Identity, Awareness & Belonging: What June Can Teach Us About Leadership

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Welcome to the Leader’s Lens: The Perspective Shift issue!

This issue offers a fresh perspective and actionable tips to enhance your leadership this week.

Send me an email and let me know how you plan on implementing this perspective shift in your leadership!

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Through the Lens: See More. Lead Better

June is filled with powerful reminders: Pride Month, Juneteenth, and Immigrant Heritage Month

A convergence of stories that point us toward a deeper truth:

• Identity personal and it’s cultural.

• Awareness is a leadership practice.

• Belonging doesn’t happen by accident. It’s built on purpose.

If you're committed to building a culture where people feel seen, heard, and valued, June is your invitation to pause, reflect, and reframe how you lead.

Awareness Is a Leadership Skill

The best leaders to make sense of what’s happening for themselves and others. They name it, engage it, and invite others into the process.

That’s what self and social awareness are about:

• Seeing your own lens.

• Acknowledging how identity shapes the workplace.

• Responding with care and courage.

Every June for the past 10ish years we see it, brands update their logos with rainbows, post Juneteenth graphics, or highlight immigrant stories in their ads.

And while visibility is important, I often wonder:

“What happens inside the organization once the post goes live?”

While the public-facing campaigns are good, they could be seen as virtue signaling or performative in nature. Especially if internal actions, policies, and equity is not modeling the outward expressions being celebrated.

It doesn’t do us any good if we are neglecting to invite the voices impacted at the table and help them feel safe to speak in teams.

As leaders, our responsibility is to move from performative acknowledgment to intentional alignment. Our culture should reflect the same inclusion our messaging claims.

And that doesn’t mean perfection. It means consistency. Curiosity. Checking for gaps between what we say and how people experience us.

Where Are You Positioned in the Conversation?

Knowing where you are when engaging cultural identities and social issues is necessary to lead team’s well.

As I outline in my book Advocacy in Action, most people fall into one of five positions when it comes to navigating identity, justice, and belonging. These positions are not intended to be “final” or all that you are. Depending on the event, you could be in different positions.

But the goal is to continue to shift your position to a belonging posture. Here are some small actions:

⚪ Absent – “I didn’t know.”

• Leadership Pitfall: Unaware of the exclusion or inequity around you.

• One Growth Move: Start Listening and learning

🟡 Aware – “I see it now, but I’m unsure what to do.”

• Leadership Pitfall: Stuck in observation mode.

• One Growth Move: Ask one question to a conversation.

🔴 Avoidant – “This feels overwhelming or not my place.”

• Leadership Pitfall: Silence or inaction become complicity.

• One Growth Move: Get Accountability. Don’t let fear run your leadership.

🟢 Ally – “I’m showing up and listening.”

• Leadership Pitfall: Helpful, but could be inconsistent.

• One Growth Move: Build Real Relationships. Stay humble and stay involved.

🔵 Advocate – “I’m leveraging my voice, power, and position for change.”

• Leadership Pitfall: Can overstep or burnout if not supported.

• One Growth Move: Bring others with you. Make it sustainable.

There’s no shame in where you are. The work is in not staying stuck.

And each opportunity you choose to lean in to your community, your position will shift.

Your 3 Circles of Influence as a Leader

So what is in your control?

Advocacy in Action discusses our Circles of Influence your leadership can extend to. Here’s how that plays a role in you showing up for your team this month:

① 1. Internal Circle – Self-Awareness & Reflection

This is your personal leadership lens: your thoughts, beliefs, biases, and identity story. It's the starting point of inclusive leadership because how you see the world affects how you lead in it.

Key Actions:

• Reflect on your own biases and blind spots.

• Educate yourself on identity, power, and belonging.

• Ask: How do my values and identity shape how I show up as a leader?

② 2. Intra-Cultural Circle – Your Immediate Sphere: Team, Peers, Network

This is your inner leadership circle: people you work with regularly or hold influence over. It includes your direct reports, colleagues, committee members, and peer collaborators.

Key Actions:

• Start conversations about culture and belonging.

• Model inclusive behaviors (e.g., equitable decision-making, open feedback).

• Ask: How do people experience culture and inclusion on my team or in our meetings?

③ 3. Intercultural Circle – Broader Communities & Systems

This is your extended influence: outside your direct control, but within your reach. It includes cross-functional teams, public audiences, clients, community groups, and systems you participate in or lead.

Key Actions:

• Amplify marginalized voices in broader settings.

• Use your platform to advocate for equitable practices or policy changes.

• Ask: What voices are missing here—and how can I help shift the system to include them?

One Micro-Action This Week

Pick one June observance (Pride, Juneteenth, Immigrant Heritage Month) and learn a piece of its history.

Then ask your team:

“What does this story teach us about identity and belonging in our own workplace?”

It may be difficult to do so because we fear of saying the wrong thing. But that is not why we are doing it.

We are creating space for growth within ourselves and others.

Get a signed copy of Advocacy In Action: 9 Practical Actions for Allies in Social Justice as well as the study guides to strengthen your leadership!

Your leadership should focus on outcomes and experience.

How do people experience you?

How do they experience your culture?

This month, let June be more than a date on the calendar.

Let it be a mirror.

Let it be a catalyst.

Help your team feel seen, heard, and valued through parties and policies.

If you have any questions as you are navigating this for yourself and your team, feel free to reply back to this message!

Let’s continue to grow together!

Ray

Whenever you are ready, here are ways you can work with me:

• 🎤Speaking - As a Speaker and Facilitator, I will engage your team on how belonging and inclusivity can increase your team dynamics! ​Book Ray Now

• 🤝Coaching - As a Coach, I will help you enhance the power of inclusivity and empathy to be an effective leader through an equity lens! Book a Call Now

• 📘Consulting - As a Consultant, I will help strengthen your organizational culture to increase the employee experience and retention! Book a Consultation Now

P.S. - Thank you to those who have filled out the survey letting me know more about your leadership journey! I am excited to dive into the results over the next couple of weeks to provide you with resources and content that will support your leadership! If you haven’t filled it out yet, do so by clicking the link here!