Humanizing the Workplace with Norm Jones

Welcome to another episode of The Authentic Change Podcast, I am Mike Horne, your host and I am joined today by Norm Jones, who is an incredible thought leader in diversity, equity, justice, and inclusion. Norm has been the chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer at Amherst College, an associate Chief Diversity Officer and Deputy Director at Harvard University, and recently the President and CEO of Integrated Diversity.

In today’s episode, Norm shares about the foundations of authentic leadership, the importance of integrity and coherence, and the efforts a true leader should make to humanize the workplace by practicing vulnerability. Norm also highlights the need for organizations to embrace uncertainty as the only way to keep innovating and growing.

• [1:59] Norm shares about his professional journey.
• [3:36] Norm talks about justice-based conversations and their relationship with integrity and authenticity.
• [8:45] Values need to be at the foundation of integrity and authenticity.
• [9:55] Norm shares the meaning of operating with integrity in organizations.
• [14:54] An authentic leader makes an effort to find the intersection between what he cares about and what the organization reflects.
• [18:12] What causes organizations to die? The failure to innovate.
• [19:06] Why do people join organizations?
• [19:51] Can individual and organizational goals align?
• [22:49] Predictability vs embracing uncertainty.
• [27:05] When you have a best friend at work your performance increases.
• [29:10] What is authentic leadership built around?
• [30:02] Norm talks about the value of humanizing the workplace.