Ep. 87: Getting into the C-suite, creating a culture of belonging, and building allies with Yusuf Z. Zakir (Chief Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Officer at Davis Wright Tremaine)

This episode was recorded before the Supreme Court made its decision to gut affirmative action.  Knowing the make up of the Justices, we had a bad feeling about the ruling.  Unfortunately, we were right.  But even so, my conversation with Yusuf left me feeling hopeful about what we can do as individuals, communities, and organizations to create belonging in our personal lives and professional lives.  In this episode, we discuss:

- What you can do to make big career changes, and break the glass ceiling to the C-suite as a person of color. - How your life can feel like a series of accidents, and what you can do to make sense of it and be more intentional about it. - How laws banning affirmative action have real devastating consequences, and what you can do as individuals and communities to curb its negative effects. - What you can do to create clear frameworks to support DEIB initiatives and get buy-in from leaders to create effective programs.  - Why the NALP reports from today and from 10 years ago show similar statistics and a lack of diversity, and how organizations can identify the gaps and close those gaps. - How you can identify whether folks are leaving because they want to or because they’re not set up for success, and the systemic changes you can make to retain and promote diverse talent.  - Why it’s important to intentionally create a mechanical sponsor program in the workplace instead of relying on it to work organically, and how that supports diverse talent to get into leadership roles.  - What you can learn from Barber Ranen, and what leaders can do and what organizations can do at the systemic level to not make the same mistakes.   - How you can’t leave diversity work at work because your identities are a part of your lives, and what you can do to protect yourself from burnout. Learn more about Yusuf on on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/yusuf-z-zakir-57188243/. Connect with Samorn on LinkedIn at www.linkedin.com/in/samornselim. Get a copy of Samorn’s book, “Belonging: Self Love Lessons From A Workaholic Depressed Insomniac Lawyer” at https://tinyurl.com/swpc578c. Get weekly career tips by signing up for our career advice newsletter at www.careerunicorns.com.