Thursday, January 23, 2025, 6:00-8:00pm Pacific

ISDI is proud to co-sponsor an evening with Fred Miller, renown CEO of The Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group, one of the oldest DEI consulting firms in the United States. Fred is co-author, along with Judith Katz, of a timely new book, The Power of Agency: Cultivating Autonomy, Authority, and Leadership in Every Role, to be published in November 2024.

The journey of change and higher performance is about the need to enable and support greater agency for individuals and teams. Agency ensures that people of all backgrounds, identities, tenure, and roles have the power and voice to make decisions and choices related to their jobs and the success of the organization. When people can exercise their agency, they feel greater ownership, not only for their area of responsibility but for the larger enterprise. They become the COO of their own jobs. Leaders’ and managers’ roles shift to removing barriers and setting parameters to enable greater autonomy, trust, and collaboration.

A central premise of this book, is that agency exists in all people. Agency cannot be bestowed or given; it needs to be unleashed. Fred and Judith discuss why agency is critical to creating a higher performance workplace that retains and leverages talent. They explore some of the common barriers and practices that block people’s ability to exercise their agency.

Judith and Fred see agency as the next step in the inclusion journey. Here is how they describe it:

“There is a common saying used to distinguish diversity from inclusion and how life needs to be different in the organization: diversity means being invited to the party, whereas inclusion is that you are invited to dance” (Cho, 2016).

“We believe inclusion and diversity are necessary for creating higher performing workplaces people want to join and contribute their talents. Agency is the next step in this journey. Agency is co-creating the party itself, feeling the freedom to contribute your wisdom, and having the authority to act: decide on the venue, who is invited, the music to play, etc. With agency comes ownership. You no longer feel like a guest at the party or in the organization. At work, this means you can make the decisions and take the actions needed to do your job and you feel empowered to act in ways that uphold the organization’s values and further its mission, vision, and strategies.”

Fred brings 52 years of experience in strategic culture change to develop workforce strategies that accelerate results in delivering higher organizational performance.

Together, Fred and Judith, have co-authored seven books providing thought leadership to strengthen the development of the DEI field. The two have been recognized with awards from several organizations for their contributions to ensure people of all roles, levels, tenure, and identities have the power to make decisions related to their jobs and the betterment of their organizations.

Don’t miss this extraordinary opportunity to meet a DEI pioneer. Come join us!