How to get buy-in when confronting your historical racial legacy
Calls on U.S. and Canadian institutions to address their historical ties to racial discrimination and oppression have intensified across 2020 and 2021. However, many college and university leaders often find their actions constrained to symbolic efforts that fail to address underlying context and ultimately contribute to repeated cycles of frustration and flashpoints on campus. Even leaders committed to systemic change often struggle to truly grapple with and meaningfully address legacies of racial injustice.
Across the last year, EAB experts spoke with university leaders to better understand the biggest change management barriers preventing bold change on campus. In a recent roundtable, the research team shared their findings, including a framework to help secure buy-in. Whether you’re actively addressing a historical racial legacy or plan to do so in the future, these takeaways will help prepare you and other leaders at your institution to shepherd your campus through change.
Review the key takeaways
1. Fear is a major barrier to confronting historical legacies of racial oppression
When it comes to confronting historical legacies, influential stakeholders often fear the perceived risks of taking action rather than the risks of doing nothing. Fears are often based on anecdotal or personal experience, but the mere perception of risk is enough to derail efforts.
2. Fears generally fall into one of three categories: procedural, institutional, or interpersonal
To better understand why some stakeholder groups are so resistant to change, EAB investigated more than 40 perceived fears that pose barriers to progress. The analysis found that fears generally fall into one of the following three categories:
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Procedural
Fears related to the complex process and lack of guidance around confronting historical legacies of racism
Leads to long-term stall outs and change fatigue
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Institutional
Fears related to the institution’s reputational and financial well-being and sustainability
Stops change initiatives early in their tracks
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Interpersonal
3. Applying principles of risk management can help leaders mitigate fears when confronting historical racial legacies
Reframing fears as risks and proactively managing them can make the process of confronting historical racial legacies less daunting. Institutions should first consider developing a risk register to develop a complete view of potential risks in their work
Within the register, institutional leaders can score risks to prioritize the most pressing concerns and then develop a plan of action to mitigate their impact if they occur or to prevent risks from happening in the first place. You can download EAB’s toolkit to get started.
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