Research shows that employees with greater self-awareness and social intelligence are frequently more successful ("Social Intelligence and the Biology of Leadership," Harvard Business Review) For this reason, Staff Diversity, Inclusion, and Engagement launched the Inclusive Leaders Academy in 2017—a professional leadership and legacy development program for managers at Georgia Tech. The goal of the program is two main tennants:

• support managers’ career development by creating opportunities to learn and grow,
• build a leadership community that will transform Institute culture through modeling inclusive excellence.

The key learning benefits of the Inclusive Leaders Academy–and core curriculum topic areas–facilitate self-awareness, social intelligence, and co-active leadership. Curriculum content has been curated from the NeuroLeadership Institute on unconscious bias and from Brave Leaders Inc on Daring Leadership: The Four Pillars of Courage based on the research of Brené Brown. To complete the program and receive a certificate, participants must finish the required online core curriculum, plus a minimum of two wisdom labs and at least one 90-minute group coaching session.

De'Angelo Neely, Financial Administrator in the Office of the Vice Provost for Undergraduate Education (OVPUE), took part in this year's cohort. "The Inclusive Leaders Academy was an eye opening and fascinating experience. I learned so much about myself and also how to be a better leader" De'Angelo said. "During my time in the Academy we studied many amazing areas such as Self Awareness, Social Intelligence, and Co-active Leadership. We also had Wisdom Labs, Coaching Sessions, and Community Dialogues. Mitigating Unconscious Bias was a Wisdom Lab that was life changing for me."

The Mitigating Unconscious Bias lab explored the need for breaking free of unhelpful bias. It discussed preventative measures that can support individuals and teams in identifying and mitigating bias before it undermines decisions. "During this lab we learned how our biases began and to get to the root of them. We were also taught how deal with professional biases and we were giving tools to eradicate them. Our coach encouraged us to deal with our biases right in the coaching session which intensified the process" De'Angelo added. "Another area I adored was 'The Four Pillars of Courage'. This lesson was on how we engage and influence others."

I would suggest the Inclusive Leaders Academy to everyone. There is so much to gain from this experience and also a major self-reflection process that has encouraged me to be a better leader. These areas of study will challenge and encourage you to be the best person you can be. - De'Angelo Neely

After engaging in up to 24 hours of learning through the Inclusive Leaders Academy, 125 staff and faculty leaders from 52 campus units emerged and were celebrated as “Culture Champions” during the program’s closing ceremony on May 11, 2018. Additionally, closing ceremony attendees heard featured speaker Lee Mun Wah discuss “The Path Towards Inclusion Is Also About Exclusion.”

Want to Participate in Next Year's Cohort?

The Inclusive Leaders Academy is open to managers at Georgia Tech. Eligibility to apply is based on holding a supervisory role in a campus unit; successfully or partially completing a qualifying existing campus leadership development program; and/or serving in a leadership role in an Employee Resource Group, Diversity Council, Staff Council, or approved campus network. For more information visit the program's website.