Leadership coaching rooted in equity and justice

Welcome to The Justice Walk's first newsletter! 

I'm Abby Anderson, founder of The Justice Walk. I provide leadership coaching rooted in equity and justice. Coaching helps leaders to:

1. Identify, believe in, and maximize their strengths

2. Understand, work with, and grow through their challenges

3. Let go of old, unhelpful ways of thinking and doing

4. Establish healthy, effective skills and patterns

5. Develop relationships and cultures that promote belonging and thriving for every individual

At The Justice Walk, all of this work will be rooted in philosophies of equity and social justice.

Why? Well, as racism and inequities permeate all of our systems and ways of being, we must intentionally use an equity lens to view all of our choices and actions. I am continually growing and learning myself, and bring that commitment into relationship with my clients. We will co-create a space to walk and learn together!

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Thanks for coming on this journey!P.S. You can also check out my new website here!

"I'm a white person. This sounds intimidating and scary..."

If the idea of unpacking “whiteness” and how it impacts your leadership and organization is scary - you aren’t alone. As humans, we create and continue patterns for the purpose of becoming comfortable, of knowing what we are doing. Transformation is inherently scary. White people are trained to view conversations around race as inherently fraught. It makes sense, then, that understanding and undoing “whiteness” would cause fear.

I’ve felt that fear. 

A first step of resistance is naming and facing that fear. Moving towards the discomfort is a signal that you are choosing transformation over the familiar way of being and doing. That you will not prioritize your comfort over the well-being and opportunity for everyone, regardless of race, ethnicity, gender, physical or mental ability, sexuality, class, etc. to thrive. 

I can’t eliminate the fear.

Fear thrives in isolation. It tells us we are alone and that it has made us weak. Fear is a liar. Talking about our fears, understanding their roots, and unpacking the messages they send us immediately dilutes their power and hold. Courage grows in community. 

I can walk alongside you as you defuse the fear.  

I listened to fear’s lies for too long. I was moving forward, but was sure I was “doing it wrong.” I wasted a lot of energy.  

I started The Justice Walk to provide a resource for others I wish I’d found for myself. Walk with me and have dedicated space and time to examine your fear’s origins and take active steps to move beyond them.  Once fear is relegated to a back-burner, we can explore how rooting yourself in equity and justice values impacts your decisions and decision-making process.

Fear doesn’t have to scare us away. We can choose to see fear as a trap set to keep us from something of immeasurable value, in this case a world where every individual is valued and supported to be their whole selves and has equitable opportunities to truly belong in their organizations and communities.  

Check out the opinion piece I had published in the CT Mirror in August - wrestling with the role of white people in racial justice workhttps://ctmirror.org/category/ct-viewpoints/white-people-need-to-circle-up-abby/

Helpful Resource

Each issue, I'll include links to articles, books, videos I'm finding particularly helpful or challenging.  For this issue check out a Kellogg Insight article based on the research of Ivuoma Ngozi Onyeador, Sa-kiera T.J. Hudson, and Neil A. Lewis Jr.6 Evidence-Based Strategies for Improving Diversity in Your Organization. I appreciate the key takeaways, especially "None of this is easy. That's OK." 

Thanks!Special shout out to logo designer, and my brother, Josh Anderson. 

Additional thanks to every one of you who had long conversations with me by phone, zoom, or "walk and talks" over the past year as The Justice Walk came to life.  Your input means the world to me. Keep it coming!