113. Making Impact Through Everyday Actions
Summary
Impact. Much like diversity, it's a word that’s often (and sadly) overused.
Erica lends clarity to a term that has become a buzzword in some circles rather than a meaningful intention. She also challenges imperfect allies to make moves that extend beyond their brand, their business, and their social media engagement.
Small acts rather than grandiose gestures are the true momentum-builders of diversity, equity, and inclusion.
In this discussion:
What does impact look like in action?
Taking action even when no one’s watching
What is saviorism and how to avoid perpetuating it
Witnessing the kindness of others
Rewarding folks for their quiet, meaningful efforts
Supporting those who often go unseen
Keep The Dialogue Going
We often get stuck in our own cycles of inactivity because we can't quite figure out where to start on our own. At Pause On The Play The Community, you’re invited to explore imperfect action together with entrepreneurs, thought-leaders, and changemakers. Create lasting impact in your business, your community, the world with conversations, resources, and expert guidance from Erica Courdae and India Jackson.
Article
We use the word impact a lot around here at Pause On The Play, but what does that mean? “I often feel as though it is a word that, very similar to words like authentic and, sadly, diversity, are very overused and not often enough clarified as to what it looks like in action,” says Erica. It’s easy to define the various ways in which organizations and brands apply the term; they need to do so, too.
For this conversation, however, “I actually don't want to talk about the definition of impact. I actually want to talk about some of the things around...what does it look like in action, really, because I often will work with people that they're clear that they want to make impact [but] they're not always sure what that is.” And, that’s fine. Erica reminds imperfect allies that this work is a process; meaningful impact takes time to actualize. “Sometimes it's hard to verbalize or to even kind of acknowledge to yourself what it is when, maybe, you've never seen it.”
Impact as a Daily Way of Being
Impact isn’t simply the grandiose gestures; it’s not the strategies or tasks implemented within the concepts of your brand's parameters. “It is not what you do when you think you are doing diversity, equity, and inclusion,” Erica says. “I want to clarify that because sometimes it's like, ‘Well, if I'm doing this and I'm being more diverse than I'm doing it right, right? That's what I'm supposed to do.” Impact is simply a way of being, a way to operate on a day-to-day basis. It’s embedded in the way we see things, the way we think about things, and how we’re processing information. “A lot of it to me definitely shows up in how you are witnessing others and the way that you then respond in turn.”
When thinking about everyday life, some activities that we engage in have nothing to do with brand or business, like donating to a favorite cause. Or deciding that a person who attends our church, our social club, our gym is deserving of acknowledgment because you see how hard they are working. Perhaps we want to offer to buy them lunch, drop them a gift card, or simply share a kind word with them.
In other words, sometimes donating time, money, or effort doesn't have a large organization attached to it. Instead, generosity in the form of an acknowledgment or resource shared can be extended not because the recipient appears to need the help or is expecting our attention. We should give just because we are capable of offering. We never know the positive chain reaction a single act of kindness may set off. “To me, that's one of those things that you never know where an opportunity will show up for you,” Erica says.
Goodwill Sans the Audience
We’ve all heard stories of (or possibly received) goodwill paid forward. Think of the customer who pays for the order of the next person in the coffee line. Daily life creates abundant scenarios in which we can pass on a small acknowledgment without expectation or calculating how well the act will reflect on us, what the kindness will mean for us in the future, or how this will impact our existence.
Instead, we should act out of a desire to be a good human. “Sometimes that can really implant the type of energy that you need to continue on with what you're doing in your brand,” Erica says, reiterating the importance of recognizing these opportunities in regular life because “then you'll begin to notice what kindness and impact really look like, not what we told ourselves it looks like, not when it's Instagrammable, not when it's worthy of a TikTok trend [but] what it actually looks like, what it actually feels like, what it smells like, what it tastes like.”
That’s a vital consideration when thinking about the changes we want to accomplish. “So often people are hooked on the impact that they make being visible for others. But what about the impact that isn't visible to others? Is it any less necessary? Is it any less impactful?” No, it's not.
Imperfect allies must remind themselves to acknowledge and support others just because, to extend kindnesses that don’t garner applause in return, and remember that this is about being a part of a larger process. “This is a part of us playing into the conduit of getting this energy moving and going to create impact,” Erica says.
Avoiding the Tendency Towards Saviorism
“I also want to make sure that I preface this with saying that this is not about being the savior. This is not about being the person in line at the grocery store. That's like. ‘Hello, single mother of two that is Black. I think you can't pay for your groceries. Let me do that for you.”’ Wrong. “Don't do that. That can come off very saviorish, and it can also come off from a sense of you're assuming that she can't do it for herself. So, I think that it's very important to have that awareness of am I doing this because I want to be the savior and I want the recognition? Or, am I doing this because this is the right thing to do at the right moment?”
When we’re able to pay attention to our actions and those around us, or those we have access to, we begin to acknowledge what “savior behavior” really looks like. “You'll begin to see the damage that can cause, and then you can reroute those actions. So again, you want to make sure that you're not stuck on the idea of ‘if this is not a visible act, I'm not going to do it.’” This process is about finding moments in everyday life and not only taking advantage of the “like-worthy” opportunities.
“You do want to make sure that as you use your collateral, your capital, whether it is money, time, your words, your energy, a smile that you are using that capital wisely and you're using it, sans saviorism,” Erica says.
“What I do want you to do is to really think about it from a place of witnessing, rewarding, and supporting.” This is not about fixing. “It's more about, ‘Hey, I have this, and I think I have it because it's yours. It's not meant for me; I was simply meant to hold it and to pass it on. Can I give this to you?’”
This is a way for imperfect allies to acknowledge that they are a vessel for change. “You have the capacity to be the conduit in between point A, here's this thing, and point B over here, where this thing is needed. You can carry it through, and you can carry it with a sense of humility and hope and empathy.”
Witness. Reward. Support.
Witnessing, rewarding, and supporting happens every single day. It’s not just about the impact on a business or brand. If POTP audiences get nothing else from this conversation, recognize this point as the takeaway.
“I want you to pay attention to where it shows up in the most unlikely of places and act with intention, not saviorism. I do want you to also make sure that you are checking your ego and being willing to possibly have someone reject what you're giving because maybe they don't need it and, maybe, that's not quite the destination yet. But the fact is, you tried.”
This is the fundamental concept of nothing ventured, nothing gained. “I know that's not always an easy thing to embody, but it's real. And, so, know that sometimes it may not always go the way that you want it to, but I also want you to pause and say, ‘Hmm, is it possible that this didn't go the way that I wanted it to because I showed up within an energy of scarcity or an energy of needing to do something for someone else, or I approached this from a place of I am doing something that someone else needs and I am better for it?’ It's not about you. This is not about us as individuals.”
This is about the impact and the collective change that we can create when we get out of our own way, and we simply do the right thing as humans, we begin to break down the stereotypes of who we are, how we are, and what we do and don't do for others. “Especially,” Erica reminds us, “when they don't look, live, or love like us. You never know how far a random act of kindness, of witnessing and again, of rewarding and supporting, you never know how far this can go to creating impact.”
Quoted
Erica Courdae
“You never know the chain reaction that that can set up. And to me, that's one of those things that you never know where an opportunity will show up for you.”
“This is a part of us playing into the conduit of getting this energy moving and going to create impact.”
“It is so important to remember that witnessing, rewarding, and supporting happens every single day.”
“It's not about you. This is not about us as individuals. This is about the impact and the collective change that we can create when we get out of our own way, and we simply do the right thing as humans.”