor), Shantia Coleman (Illustrator)
The Racial Revolution of 2020 pushed anti-racism to the forefront of the global conversation. For the first time in history, many companies have had to take an honest look at how little progress has been made in regard to racial equity in the workplace. The diversity, equity, and inclusion industry has been around for decades and strides have been made to create a more diverse workforce, however, more must be done to ensure that people of various backgrounds feel respected, valued and included.
The Pink Elephant is a practical guide to creating a more racially equitable workplace for all employees. This book explores tools for effective racial dialogue, how to unpack and understand our privilege, best practices for anti-racism workshops, and strategies to break the habit of systemic racism in the workplace. For anyone looking to transfer the lessons learned in the summer of 2020 into corporate America, this is the book for you.
Diversity in the Workplace: Eye-Opening Interviews to Jumpstart Conversations about Identity, Privilege, and Bias by Bärí A. Williams (Author)
Contemporary and compassionate teachings for building true workplace diversity
In order to create an inclusive working environment, it is important for companies to understand the experiences that diverse employees face in the workplace. Diversity in the Workplace is a guided tour of what it means to be a minority in today’s labor force.
Containing 25 real-life interviews, including stories of trailblazers fighting inequality, you’ll be exposed to a slice of life you may not have been privy to. This book explores real world issues in a modern workday dynamic for members of marginalized communities and managers looking to equalize an imbalance.
Diversity in the Workplace includes:
- Exploring intersectionality―Learn about the diversity identities shaping disparity at work: Race, Gender, LGBTQ+, Age & Ability, and Religion & Culture.
- Key takeaways―Each section is followed by summaries that encourage reflection and action.
- Deep dive―Learn tips on how to have progressive conversations with colleagues, and build awareness with key terms such as “unconscious bias.”
Move toward a fairer and bias-conscious future with Diversity in the Workplace.
The Memo: What Women of Color Need to Know to Secure a Seat at the Table by Minda Harts (Author)
From microaggressions to the wage gap, The Memo empowers women of color with actionable advice on challenges and offers a clear path to success.
Most business books provide a one-size-fits-all approach to career advice that overlooks the unique barriers that women of colour face. In The Memo, Minda Harts offers a much-needed career guide tailored specifically for women of colour.
Drawing on knowledge gained from her past career as a fundraising consultant to top colleges across the country, Harts now brings her powerhouse entrepreneurial experience as CEO of The Memo to the page. With wit and candour, she acknowledges “ugly truths” that keep women of colour from having a seat at the table in corporate America. Providing straight talk on how to navigate networking, office politics, and money, while showing how to make real change to the system, The Memo offers support and long-overdue advice on how women of colour can succeed in their careers.
The Gifts of Imperfection: Let Go of Who You Think You’re Supposed to Be and Embrace Who You Are by Brené Brown (Author)
Brené Brown’s game-changing New York Times bestseller, The Gifts of Imperfection, has sold more than 2 million copies in more than 30 different languages and is celebrating its 10th Anniversary in print. Forbes magazine named Gifts one of the “Five Books That Will Actually Change Your Outlook On Life.” Through this self-help classic we find courage to overcome paralyzing fear and self-consciousness, strengthening our connection to the world and helping us to believe we are worthy of self-discovery, personal growth, and boundless love.
A motivational and inspiring guide to wholehearted living, rather than just the average self-help book, with this groundbreaking work Brené Brown, Ph.D., bolsters the self-esteem and personal development process through her characteristic heartfelt, honest storytelling. With original research and plenty of encouragement, she explores the psychology of releasing our definitions of an “imperfect” life and embracing living authentically. Brown’s “ten guideposts” are benchmarks for authenticity that can help anyone establish a practice for a life of honest beauty—a perfectly imperfect life.
Now more than ever, we all need to cultivate feelings of self-worth, as well as acceptance and love for ourselves. In a world where insults, criticisms, and fears are spread too generously alongside messages of unrealistic beauty, attainment, and expectation, we look for ways to “dig deep” and find truth and gratitude in our lives. A new way forward means we can’t hold on too tightly to our own self-defeating thoughts or the displaced pain in our world. Instead, we can embrace the imperfection.
I Thought It Was Just Me (but it isn’t): Making the Journey from “What Will People Think?” to “I Am Enough” by Brené Brown (Author)
Researcher, thought leader, and New York Times bestselling author Brené Brown offers a liberating study on the importance of our imperfections—both to our relationships and to our own sense of self
The quest for perfection is exhausting and unrelenting. There is a constant barrage of social expectations that teach us that being imperfect is synonymous with being inadequate. Everywhere we turn, there are messages that tell us who, what and how we’re supposed to be. So, we learn to hide our struggles and protect ourselves from shame, judgment, criticism and blame by seeking safety in pretending and perfection.
Brené Brown, PhD, LMSW, is the leading authority on the power of vulnerability, and has inspired thousands through her top-selling books Daring Greatly, Rising Strong, and The Gifts of Imperfection, her wildly popular TEDx talks, and a PBS special. Based on seven years of her ground-breaking research and hundreds of interviews, I Thought It Was Just Me shines a long-overdue light on an important truth: Our imperfections are what connect us to each other and to our humanity. Our vulnerabilities are not weaknesses; they are powerful reminders to keep our hearts and minds open to the reality that we’re all in this together.
Brown writes, “We need our lives back. It’s time to reclaim the gifts of imperfection—the courage to be real, the compassion we need to love ourselves and others, and the connection that gives true purpose and meaning to life. These are the gifts that bring love, laughter, gratitude, empathy and joy into our lives.”