La'Wana Harris

Action Guide for Diversity Beyond Lip Service La'Wana Harris

You have employee resource groups, inclusion councils, and unconscious bias training -- what's next? The elephant in the room with diversity work is that people with privilege must use it to allow others equal access to power. How do we talk them through this shift? La'Wana Harris introduces Inclusion Coaching, a new tool that identifies the stages of preparation, implementation, and "self-work" necessary to help individuals, teams, and organizations build a sustainable culture of inclusion.

This companion Action Guide accompanies the "Diversity Beyond Lip Service: A Coaching Guide for Challenging Bias" book. Harris shares pragmatic tools, stories, and activities to help business leaders, trainers and diversity practioners embed inclusive behaviors in their organizations.

"La'Wana Harris has opened this coach's eyes to the power of coaching practices to create new paths for diversity and inclusion work--whether or not you are formally trained as a coach. Please read this book and help create workplaces with honest engagement and access for all."

-- Marshall Goldsmith, Thinkers50 #1 Executive Coach and two-time #1 Leadership Thinker in the World


"La'Wana Harris wants us to understand that inclusivity is everyone's responsibility. There's no shaming or finger-pointing here. We all have room to improve."

-- Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The New One Minute Manager(R) and Servant Leadership in Action


"Coaching is about expanding people's view of themselves and the world around them. La'Wana Harris demonstrates how we can use a coaching approach in conversations to help people courageously recognize when they have acted out of judgment, power, and privilege."

-- Marcia Reynolds, board member and past Global President, International Coach Federation, and author of The Discomfort Zone


In order to provide the service to our clients that we claim, we must do our own work to become aware of our personal and organizational blind spots and biases in the complex realm of diversity and inclusion. Through many powerful examples, and with a very calm, incontrovertible voice, Ms. Harris has made the intersection between coaching and inclusion work crystal clear. Bravo!"

--Halli MacNab, PCC, President, Association of Coach Training Organizations,
COO, Accomplishment Coaching