8Change Starts With You!

“These Are a Few of My Favorite Things …”

I want to share with you some of my favorite frameworks and activities. Frameworks provide us with a common language to understand our behaviors and actions and to gauge where we are making progress and where further improvements are needed. These frameworks have been invaluable in the conversations I have held with other leaders, when I am keynoting within a conference room of 1,000 people, and in my personal interactions outside of work. I have discussed some of these frameworks and tools throughout the book, while others will appear here for the first time. But I am presenting all of them here as a unified collection for your easy reference.

The Power of Ah Ha Moments

I like to use this framework to emphasize that Leadership can have a significant impact on institutionalized practices that are inequitable. They are a driving force in changing culture and systems. It often starts with Ah Ha or light bulb moments. When leaders receive specific feedback that does not mesh with their assumptions, it provides an opportunity for them to self-correct. This feedback might come through a survey or from an Employee Resource Group that speaks to how an organizational practice has disparate impacts for specific groups. When these conditions are present a leader can then use their position and power to advocate for and influence change within others and within various organizational systems (see Figure 8.1).

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