To Respond or Not: A Letter After Racism
With some kind of incident or occurrence almost every day that stings of racism or some other form of exclusion, an organization could be called to write, acknowledge, or respond frequently. Much is happening in the world right now, and it could really be the full-time job of several people to track the news and write about the impact on their community or company. Now, after working at several different organizations, I can say with certainty that most leaders are not prepared to respond. Specifically, they are not ready, have no criterion on which to base a decision to respond, and neglect the history of previous responses. Here I'd like to address all three, readiness, criteria, and history, as each is a necessary component to determining whether and how to respond as an organization to the next tragic or racist thing that happens in the world.
Readiness - Vividly, I can remember the White supremacist event in Charlottesville, the Charleston Church Massacre, or the killing of George Floyd. For each there was a moment on my leadership team where the question, "what do we say?” was raised. And in each instance we were not without a message; rather, we weren't prepared to respond. In each instance, it was clear that there was not a process in place to indicate how writing a response or tending to the community would happen. In all three, the process began as if it were the first time that the leadership team or the CEO needed to respond. Readiness in these situations means the organization and the leadership are very prepared, have a process or protocol in place, and can execute a response, statement, or tend to the incident when prompted. Certainly, the first couple of these kinds of incidents were shocking as they called on leaders to denounce racism, assert values, and be clear about the stance of the organization. However, with the common occurrence of these events a process is necessary and should be in place, ready to be enacted, whenever the event warrants writing a response.
Criteria - In our world there is no shortage of events to which one could respond locally, nationally, or globally. Read the news or tune in to social media, and you will pick up something that necessitates a voice of stability, purpose, and vision helping others to see a positive path forward. Given the numerous things to which one could respond, having criteria is helpful to discern when to respond. On its face, it may seem harsh to pick and choose some causes or identities over others, and simultaneously there's a way to have criteria that align with the organization's values, community, mission, and purpose. Some leaders attempt to respond on the basis of impact by answering the question: "who among us is affected?" This is a necessary yet insufficient question because so many events cause effect and have impact in ways that are not evident. Using this question as a primary condition presupposes that one can know all or enough of the impact on the people in the organization or immediate community. Possibly, there are criteria beyond values or mission. And more important is that the organization and leadership can and will determine criteria that make sense for the organization. A possible approach is to understand the criterion already used by looking at previous responses sent and see their commonalities. This leads to the third idea: track and catalog messages so that you have an active history.
History - Here's the scene: a tragic thing happens, leadership scrambles trying to figure out what to say or do, and brilliantly someone goes: "what did we say the last time something like this happened?” Without fail every time the response is: “I don't know.” I believe for leaders and organizations to be better about responding, specifically knowing when to respond, they must have their own internal track record of when and how they responded in the past. Each community or company-wide message is setting precedent, establishing tone, and building expectations regarding how you might respond going forward. This isn't to suggest that one can't deviate from the path or trajectory. Though, not acknowledging the course being set when others remember and hang on to your previous words is not using available information that is very helpful. The history of how you have responded really helps you to see a bigger picture, thereby helping you to weigh or discern whether to respond and what to say in the next new response. This history can be orienting, grounding, and illuminating.
Regardless of how you think about and plan to respond there will still be some people who are not satisfied and there will always be people who think you should have written when you didn't. No matter the choice you've made, you can and should engage those who wanted you to write. Learn from them what sending a message would achieve - what would a message have done for them. This Insight is helpful going forward. Check out below a message I sent soliciting this feedback.
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Hi Susan,
Thanks for writing. I'm sorry that you haven't received a response from other leadership team members.
Right now, it feels very hard and difficult to be Black in America. The result of the Breonna Taylor trial and the recent antics of the person who occupies the White House are painful. I've received a few messages from folks wondering and asking whether the company is going to send a message indicating it's values and condemning the injustices. I know people want to feel supported and hopeful during a time where racism is mounting.
And, I know in the coming days and months there will be more than we care to have happen to likely warrant some kind of response. I am curious: for you, what would a company-wide message achieve? I'd like to understand more from your perspective.
The decision to write to the company - especially as we manage the shifting sands of reopening during the pandemic - is a difficult one. Further, sparking and keeping the attention of the entire company right now is even more difficult than before. I don't say this to suggest that we don't write. Though, I do say this to indicate that a lot is being considered in determining when and what to write to the entire company.
Your perspective would help me to understand more.
Hope you are well.
-Dr. Rollins