The waymakers Clearing the path to workplace equity with competence and confidence

Tara Jaye Frank

Book - 2022

"Beyond strategies and systems, what really drives workplace equity and inclusion? The truth is, all historically excluded professionals who have broken through to greater levels of belonging and achievement have succeeded not by systems change alone, but because influential leaders chose to remove barriers, open doors, and guide them toward their goals. The bottom line: someone made a way for them. Using case studies, data, and evocative storytelling, Tara Jaye Frank outlines how leaders with power and position can clear the path to workplace equity" -- Book jacket flap.

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Subjects
Published
Herndon, VA : Amplify Publishing [2022]
Language
English
Main Author
Tara Jaye Frank (author)
Physical Description
253 pages : illustrations ; 21 cm
Bibliography
Includes bibliographic references.
ISBN
9781637551806
  • Foreword
  • Disclaimer
  • Introduction: The Waymaker Whys
  • Why Me?
  • Why Us?
  • Why This Book?
  • Chapter 1. Power and Privilege: Sources of Stagnancy
  • Deep Roots, Sweeping Branches
  • Minding Our Business
  • Being Too Patient
  • Power Plays
  • Chapter 2. Start Where You Are: The Climate Test
  • What We Do, Not What We Say
  • Testing the Waters
  • What Great Looks Like
  • Chapter 3. Making a Way: The Path to Change
  • Embrace Realism
  • Take Responsibility
  • Build Relationship
  • Chapter 4. Heart Work, Right Mind: The Waymaker Principles
  • Empathy
  • Fairness
  • Courage
  • Ownership
  • Integrity
  • Chapter 5. The Mountains We Miss: Four Core Issues
  • Lack of Psychological Safety
  • Low Representation
  • Limited Opportunity
  • Burden of Proof
  • Chapter 6. What Your People Want: Four Talent Needs
  • To Be Seen
  • To Be Respected
  • To Be Valued
  • To Be Protected
  • Chapter 7. What Your Company Wants: Performance Drivers
  • To Attract Talent Increase Diversity
  • To Improve Culture, Cultivate Belonging
  • To Support Retention, Ensure Equity
  • To Drive Innovation, Unleash Creativity by Creating Psychological Safety
  • Chapter 8. When Waymaking Matters Most: Defining Moments
  • Doing Something New
  • Chasing Dreams
  • High Risks and Short Fuses
  • During Transformation
  • Chapter 9. Be the Way: Model for Results
  • Be Clear
  • Be Intentional
  • Be Consistent
  • Be Bold
  • Be Accountable
  • Chapter 10. Bring People Along: Model for Momentum
  • Be Available
  • Be Transparent
  • Be Collaborative
  • Be the Change
  • Be Humble
  • Conclusion: A New Thing: The Waymaker Life
  • Heal the Body
  • No More Excuses
  • Now
  • The Workplace We Deserve
  • Acknowledgments
  • Endnotes
Review by Booklist Review

Since the protests following the police killing of George Floyd, companies from General Motors to Citi have made diversity a priority. To that end, Frank aims to teach executives how to become "Waymakers," extraordinary leaders who find ways "to unlock opportunity faster." Frank, a former executive at Hallmark, is now a diversity strategist. Drawing from her lived experience as a Black woman and her professional expertise, she explains why companies struggle to change, how to measure progress, and what individual leaders can do "to create and sustain an equitable workplace." While recognizing that corporate cultures differ, she offers steps executives can take to increase representation in specific areas, such as hiring, retention, and innovation. The author's writing is clear and relatively jargon free, and her recommendations are detailed and actionable. She's also a skilled storyteller, as reflected in her account of her childhood and her personal awakening at Spelman College. Her prose exudes warmth, even while discussing volatile subject matter. This is a superb book, in a burgeoning field--one that has the potential to make an observable difference in corporate America.

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Kirkus Book Review

A consultant urges businesspeople to embrace equity in the workplace. In this powerful, passionate book, Frank laments the tendency of many executives to equate "niceness with fairness." Instead, she writes, they should strive to be "waymakers": leaders who "make a way for other people" to find real success. She draws on her personal experiences as a Black woman in corporate America and her subsequent leadership coaching role as she notes the many advantages of equitable workplaces. Early chapters concentrate on how to assess a company's current culture and, in so doing, learn to face "hard truths." Throughout, the author offers salient, sobering observations that are relevant to larger societal issues, as when she notes that "We look for signs of dissent before we look for signs of agreement, and as human nature would have it, we usually find exactly what we're looking for." Still, she reassures readers that "Anyone can be the kind of leader who makes a way for others, if they want to be." Most importantly, Frank provides clear, concrete strategies and tools for her goal of waymaking, pointing out "four roadblocks that have the most profound effect on the underrepresented employee experience," for example, and four positive "business and culture outcomes" that can result from fair and equitable practices. Frank's convincing argument presents a well-balanced blend of big-picture thinking and granular, practical advice, with references to the works of others, including Malcolm Gladwell and Soraya Chemaly, and examples from her own experience and other sources. She makes a compelling case that a leader who's sensitive to workplace equity issues is a better leader in other areas, since such sensitivity requires such things as transparency, collaboration, and humility. Frank also points out the larger goal of such a proactive executive: "If we make the system work better for marginalized talent, we make it work better for everyone." A timely and profound dissertation on equity and leadership. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.