How business leaders can respond to social unrest, racism, and compounded crisis

Executive overview

In mid-2020, three Scaling Up coaches convened to address a compounded crisis: pandemic, economic stress, and erupting racial injustice. Silence from leaders is itself a choice — and a costly one.

The core argument is that diversity is not charity; boards and teams with diverse representation consistently outperform homogeneous ones. Leaders must first look in the mirror, then ask hard questions of their clients.

Doing nothing puts your business and your society at risk; leaning into inclusion is where the opportunity is.

The compounded crisis of 2020

• Three simultaneous pressures: pandemic, economic disruption, and racial unrest — each amplifying the others
• Ubiquitous smartphone video has made systemic racism undeniable and unavoidable
• Social distancing eroded as people prioritised racial justice protests over COVID caution
• Similar dynamics appeared globally: Mexico, England, France — unrest is not uniquely American
• Financial inequality sits underneath much of the unrest; the gap between rich and poor creates conditions for crime and resentment

Why leaders stay silent — and why they can't afford to

• Fear of saying the wrong thing keeps most people publicly quiet
• Growth Institute found their own thought-leader roster was almost entirely white and male — and had to acknowledge it before commenting publicly
• Publishing that acknowledgement drew hate mail from both sides; staying true to core values meant accepting the cost
• Three LinkedIn likes on a Black Lives Matter post with 200+ views illustrates how many people are afraid to be associated
• Silence is complicity; staying on the sidelines is an active choice, not neutrality

What leaders can concretely do

• Ask direct questions when client executive teams lack diversity: "Where are the women? Where is the diversity?"
• Review external marketing and product positioning — who is it built for, and who does it exclude?
• Support organisations working on criminal justice reform (Fog Break Justice, Ella Baker Center)
• Vote, and vote with wallets — "both sides are the same" is not a defensible position
• Read and research; there is no excuse for remaining uninformed

Empathy as a leadership practice

• Performance follows from how people see the world; change the worldview, change the behaviour
• Find something to love about difficult people — it changes how you listen, which changes the interaction
• "It's hard to hate up close": proximity and shared stories dissolve the abstract hostility that enables racism
• Being willing to hear someone's full story — even a murderer's — is what creates human connection
• Attack-and-condemn cycles do not produce change; education and dialogue do
• Travel and non-traditional education are the fastest routes to expanding worldview