Building Just Systems

Life in the 21st-century organization is increasingly a multi-cultural, multi-racial mix. Differences in race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, religion, physical ability and more are ever-present. The task today for the brick and mortar and remote workforce is to build new systems, structures and processes that are inclusive of, and responsive to, differences in humans. ACG specializes in helping foundations, NGOs, agencies and institutions design and implement onsite and remote cultural equity, inclusion & justice (CEIJ) initiatives.

Our CEIJ strategies recognize that one training, one retreat, or one event is not sufficient. There must be an ongoing commitment and sponsorship from leadership to build knowledge, skills, and the confidence to begin discussions of power, privilege and racism. The CEIJ strategies must be closely connected to the organization's mission. ACG assists our clients in developing communication plans to keep leadership and staff informed.

ACG provides consultation, facilitation and executive coaching to white leaders on how to develop cultural norms in order to create a truly diverse, inclusive, equitable and just working environment. Members of the dominant group (white people) can unknowingly leash themselves due to social conditioning, blind spots and fear. Through ongoing coaching, we help white leaders uncover their unconscious thought and behavior patterns, and learn to take risks to become more courageous, vulnerable, authentic and proactive. Simultaneously, we also support white leaders to build their own racial literacy, and to learn about white racial development theory. With those tools, leaders can explore mindful approaches that avoid re-traumatizing Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) staff during internal discussions about power.

Let us help you build individual, group and structural capacity to incorporate differences, promote justice and increase equity within your ecosystem.

Naming our proximity to power and privilege is a key ingredient necessary to create new forms of just systems. Belonging and justice work is messy. Brené Brown calls on us to "Embrace the suck". ACG supports our clients with emotional, racial and cultural literacy, and with skills of compassion and empathy. We support brave leaders to navigate power dynamics and create an atmosphere conducive to courageous dialogue and openness, and to cultivating self-awareness and respect for differences. We help build the internal skills to navigate power dynamics mindfully in office-based and remote organizational cultures to avoid re-traumatizing BIPOC in discussions about power.

• CEIJ strategies must be closely connected to the organization’s mission, and the connection needs to be made explicit in all communications about the CEIJ initiative.
• Initiatives need to take both a systemic and individualistic approach. The systemic approach assesses the organization’s human management systems to ensure that policies, programs and management practices encourage and support inclusivity and are aligned with the espoused values of the organization. The individualistic or “inside out” approach uses the “Dare to Lead” tools developed by Dr. Brené Brown, along with other mindfulness and “use of self” tools and models. These support attitudinal changes that increase self-awareness and interpersonal skills of all organization members. With that, they can better engage engage in courageous, respectful and sustainable relationships with all stakeholders that cut across cultures and identities. 
• In addition to formal policies, programs and practices, the organization’s cultural norms need to foster an appreciation and respect for diversity, and to create a welcoming, inclusive work environment that enables the organization to recruit, retain and better leverage a diverse staff to achieve the organization’s mission.
  People must agree on the importance of a deeper understanding of the relationships between systemic power and privilege issues, and individual equity-related interactions.
• Any CEIJ-related learning activities need to be practical, applicable and useful with respect to participants’ everyday experiences with diversity, equity and inclusivity.
• Self-paced learning and just-in-time learning—focused on real people and situations that the learner interacts with over long periods of time—are more effective in supporting CEIJ initiatives than formal one-time training.
  Everyone in the organization needs to be on the same page about CEIJ–talking the same language, working toward the same goals, learning and applying knowledge together across all functions.