Managing Boundaries Inside and Out
Episode 2: Interview with Mason Donovan, Global Inclusion Strategist, Best Selling Author, Employee Engagement Expert at The Dagoba Group
Welcome to Courage to Advance, hosted by Kim Bohr and brought to you by SparkEffect, in partnership with The Empathy Edge.
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In this essential episode of “Courage to Advance,” host Kim Bohr and global inclusion strategist Mason Donovan tackle a critical challenge facing today’s leaders: maintaining organizational cohesion in an increasingly polarized world. Their timely conversation cuts through the noise to deliver practical wisdom on fostering productive workplaces where differences drive innovation rather than division.
Through real-world examples, Mason and Kim explore how thoughtful leadership can transform potential friction points into opportunities for organizational growth. Drawing from personal experience and extensive client work, they examine why some corporate inclusion initiatives soar while others stumble, offering senior leaders a strategic framework for making decisions that align with mission and market realities.
Key Takeaways:
- Inclusion is for the entire organization, no matter if you are in the majority or the minority group. It is more than just policy, it is operating with a lens of inclusion in every aspect of the organization.
- Everybody has to own inclusion. While leaders may have a greater impact, they cannot be the only ones carrying the inclusion bucket.
- Politics in the US have put almost everything, every cultural decision, in either the red or the blue. Think about those connections, think about what may be said to others by those decisions, then make a decision.
- Hard, uncomfortable conversations will come up. Get ahead of them before they begin with policies and training.
Episode on YouTube
Links to things discussed:
The Connection Compass: Guide to Inclusive Dialogue
A comprehensive framework and workbook designed to help individuals and organizations navigate differences through self-reflection, understanding impact, and building connections with practical exercises and action steps.
Leading Through Polarization Discussion Guide
A structured discussion guide that provides conversation prompts and questions focused on three key areas - micro-exclusions, political conversations, and building inclusive culture - to help teams extend their learning from the podcast episode.
