Keith is an assistant dean in the Graduate School and serves as the lead hiring authority for more than a dozen professional faculty. Keith is passionate about recruitment and retention of staff of color and aspires to lead an organization where practitioners with diverse racial identities feel like they belong and thrive.
Keith has invested heavily in understanding the needs and concerns of staff of color at a predominately white institution through professional development and he is eager to engage and demonstrate his knowledge to staff. As a result of his zealousness, during individual supervision meetings, Keith frequently missteps by assuming the experiences of the staff of color or asking questions about their needs and experiences that are not relevant to the conversation.
One staff member who has worked with Keith for many years asks for time to provide feedback. His colleague tells Keith that his lines of inquiry and assumptions are alienating and misguided. Keith’s eagerness to demonstrate his commitment to racial justice is having unintended and adverse consequences.
Keith is dismayed and self-conscious about the feedback. Keith turns to another assistant dean in the Graduate School to discuss the feedback he received and explore his motivations and the impact of his supervision. Through dialogue and self-reflection, Keith decides that the value and excitement he finds in his professional development is best kept to himself and used as a tool to listen and empathize. As a result, Keith commits to following his employees’ lead on discussions of race and ethnicity.
- The Issue: Keith is enthusiastic about professional development related to diversity, equity and inclusion, but finds that his decision to demonstrate his learning to his peers of color is off-putting and alienating.
- The Deliberation: Keith works through his self-consciousness and consults with a peer about how he can act different in supervisory relationships.
- The Growth: Keith internalizes his learning and recognizes that his growth is best performed through listening and empathic understanding, rather than verbalizing his knowledge with staff. He also learns to facilitate and deepen his own learning by practicing inquisitiveness and listening.