October AMCI Book Review Corner

October AMCI Book Review Corner

The AMCI Reading Corner is a crowdsourced resource share aimed to serve as a platform for the AMCI community to share book recommendations and reflect with personal takeaways. Starting with monthly postings, more ways to engage will be shared as the idea grows.
Kate Temple of Bostrom, offers this month's review of How to be an Inclusive Leader by Jennifer Brown.

 

What does it mean to be an inclusive leader and how do I know where to start?

Jennifer Brown breaks it down in her book, How to be an Inclusive Leader – Your Role in Creating Cultures of Belonging Where Everyone Can Thrive.

She outlines the four stages of what she calls the Inclusive Leader Continuum: Unaware, Aware, Active, and Advocate. She defines the Continuum with helpful examples and identifies tools and key actions to move through each stage.

As she puts it: “There are two important caveats with the Inclusive Leader Continuum: 1) we should focus on making progress rather than judging ourselves and others based on where we are on the Continuum. And 2) it is crucial to remember that inclusive leadership is not a destination, but a practice. It’s possible to move forward and backward, and to be at different stages depending on which identities are under consideration. We revisit each of these stages over and over again as we discover new information.”

This was an ah-ha moment for me! Recognizing that I’m at different stages of the Inclusive Leader Continuum depending on the identity in question really helped me focus my efforts and stop feeling guilty for not having all the answers. I also love that I can pick up this book and refer to a particular stage when I’m feeling stuck or trying to decide how to move forward. 

Some other key takeaways from her book:

  • Inclusion includes everyone; EVERYONE has the power and obligation to become an inclusive leader, and everyone can start somewhere.
  • Inclusive leaders embrace discomfort, whether in learning new information, putting themselves at risk for the greater good, or pushing themselves to do more and do better.
  • Inclusive leadership is a daily practice, not a destination.
  • We need to put aside our good intentions and take action in catalyzing change, as staying silent is a luxury we can no longer collectively afford.
  • Younger generations are increasingly prioritizing corporate social responsibility, and as such, inclusion is an investment in our future as much as it is our present.

Other DEI Book Recommendations

Bostrom’s staff-led DEI Committee selected books for our DEI Staff Discussion Series. Kellie Braband, Account Executive, chose How to be an Inclusive Leader , Marshall Bradshaw, Associate, chose Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride, and Jose Segarra, DEI Committee Chair/Account Executive, chose So You Want To Talk About Race by Ijeoma Oluo. I strongly recommend all three books to anyone who is interested in building awareness of other people’s perspectives and stories.  

Engage in the AMCI Reading Corner

Feel free to share your own thoughts on this book in the comments. We look forward to hearing from you!

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