Ep 175. Laura Morgan Roberts: Race, Work, and Leadership in Pandemic Times
“Black workers often strategically engage in code-switching — adjusting their speech, appearance, and behaviors to optimize the comfort of others with the hopes of receiving fair treatment, quality service, and opportunities.”
Laura Morgan Roberts
Dr. Laura Morgan Roberts is a Professor of Practice at the University of Virginia’s Darden School of Business and an expert in the science of maximizing human potential in diverse organizations and communities. She has published over fifty research articles, teaching cases, and practitioner-oriented tools for strategically activating best selves through strength-based development, workplace equity and inclusion. Her influential publications in the Harvard Business Review and the Academy of Management Review on diversity, authenticity and leadership development have been recognized by Thinkers50 “On the Radar” (2018) and the Academy of Management. Laura is the 2020 inaugural recipient of the Academy of Management Organizational Behavior Award for Societal Impact. She has edited three books: Race, Work and Leadership; Positive Organizing in a Global Society; and Exploring Positive Identities and Organizations.
In this episode, Stew and Laura talk about microaggressions, code-switching and the powerful, practical ideas in her HBR article, Working from Home While Black. The pandemic’s breaking of the wall between home and work has had unintended negative repercussions for Black employees. They talk about what it takes to be an effective ally in acting to produce change, including concrete strategies that move us toward sustainable racial justice at work and beyond.
Here then is an invitation, a challenge, for you, once you’ve listened to the conversation. What small step might you take to speak truth to power in ways that advance our collective interest in a more just society, starting with the people in your work life. Write to Stew to let him know: friedman@wharton.upenn.edu, or connect with him on LinkedIn. While you’re at it, share your thoughts with him on this episode and your ideas for people you’d like to hear on future shows.
Listen below or on ApplePodcasts, GooglePlay, Spotify…