Why gather as a learning cohort?

Leaders who are charged with advancing Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) goals are tending to the fire of personal, interpersonal and organizational transformation on a daily basis. We hear you asking for opportunities to think and strategize with peers in order to learn from direct experience as well as to integrate best practices from the field.

Why are we tending to fire now?

Since the Uprisings, business, faith, arts and other social sector organizations have expanded their commitment to DEIB goals and action plans without proven roadmaps to depend on. Many have created a senior position for a DEIB leader who is looked to by board and executive leadership and implementers for guidance, solutions, awareness and skills training, and, increasingly, conflict mediation. 

We are hearing from many leaders that attending to the passion, vulnerability and disruption that arises from equity work in organizations leaves little time for keeping up with innovations in the field or learning from our own failures and successes. Leaders across different fields report a desire for opportunities to surface the wisdom that is emerging from direct experience so that it can be integrated into future decisions, practices and actions. Many simply ask for a productive connection with peers in order to remember that we are not alone.

Who are DEIB leaders?

Organizational leaders, equity officers, board members, committee chairs, consultants and other leaders charged with DEIB goals

6 Practice Sessions

The six practice sessions will guide leaders to build the quality of relationship and depth of conversation with each other that is necessary for leading transformational change within their organizations. The sessions will prepare leaders to strategically use conversational, facilitation and coaching practices within their DEIB team, committee, department and/or organization.

Leaders will gain strategies for:

• Tending to oneself, each other and the fire: leaders will practice accessible trauma-informed embodiment, mindfulness and creative practices which have been demonstrated to simultaneously: de-center dominant white supremacy culture; integrate divergent ways of knowing, feeling and connecting; build relationships across difference; and, nourish resilience and sustainability.

• Practicing participatory leadership: leaders will learn participatory facilitation structures and conversational tools - Circle, World Cafe, Storytelling, Open Space, Design Labs, Conversational Intelligence, etc - that have been proven globally (and that have migrated effectively to virtual gatherings) to build belonging, surface the collective wisdom of our diversity and activate transformational change.

• Building thought partnerships with peers: leaders will practice co-creating a learning environment where individuals and teams can give and receive feedback, hone strategies and learn from successes and failures. Leaders will be guided to practice peer coaching, case conferencing and other forms of thought partnerships that are essential to leading transformational change.

Each practice session is comprised of three parts;

• Framing: brief introduction to underlying theory and impact of the session’s methods;

• Practice: guided, interactive practice of leadership skills and participatory methods that advance DEIB work; and,

• Integration: guided reflection and action planning for integrating lessons learned into on-going DEIB goals attainment.

Coaching Session Each participant will have a one-on-one leadership coaching session to align personal leadership goals with participation in the cohort.