“I want to make equitable futures irresistible, I want it to be so juicy and delicious, like: how could you want anything else?” - Tara Robertson
Tara Robertson is a diversity, equity and inclusion strategist. She works with companies to use data to diagnose what's going on and to help make things better in a lasting, sustainable way. She is also a leadership coach, primarily serving women of color to be more unapologetic and wildly successful in their careers. Women of color are the center of her universe, but in her coaching as well as her strategy work she serves lots of people that are drawn to her style.
Tara surprises herself in how personal she gets with her answers in this conversation - and surprises us as well in asking questions right back at us. Coaches gonna coach.
You can read about this conversation below, but if you can, have a listen to the podcast audio (with the player above or in your podcast app) to hear the laughs, really get Tara’s vibe, hear her flip questions back on us, and more. It’s hard to make that come across in the text.
We write this article to make the podcast accessible for people who don’t process information through audio - as a way to be inclusive - but if you can, listening gives you the richest and most complete experience.
We first dive into the coaching side of Tara. She is a co-active coach, which means that she thinks about who we're being in the world as well as what we're doing. Whatever anyone's identity is, she states, it is integral to who you are and how you move in the world so, for her, it impacts how she coaches. Integral to who she is being, as an Asian-Canadian woman of color she coaches a little differently from coaches with a different identity.
Tara’s own most powerful coaches have offered a combination of a warm hug and a kick in the ass, and she appreciates that style. Our clients deserve that, she notes, and that’s where the beauty of coaching lies.
“[As a coach] I look beyond people saying yes and no, I look into their body language and also the way that they say things.” - Vivian Acquah
Earlier in her life and career, Tara was really frustrated and angry around injustice. But if we just knock everything down, we're just going to be standing in a pile of rubble, she started to realize, and that's not going to work. At this point, she’s come to want to build the future rather than tear things down. That future she imagines is rich and beautiful, and does look very different than what we have today.
“I want to make equitable futures irresistible, I want it to be so juicy and delicious. Like, how could you want anything else?” - Tara Robertson
Essential building blocks in Tara’s approach are change management and leadership, clear goals and accountability. She explicitly invites clarity around what the top three things are that an organization is working to change right now, measuring where they are on that progress.
“Who in the C-suite has the accountability goals around DEI? What are they? What are the top three things you're working to change right now? And how do you know where you are on that progress? That piece is really important. I don't know any companies that run their marketing team with a group of volunteers, no budget, and no measurable goals. We just don't do that because we know what's important. But a lot of organizations do that with DEI.” - Tara Robertson
In her leadership coaching, Tara directs her coachees to go deep on questions like: Who are you as a leader? Who do you want to be? Who do you want to be in this situation? And what do you want to be: courageous, loving, authentic, something else?
"I fully believe that leadership shows up in all of those ways, and I am actively working on showing up more as a leader myself in all of those ways." - Marjolijn Vlug
From that place, a leader figures out what they want to do, and then lets it flow. From there, it'll be more authentic. Tara recognizes how her own growth as a coach has increased her ability to support the people she works with in their individual growth processes.
“After having become a coach, I'm much more comfortable bringing the emotion. One woman said she felt like the space was sacred, and I was able to really hold a lot for them to process. And I think [before] I was more in my head and needed to prove myself with my credentials, data and research. Those things are important, but there's more, too.” - Tara Robertson
Tara uses her intuition and emotional response in her work, checking in with herself: does this feel right? When she is in alignment on an emotional level, she can catch things that are ‘off’ at a heart level before her brain catches up. ‘My brain's really powerful, but it's the slowest part,’ she notices.
Tara’s style of working has range, which means she brings some spice but can move the range from ‘one chili pepper’ up to about ‘five chili peppers’. It has a deep and rich flavor, it's layered and thoughtful. It's something that she puts a lot of love in. She builds trust and also is explicitly committed to say the truth even when its uncomfortable, having been socialized as an Asian-Canadian woman.
“My promise to people is: I will always say the hard truth, and I will do it with love.” - Tara Robertson
"[Your style is] a deep and rich flavor, and it's layered. In terms of a dish, it's a thoughtful dish. It's something that you put a lot of love in, you know, it's not fast food." Marjolijn Vlug
We see Tara bringing her full self into the DEI game, starting with showing up with a fabulous hairstyle and amazing eyewear. It starts with providing a language that is constructive, where she brings the spice but is always constructive.
“You tell people like it is. Being a coach is not only about being a cheerleader, It's also being able to turn the mirror around and show them what you see. You're helping them in their journey to see what they want to see.” - Vivian Acquah
In her current work, Tara feels very much on purpose: this is the work that she’s here to do in this life. Looking at what the world needs, there's a lot that's wrong right now, and she doesn't have a ton of hope. However, thinking about the changes that she can help make in the world and working with other people to make them happen is what gives her hope. The phrase ‘hope is a practice’ sustains her, emphasizing incremental work, showing up; the consistency in the discipline.
There's more to DEI than just having passion and lived experience. Essential skills are change management, strategic internal communications, and project management across many different departments.
“If you want to change something, either as a coachee or as a company leader, you need to think, really, honestly: actually, do I want to change this? And if so, where am I at and where am I trying to go?” - Tara Robertson
Tara is not a fan of the DEI certification programs that are offered by some famous educational institutions, because she notices that these are organizations that haven't done diversity, equity and inclusion well themselves. It doesn’t look like they're in a place to be experts. The challenge that they add to people getting a role in DEI is that these credentials lead to roles going to people who can afford an expensive credential, rather than recognizing people who have the skills and range to be a good DEI leader.
