In a recent leadership #Board Room presentation that I gave, entitled, ‘Conscious Leadership’, one of the #director‘s takeaways was the distinction I made between a #non-racist #organisation and an #anti-racist one. #consciousleadership is about being anti-racist in your gait, posture, demeanour and behaviour.
And this is what I said,
The non-racist organisation is like the log that goes with the flow, and the anti-racist organisation is like rock stones that stem the flow. Stem the flow, because you can never totally eliminate the flow or eradicate its effects. At best, you can create conditions to dam the flow, yet those conditions can easily be overturned.
You’re probably getting the picture.
Non-racist organisations are ones that are passive and reactive to acts of racism. When such racism is performed no one objects to it. The people basically go with the flow. They don’t want to stand out or stick their necks out. This is because the #system (of the organisation) doesn’t want them to.
Often there are ‘good’ #colleagues around when the act of racism is committed. But if they are good people, why don’t they #standup? We hardly see them protesting to their #bosses when the #minoritised is being victimised. We don’t see them not because they are racists per se, but because they know that to do so would mean having to go against the system when the system doesn’t want them to say or do anything. If they do, the system will slap them down. You see, the system is more powerful than any of the perpetrators or victims.
The system of these #institutions is doing exactly what it is meant to be doing: to keep minorities in their place. The system uses them, especially by taking advantage of their #powerlessness, #insecurities and #goodwill to work. And it does this by type-casting them, #stereotyping them, #pigeonholing them. And should they stand up, the system closes in then sanitises them, demonises them, ostracises them and even #criminalises them.
To stand up against the show of racism is to stand up at worse against a racist system and at best against a non-racist system. But guess what, the effects are the same. So, being a non-racist is not enough.
Now check this out. When you become a rock stone you are allowing others to walk across the flow of racism. You are empowering others to be resolute in being their best.
You cannot be a conscious leader and at the same time be a log that goes with the flow. You have to be a rock stone. So, come, turn your organisation into a rock stone by calling me and Rockstone Consultancy can make it happen!