Organizational transformation happens when a critical mass of leaders choose to change their value system in a coordinated way. When enough leaders in a company understand racial equity and inclusion, the rest of the organization follows suit.
Why does this work? The decision-making hierarchy that is inherent to most organizations doubles as an attention hierarchy. Employees generally pay more attention to their boss than they pay to peers or subordinates. When we pay attention to someone, we learn from them readily.The easiest way to spread a message through a structured organization like a company is to spread that message from leadership down through the org chart.