Leading Inclusion: Drive Change Your Employees Can See and Feel

“I want you to feel empowered to act not just to improve diversity but also to enhance feelings of inclusion for all who work in the companies you lead,” writes executive coach Cox in her solid debut. Cox, who immigrated to the U.S. from Barbados when she was 20, emphasizes the need for more inclusive workplaces by reflecting on discrimination she’s faced as a Black woman, describing a meeting with a peer group during which a fellow attendee told her, “I think you are in the wrong room,” and held up the proceedings to confirm with the group’s organizer that Cox should be there. Much of the guidance is aimed at white readers uncertain of how to improve inclusion for people of color, as when Cox encourages leaders to gain better insight into employees from backgrounds “you currently do not understand” by grabbing a meal with them or issuing employee opinion surveys. The advice contains few surprises—she urges business leaders to listen and “give employees a forum” to express their feelings after disquieting events, such as the murder of George Floyd—but it does a dutiful job of outlining how to avoid common blunders (“Do not ask the most senior person from the targeted group to be the company’s spokesperson for that issue”). The result is a competent primer on better serving employees of color. (Self-published)