Leading Inclusion: Drive Change Your Employees Can See and Feel

"An outstanding source of information and advice for leaders who want to build inclusive work environments. It may also prove extremely beneficial for faculty and students of business administration schools. Highly recommended."
LIBRARY JOURNAL (Starred Review)

*****

Build an inclusive organization from the top down
Kirkus: "A comprehensive guidebook to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives in the workplace."
 
Why are workplace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts often disappointing? Organizational psychologist and executive coach Gena Cox asserts that although human variation is normal, true inclusion that embraces these variations remains elusive in the workplace. Leading Inclusion, a "how-to-be" book, educates, challenges, and empowers executives and business owners to lead inclusion from the top of the organization. 
 
This plain-spoken-yet-nuanced guide shows leaders how to set and incorporate a vision for diversity and inclusion that enables marginalized employees to see and feel the difference in their day-to-day work experiences. Leading Inclusion challenges many preexisting beliefs about how to lead "diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI)" and urges leaders to develop the necessary mindset for bold action this work requires. 

Leading Inclusion reframes inclusion as a leadership competency and imperative rather than a moral obligation. Using research from conversations with executives, scholars, DEI practitioners, and the experiences of employees of color Leading Inclusion offers a variation to the traditional "DEI framework. The book's "Respect First" R.E.D.I. (Respect, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) model argues for the primacy of Respect. Cox believes that if underrepresented employees don't feel respected, the "programs or initiatives" leaders implement will not be meaningful or impactful. 
 
Leading Inclusion offers a strategic way to forestall disappointing diversity and inclusion outcomes.

Dr. Gena Cox, the author of Leading Inclusion, is an organizational psychologist, executive coach, and speaker. She advises corporate executives, board directors, and DE&I leaders who want to build the inclusive work environments all employees deserve. Prior to this, at IBM and Perceptyx, Gena advised leaders in the Fortune 500 and large global companies to build psychologically healthy and engaging organizational cultures that drive business outcomes.

Gena is known as a warm and generous straight shooter. She holds leadership roles in the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology (SIOP) and is on advisory boards of the University of South Florida's Stavros Center and the University of Tampa's TECO Center for Leadership. Gena holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Organizational Psychology and is an International Coach Federation Professional Certified Coach (PCC). Her ideas have been featured in national publications including Harvard Business Review, Fortune, Fast Company, Forbes, BBC Worklife, and The Business Journals.
 
Gena lives in Florida where she can hear the ocean as she rides her bicycle.