The Talent Magnet Leadership Podcast

Episode #172: Allies & Success Partners in Action with Julie Kratz

How do we become active allies in our organizations? Today’s guest on the Talent Magnet Leadership Podcast, Julie Kratz, shares the answer with host Mike Sipple Jr. Julie is an Inclusive Leadership Trainer, highly-acclaimed TEDx speaker, the founder of Next Pivot Point, and the host of the Next Pivot Point Podcast. She has spent her career helping women create their winning career game plan. In this must listen conversation, Julie gives valuable insights about why leaders need the skill of active allyship to lead their organizations well.

More leaders are educating themselves on the issue of diversity and are taking active roles in unlearning a lot of the biases they may have had. Organizations are being actively engaged in the work of diversity and inclusion. “The word ‘active ally’ is really important because sometimes if we just show up when it's the flavor of the month, we give the impression that this is a one and done conversation… [and] that we’re not really there for people that experience hardships that are underrepresented in the workplace and marginalized more than others,” Julie remarks. [3:09]
For leaders to put the resources into action and ensure the people they employ feel valued and understood, they need to be including everyone in the conversation. The more people you can bring to the table, the more you can get them to connect and appreciate differences because everyone has a unique experience. [6:22]
For a team to respect and value everything about the people in a room, a great deal of unlearning and unpacking biases needs to occur. Personally reflecting on your own experiences and realizing that a lot of the messages you were raised with were inaccurate is important. From the business perspective, if teams don’t mirror the communities that they serve then they’re going to lose out. [14:07]
Leaders and teams have to do self discovery work to reckon with where they’ve been, where they want to be and why it’s important to the mission of the organization. If you do diversity work without that, you’re doing it without any connection to it, or any emotion behind it. [15:52]
80% of the ally journey is education. People can’t know how to solve a problem if they don’t know what the problem is, or if they don’t know the problem exists. [19:10]
One of the most actionable things you can do when you educate yourself is have a conversation with someone different than you. Listen with curiosity, listen to learn and not with the intent to tell them what they need to do. [20:45]
Leaders need to align people to a purpose in order to create profound impact. This will also create buy-in where they all know what direction they’re going, why they’re growing and who they’re growing with. [23:30]
Conversations about diversity have to be intentional because you can possibly impact someone who’s on the fence. “The patriarchy and the systems that support white supremacy don't work if the people that it was built for don't comply; ... that does mean our individual actions truly do matter, because they set a precedent, they set a model for others to follow,” Julie shares with Mike. [28:15]
As an ally, amplifying the voices of those who are going unheard is one of the best things you can do. [32:10]
Hiring diverse talent but not doing anything to make that talent feel safe or valued is counterproductive. They won’t want to stay, or even take the job. Leaders have to be committed to helping their employees feel valued, included, and that they belong. [34:46]
Creating a future where people feel as if they belong is important now more than ever. [37:00]