The Challenges for IBR and Ally Leaders

The ever fleeting and elusive, “work-life” balance available to so few is almost non-existent to those who have committed to try to dismantle the current systems and help them work in favour of all the children we serve. These systems were purposely built to be flawed and in the favour of a few.

All employees must fulfill their job expectations and roles. For IBR leaders however, they must not only do those roles, they must carry the weight of the work in trying to make equity/truth and reconciliation based changes. The hardest part is that they are often doing the work at the cost of themselves, their health and well-being and often with considerable impacts to their personal lives.

Systems and organizations like to point to the changes being made. Many times they point to the work being done while in the background the reality is much different than it appears. 

Oftentimes, roles are not given the power or support that they need and many times those who are committed to doing better for marginalized communities feel like salmon swimming upstream through an oncoming tidal wave.

Systems publicly profit from the significant resolve, resilience and commitment demonstrated by these individuals. However, the cost of this is the safety and/or well-being of these individuals. Regarding organizational change goals the physical/emotional toll that this takes on the individuals is too often ignored.

For IBR folks and especially those in leadership roles – they experience a “damned if you do and damned if you don’t” work life. They are expected to make change and  fulfill these huge goals while dealing with the tumultuous nature of organizational change and addressing racism and oppression in the organization. At the same time, they have to deal with racism and hate being directed at them both internally and at times externally.

Growing up, I often learned that as IBR folks we have to work twice as hard to get half as far and to remember there is very little consideration or grace for us in terms of mistakes made. So, my advice to IBR leaders is to prioritize your well-being and joy. This includes those allies who have actually matched their words and actions.  

Employers have to consider, learn, and understand the toll and impact of the work of system change. To create equitable systems, you necessarily and continually have to go against the structures as they exist. That doesn’t mean that as we do this we can’t be thoughtful, kind, or strategic, but it doesn’t change the impact of working for change.

So, for those organizations that say that they care – there is work to do to support those who have been tasked with system change work. What we face daily, reminds me of something Elder Duke Redbird said to me, that in this work we face death by a thousand cuts.