“I've applied for a few DEI roles and been rejected because I don't have a university degree, or they don't see how they can fit somebody in who is neurodivergent. They cannot fit me in a box.” - Vivian Acquah
There is a polarization storm running across the world, but luckily there are companies out there that see the value of creating a competitive edge with DEI. What Tara finds difficult to tolerate is the pendulum swinging back legislatively in the US and in Canada, around transgender rights, trans people's access to healthcare, and access to abortion for women. ‘I can't tolerate the state exercising power to limit people's humanity and control over their bodies,’ she clearly states.
What Tara invites is for more people to hear others’ perspectives, truly being willing to get into a conversation. She is aware of and honest about what she’d like to develop in this respect.
“Am I actually open and listening right now, or am I waiting for the [right moment] to put my point in? I'd like to be the person who can listen and be curious at all times. I'm not [that person] right now. I'm not sure how to enter that conversation but by not doing so, what am I giving up? So, how do I need to grow to help shift things in the world?” - Tara Robertson
What isn’t working is fighting with people online with snappy one liners. That's not it. So, she wonders, where in our lives do we have some influence and are we willing to go out there? It's hard to enter those conversations, she acknowledges, but where could you try? A resource Tara recommends here is the Essential Guide to Dialogues about Israel-Palestine (see resources list below).
How to have those conversations is something that many of us change makers are trying to figure out: how to have a conversation, even with someone who's running away or is actually trying to punch you in the face, in a metaphorical sense, because these aren’t always people that are open to having a conversation with you.
“It's about creating the space to have these conversations and having them constructively. I think that's a huge learning and growth challenge that we're seeing right in front of us, that we're right in the middle of, and that we're seeing as one of the possible solutions and ways forward.” - Marjolijn Vlug
Tara is proud of how this work and this journey, and all the people she’s met along the way have shifted her to become a bit softer and yet be strong in that softness. She thinks about what we are building together and how the unlearning that she’s done has allowed her to give herself and others grace. Not all judgments are bad, but she’s found the benefit of being more open minded with people she doesn’t agree with.
“I’m proud I put down some of my armor.” - Tara Robertson
What Tara takes a stand for is her clients’ wholeness. She’s realizing that in that same vein she wants to take a stand for herself as a whole person. That leads her to share something in this conversation that she hasn’t been sharing widely before. One of the things that feels like she’s tucked away for a long time, as if it’s been in a big 70s metal gray filing cabinet in the corner. Something that is part of her career history and that’s been hidden all that time because there's been an element of shame around it. Now, Tara’s realizing that the time has come to claim it, and claim it here in our episode.
Versatile and colorful, before she worked in DEI Tara was a librarian and before that, for 10 years she was a sex worker. She’s been hesitant to share that part of her career because we live in a fairly sex negative culture, but she now acknowledges the ways in which this experience has made her better as a coach. Sex workers have certain soft skills that are really honed through their work, and we don't talk about that a lot in the professional work sphere. Tara’s sex work experience has expanded her skills in holding an intimate space with a client, to be able to be present with them and to witness them, which is really powerful.
“All these skills that you have gained throughout your whole career, make you YOU, make you valuable, make you impactful.” - Vivian Acquah
It’s important to shine a light on what we are missing out on when we don't see real skills gained in unconventional ways: we're missing out on a lot and that makes us not yet achieve the full impact we need to make. Moreover, our skills keep developing and growing. Looking towards her future, ‘I'll always be learning,’ Tara says, ‘I’m such a curious person who loves to learn.’
She keeps finding her work enormously interesting because she gets to work with interesting people who are trying to change things. Community is one of her values and this year, it’s been especially important. Some communities she’s a part of are the places where deep healing has happened.
“Healing can happen at an individual level, but we need to heal in community as well. There are things that are possible in community that are not possible on your own.” - Tara Robertson
Tara notices there's a network effect: when we as individuals take a stand for ourselves and like who we are, it creates space for other people to do the same. She feels like she’s on a threshold of big change, and she’s becoming a more authentic, liberated, and joyful version of herself, and that resonates a great deal with us.
“I'm done with failing [to fit] in somebody else's boxes.” - Vivian Acquah
The inquiry that Tara leaves you with as her gift: who do you want to be as a leader, or who do you want to be as a citizen, or who do you want to be as a parent? And then what do you need to do from there? What do you need to learn?
Thank you for joining this journey of growing insight and connection. Coming together as change makers, we create momentum, share our discoveries and challenges, make meaning, and cultivate environments where diverse voices and viewpoints are heard and celebrated.
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About Tara Robertson
Tara Robertson is a leadership coach and DEI consultant who transforms how organizations approach equity and inclusion. Named a LinkedIn Top Voice for Gender Equity, she brings 15 years of experience leading change in tech and corporate spaces, including her role as former Global Diversity and Inclusion Lead at Mozilla. Her data-driven, intersectional feminist approach has influenced practices at Microsoft, MIT Press, and Planet. Tara's insights have been featured in Harvard Business Review, Forbes, and CBC.As a Certified Professional Co-active Coach, she helps underrepresented leaders go from underestimated to unstoppable.
Connect with Tara via
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Resources & references from this episodeBooks:
Adrienne Marie Brown - Pleasure Activism: The Politics of Feeling Good
Elaine Lin Hering - Unlearning Silence: How to Speak Your Mind, Unleash Talent, and Live More Fully
Wendy McNaughton - How to Say Goodbye
Christine Platt - The Afrominimalist's Guide to Living with Less
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