The “Allyship: Small Steps Toward Big Change” session at Fair360’s virtual 7th annual Women of Color and Their Allies (WOCA) event on October 8 featured a conversation with Toyota North America executives.
Speakers included:
- Candice Nash, D+I Leader
- Cory Hoffman, General Manager, Vehicle Safety and Compliance
- Norm Bafunno, SVP, Powertrain Operations
The discussion emphasized the importance of allyship at Toyota. Nash shared the company’s foundational core value “Kaizen,” which broadly means continuous improvement in Japanese. She said the company also prioritizes taking care of its workers like family.
Feeling Seen and Supported
Hoffman started out by asking the audience a question: “Have you ever had the experience at some point in your life or career where someone made you feel seen?”
He continued by asking if this person saw the promise or potential in you and gave you confidence to go for something greater. Hoffman said he’s been fortunate to have had this experience at points in his life.
“The older I get, the busier that life feels, I recognize that those moments can be rare … and therefore, it’s a precious moment,” he said. “As I think about work, for example, we spend a lot of time there, and I believe we all deserve to have meaningful experiences and to reach our greater potential.”
Because he’s had the experience of feeling seen and supported, Hoffman strives to provide that for others as an ally.
“If there’s something that I can do, big or small, that makes someone feel seen, that makes them feel cared for, that helps them understand that they matter and that someone believes in them … that’s something that gives me purpose,” he said.
Creating and Earning Trust
One of the most important aspects of allyship is creating and earning trust with “peers and people that you lead and support,” Bafunno said. This is accomplished through experiences and how people interact every day.
“How do we create this opportunity to have two-way dialogue about careers, about personal issues, if needed, whatever it might be?” He asked. “The key is trust and making sure everybody is willing to talk about the things they really want to talk about. We as leaders always have the opportunity to crack the door a little further or to close it. And to close it is no good.”
Bafunno added that leaders have to keep the door open.
“When you do that, you’re opening up a lot more questions. You’re opening up a lot of things you may not have answers to, but that’s where this trust happens and I think this is where there’s a lot of growth in an organization,” he said.
Take Chances and Be Courageous
Creating and earning trust centers around a good company culture. Hoffman emphasized Toyota’s longstanding culture of respect and continuous improvement. Additionally, what people say and do “sets the tone for the organization and the truth of the environment that we work in,” he said.
When asked how to influence others to be allies, Hoffman said: “You have to live and lead the kind of culture you want to have for everyone. Oftentimes, that means taking chances and being courageous.”
Taking a chance to be courageous sometimes means being vulnerable. Hoffman said that’s not always easy because people want to present a strong front.
“But if we want to build real connections, that sometimes means taking a chance, including willingness to share parts of your story and humanity,” he said.
Nash’s Personal Experience on Being an Ally
Nash shared a story of when Toyota moved its headquarters from Torrance, CA, to Plano, TX. She was on the team that helped move approximately 4,000 existing team members and new hires. This team also provided information and outlets to employees to help them decide if they wanted to move to the new headquarters or find another job.
During these discussions about what to expect, benefits and more, people had to consider moving with their spouses, families and significant others. This provided an opportunity for Nash to be an ally and be “bold and courageous enough” to share her personal story.
“I was actually moving my parents and my grandmother,” she said. “The intuition inside said, ‘Say something about that.’
“And I did, and this is in front of a room of about 200 people, and afterward, I had a line of about 20 people saying, ‘Thank you for sharing that story because I didn’t know anyone else was going through this move, maybe solo or with a different type of family,’ and it just opened up a door and a connection for folks to … know that they had an ally to talk about this big move that we made.”
She added that allyship can look like discussions around anything; whether it’s a big move, faith or someone’s career journey.
“It’s those small steps that you make that make a big difference and a big impact by way of building trust, building connection and just by way of being curious and having that exchange,” Nash said.
Watch the full session recording and check back to our WOCA 2024 event page frequently! We’ll update it with more article recaps this week.
