Examples of Personal Action Plan Components
The final two sessions of an ERG cohort are opportunities to present and critique Personal Action Plans. Participants are asked to coalesce their learnings and to identify steps they will take to eradicate racism in their spheres of influence – e.g., at work, in their neighborhoods, town, clubs, family, etc. These are actual examples of the steps participants listed in their efforts to eliminate racism:
The senior executive in a large company recognized that upper management enjoyed many perks not available to the several hundred people who worked for him, the vast majority of whom were People of Color. He instituted a system that included career path counseling, mentorship, coaching, and subsidized educational opportunities.
A senior executive working in a health care system took seriously the question of “Who do I want to be” and noted several spots where she would step up as an advocate, a coach, or a boss, taking action to remove barriers for People of Color.
An executive who controls a family Foundation committed to ensuring that they focused on supporting groups that were led by and benefited racial minorities. He committed to listening to these groups about what efforts needed to be funded vs. determining what the Foundation would fund.
A hospital executive committed to boosting the efforts of the hospital’s DEI initiatives, “infusing” their efforts throughout the hospital’s system. He also intended to speak more openly about what he had learned in this process and how it applied to what they were doing.
A former company president living in a prosperous area of the City of Rochester began to gather neighbors for regular meetings in his home. They would do some “Prework” and gather to talk about what they read, mirroring the ERG process. He also organized a gathering of over 100 neighbors to learn about the place of racism in the development of their neighborhood.
An executive who is the head of a large volunteer networking/service organization has organized a deliberate educational effort for its members, also inviting them to address and correct the racial disparities within the organization itself.
An independent leadership consultant committed to deepening her relationships with three acquaintances who are People of Color, and to joining a Black-led organization to ask how she might participate in their efforts. She also is advocating for a Board on which she serves to add BIPOC as members.
The President of a large company committed to hiring and increasing mentorship opportunities for job candidates who might not meet the usual stated job requirements, and to assist these new employees in other non-traditional ways to help ensure their success -e.g., reducing their debt.
The Vice-President of a large health care organization created and funded a new position – Director of DEI – to boost the focus on intentional efforts to hire, and to create a welcoming culture. She committed to ensuring the success of this initiative.
A leader involved in the refill of the North portion of the Inner Loop in Rochester led an intentional effort to respond to input from those in the immediate neighborhood, seeing this as an issue of reparations for the harm done to this neighborhood when the Inner Loop was constructed. Another alum involved in the same project is now supporting this same effort.
An executive who is a mother committed to providing her children with more opportunities to interact with people different from themselves – by attending multi-cultural events and supporting minority-owned businesses. She also committed to advocating for the removal of racist deed restrictions in her township.
An executive whose daughter married a Black man found the courage and the wisdom to finally have open conversations with them about this, and about the challenges that might be faced by their children – his grandchildren.
A member of a prestigious club recognized the absence of diversity in its membership. He arranged for an educational session on the topic of race/racism/bias, and co-founded a Diversity Committee within the club which continues to educate and advocate.