“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
– Maya Angelou

Each month in this newsletter, I’ve challenged you to think about issues of diversity, equity, inclusion, and antiracism (DEIA) with a critical lens. I’ve shared my perspective on current events as well as persistent workplace issues that affect your Black and brown employees. I hope that over the course of these months, you have learned something new.

This month, I’m going to take it in a slightly different direction.

Because the truth of the matter is that learning is not simply about reading this newsletter (or anything else for that matter). Learning is multidimensional. To really learn, you must do more than absorb. You must also go through intentional steps of integrating whatever it is you’ve absorbed into your life. That requires deep self-reflection, processing what you’re learning, and continuing to move to action around it. It requires behavioral change.

This month I’d love to ask you to think about your own personal responsibility and level of self-awareness as it relates to your continued engagement in and advancement of DEIA work. As a general note, these questions are not just for reading. Please take a moment to answer them.

Let’s go back to May 2020, immediately following the murder of George Floyd:

• How were you feeling about race relations?
• What realizations did you have about the world that we live in?
• What issues were new to you? What long-standing issues were confirmed for you?
• What impact did this global event have on your leadership or management?

Now, three and a half years later, in 2023, where are you?

• What about your understanding of race relations has changed?
• Have your actions and behaviors changed based on what you realized or learned?
• How have you continued to learn about the issues that came up for you in 2020?
• What impact does this global event still have on your leadership or management?

Finally, take a moment to sit with your responses to the questions. What do your responses bring up for you? What emotions are present? Do you have any regrets? Most importantly: how satisfied are you with your actions? Sit with the questions. Come back to them and your answers.

Reflection is an important part of our DEIA commitment because there is still so much to do, personally and in our workplaces. We each need to be very aware of how our efforts are working or not. The questions above may help you determine where you could do better, what you are proud of and want to take further, and how you have impacted the conditions around you. Based on these reflections, perhaps you want to create a new pathway forward or reinvest in the path you’re on.

No one else can determine the way for you to do this work except you. There is no specific checklist or perfect solution. But as you get deeper into the personal work of DEIA, you will find your way by consistently challenging yourself to do better.

There will always be a new challenge, but if you have a strong practice and the right mental tools, like self-reflection, you will be able to figure it out.

We each have a sphere of influence in our personal and professional lives and in our communities, and we each have interests and talents we can put to good use. This is how we change our collective circumstances: all of us taking intentional steps to increase equity.

P.S. I’ll see you here next month! Have questions? Want to see a specific topic covered? Message me on LinkedIn.