Do empathic leaders still exist?

Jefferson Darrell
Jan 19
4 min read

I started Breakfast Culture in response to the blatant discrimination and micro-aggressions that I observed and experienced in the workplace. For example: one of my first job interviews after graduating from PR school, I was informed by the older Quebecois white man sitting across from me that “we only hire PLUs – people like us,” before he walked out of the interview without even asking me one question. This was AFTER the qualifying HR interview. He meant white people. It was blatant discrimination based on race. And here we are… AGAIN.

Back to Breakfast Culture: I wanted to help organizations by offering solutions to improve workplace cultures for the better. To ensure that no one would have to experience the discrimination that I and countless other marginalized peoples have endured for generations. I studied change management for inclusive leadership at Centennial College in collaboration with the Canadian Centre for Diversity and Inclusion. In fact, eight of the ten equity recommendations from my capstone project became part of Ontario’s anti-racism action plan. My methodology was viable. It still is.

We are in precedented times

None of this is new, The racism is being rebranded as "anti-DEI" or "anti-woke," so the narrative turns white men into the victims of social justice and human rights. When all that was happening was equality and giving non-white peoples and women the same opportunities that white men are afforded at birth. (I can already hear the white men in the comments, but based on my “PLU” example you would have been considered for that role and countless others just because you are white and male.)

In 2020, after the murder of George Floyd I was (cautiously) hopeful. Countless organizations signed equity pledges, in the creative industries many signed on to People of Colour in Advertising & Marketing’s (PoCAM’s) 12 equity commitments, other organizations signed onto the BlackNorth Initiative, and other Canadian companies committed to Canada’s 50-30 Initiative that challenged them to have 50% gender representation and 30% of other marginalized groups on organization Boards and in their C-suites.

Do empathic leaders still exist?

Now that the Vice President of the United States has gone on record stating that “white people no longer have to apologize for being white anymore.” Which really means that white people, or rather society, no longer must care about racism, discrimination, and bigotry anymore. White peoples can now be openly racist with zero accountability.

Many organizations have dropped their equity commitments. Just peruse social media to see how racist comments, aka hate speech, are now accepted and no longer monitored. It is considered more offensive to call out racism than to experience racism.

In fact, the words racist and racism have been banned by the US government and is also questioned as “offensive” on many social media sites. This is so disheartening, frightening, and frankly makes me angry as it means that ALL of the work that we’ve done as a society for the past three years, and the decades during the Civil Rights Movement was all PERFORMATIVE. The message is clear: organizations do not care about the human beings that they employ, sell to, and partner with; they only care about money.

I understand that Western society is based on capitalism. But when it comes at the cost of human dignity, human well-being, and in many cases human life; is capitalism worth the price of our humanity? I want to believe that empathetic leaders exist who create profit with purpose.

“I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”

I have lost that cautious hope that I felt in 2023. It scares me. I say that because collectively society has and continues to fail Black peoples and beyond the racist dog whistles; e.g. woke, DEI Hire, Old Stock Canadian, Immigrants, etc., policies and laws are either being rolled back or put in place... AGAIN... to prevent equal access to opportunities. (I am using race and specifically anti-Black racism in my rhetoric but history and data demonstrates that anti-Black racism adversely effects EVERYONE, including white men.

When I engage with new white peoples I no longer feel safe, I don’t know who they are: Are they Racist? A true ally? Or just being performative?

To quote James Baldwin: “I can’t believe what you say, because I see what you do.”

My challenge to empathetic leaders

I put out a call to action to empathetic leaders, to fellow human beings with compassion for ALL of humanity who want to ensure that their organizations are not embracing anti-Black racism and the adverse effects that this bigotry results for everyone. I implore you to embrace Breakfast Culture’s 5 Courageous Workplace Culture Asks:

Listen to the unheard voice. Prioritize psychological safety. Make space for dissent. Use data to surface silence.
Hire beyond your comfort zone. “Culture fit” is often code for “culture same.” Prioritize “culture add.” Lived experience matters.
Co-create belonging, not assimilation. Redesign systems so no one has to shrink, mask, or code-switch to succeed.
Turn discomfort into a diagnostic. Discomfort isn’t the enemy. It’s a clue. Trace it. Learn from it.
Treat your brand like a mirror. If your external messaging doesn’t match your internal culture, people will notice. Integrity is alignment.