“We do not see color!”: How executive coaching can help leaders to create inclusive corporate cultures by acknowledging structural racism in its ecosystem.

Abstract

While leaders are scrambling to take up the issue of diversity and inclusion in the context of the heightened consciousness of systemic and structural racism prompted by the Black Lives Matter campaign, the world of coaching has been slow to engage with the issue of racial justice. This year-long qualitative study responds to a gap in coaching literature, which is currently silent on the impact of systemic racism on coaching practice. In this paper we focus on the views and experiences of coaches who identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC). The coaches are from five countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Kenya, South Africa, and New Zealand), offering a global perspective on how this issue shows up in coaching. Focus groups were convened virtually with coaches from each region. We asked the question, “What would need to change in the world of coaching for it to adopt an anti-racist approach?” The data, which was analyzed using thematic analysis, revealed that the BIPOC coaches in this study experience the world of coaching as a White space in which colorblindness reinforces and reproduces the power dynamics of structural racism. The BIPOC coaches’ testimonies suggests that an anti-racist approach oriented toward decoloniality could be much more effective in breaking the patterns of underrepresentation and exclusion at senior-leadership levels across organizations.

Centering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) Perspectives: Strengthening the Efficacy of DEI Initiatives through Shared Understanding

“…Effectively creating diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) spaces to build a sense of belonging for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) employees in America has been a challenge that organizations have attempted to address over the past several decades. The issue is costly and harmful to ignore and has recently moved to the forefront once again (Roche & Passmore, 2023, Akpapuna et al, 2020, Brown et al 2022, Nayani, 2021, Chandler, 2021, Evans, 2019, Brecheisen, 2023, Houston, 2021, The impact of belonging and the cost of exclusion, 2022, Ray, 2021). Since 2020, and a global pandemic, people have become more outwardly involved with social justice movements, protests, and other political engagements (Roche & Passmore, 2023, Akpapuna et al, 2020, Brown et al 2022.…”

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Efforts to establish diverse, equitable, and inclusive (DEI) spaces within organizations, particularly for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) employees, have gained renewed attention amidst societal shifts towards social justice (Roche & Passmore, 2023, Akpapuna et al, 2020, Brown et al 2022. Despite extensive literature on DEI initiatives, there remains a gap in understanding BIPOC members' perceptions and experiences within White-dominated workspaces.

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Diversity in the global coaching community: Exploring race, gender, identity and belonging

“…Few coaching studies have included race as a factor. As a result, there is a general lack of data about representation, participation or activity of coaches of colour in the global coaching community (Roche & Passmore, 2021;Roche & Passmore, 2023a;Roche & Passmore, 2023b) or the importance of identity in the coaching relationship to groups who in many economies have experienced sustained direct and, more latterly, indirect and structural discrimination.…”

The state of Black leadership: What can be done to create sustainable change.

“…What’s It Mean? Implications for Consulting PsychologyEvidence suggests that culturally congruent models of coaching are needed to improve coaching efficacy with African Americans (Kea-Edwards, 2023) and that coaches and organizations must be more willing to directly address issues of racism and systemic bias (Bendel & Passmore’s, 2023; Carter et al, 2023; Kafka, 2023; Kea-Edwards, 2023). Qualitative and quantitative research has identified tools and interventions that can enable coaching efficacy and ultimately individual readiness for promotion.…”

“…Roche and Passmore’s (2023) study provides a global perspective on coaching. Using a focus-group methodology, they sought to understand how issues of systemic racism and social justice showed up as topics in practice and how these issues were addressed.…”