ADVOCATE

ASSESSORI interrogate workplace

norms, challenge the status quo, and ask

inconvenient questions

SELF-IMPROVERI proactively seek

feedback from others and recalibrate my

actions accordingly

OBSERVERI am vigilant enough to

notice when colleagues are not feeling valued,

and comfortable enough to reach out

ADVOCATEI work to enact social

change on the personal, institutional, and systemic levels

(IM)PERFECTIONISTI am unafraid to make

mistakes in my inclusive leader journey, and be held

accountable for learning from them

DETECTIVEI can identify and

call out institutional inequities and

organizational biases, and work to

address them

CATALYSTI use whatever social,

professional, and personal power/capital I

can access to create sustainable change

on several levels

LISTENERI consistently listen to

the groups I am trying to advocate for

MARATHONERI recognize the lifelong

process of being an advocate, and I am

prepared to commit significant time to doing

the work

VISIBLE ALLYI do advocate work on

the public level to encourage others to do

the same, signal my personal values, and normalize inclusion

MENTORI identify and sponsor

underrepresented talent at my organization

TOWN CRIERI ensure that my

organization has a publicly accessible, clear,

and declarative statement a�rming their

commitment to D&I

PIPELINE PLUMBERI hold executives

accountable for diverse recruitment and retention

BUSINESSPERSONI can clearly express and

explain the proven connection between business drivers and inclusive leadership

SELF-CARETAKERI take care of others’

emotional health as much as I do my own, and acknowledge that

advocate work can be mentally draining

CONTORTIONISTI embrace the possible discomfort in learning

about systems of discrimination and dismantling them

ALTRUISTI am prepared to make

personal and professional sacrifices for the sake of a

more equitable and inclusive landscape

STORYTELLERI am equally comfortable

sharing my story, and centering the unheard

stories of others

RECRUITERI encourage others to begin their inclusive

leader journey

TEAM PLAYER I collaborate with colleagues, other

advocates, and di�erent perspectives to research

possible solutions for existing issues

AMBASSADORI realize I have an extra

mandate to educate my own identity group and

leverage my privilege to enlighten others of a

similar background

RISK-TAKERI acknowledge personal

risks and potential pushback as a necessary

part of advocate work

INVISIBLE ALLYConversely, I also accept that I won’t always be in

the spotlight and that some of my work will be done privately without

recognition

RECOMMENDERI realize I do not hold all

the answers, but I am equipped to suggest

additional resources that exceed my own

experiences

STUDENTI am committed to a

perpetual learning and growing process

INSTRUCTIONS: read the advocate behaviors above, and see how many you believe you consistently embody as a leader. Be honest and generous with yourself– but also be critical! Keep an eye on your self-enhancement bias, or our unconscious tendency to boost our self-esteem and overestimate our abilities. As with all advocacy work, the point of this exercise isn’t to “win” necessarily, but rather to identify tangible action steps you can take to improving your work environment for everyone.