Welcome to the Monthly Newsletter by Amer Kaissi 

Edition #21, August 2021

For this edition of the newsletter, I am sharing a different kind of book. “Confessions From Your Token Black Colleague” by Talisa Lavarry is not a leadership book per se, but it certainly is extremely relevant and valuable for every leader to read.

Following the racial awakening of the summer of 2020, organizations across the country ramped up their DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) programs. While many of these programs are well-intentioned, very few are effective. In fact, some of them end up hurting the very marginalized groups that they are intended to help. The main reason, in my opinion, is that most DEI programs are developed by leaders and teams who don’t have a basic understanding of the challenges and issues that minority groups face at work.

To develop effective programs that work, leaders need to start with empathy, by attempting to put themselves in the shoes of others who don’t have the same privileges that they have. Lavarry recounts, in great detail and discomfort, what it means to be an African-American woman working in corporate America today. She tells numerous stories of being discriminated against, humiliated, made fun of, dismissed, unfairly blamed, and racially abused. When you have this perspective, and start to understand the devastating physical and mental toll that these acts of aggression and micro-aggression take on her and on millions of others, then you have taken the first step towards being able to come with successful practices and programs to promote diversity and to change the culture in your organization.

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Dr. Amer Kaissi is a Top Leadership Keynote Speaker. He speaks about leadership, teams and culture.