By Sebastian Fortino
What do American legacy brands such as The Gap, Disney, and Dreamworks all have in common? The leadership of executive coach, writer, and public speaker Jim Fielding. The veteran creative professional is known for his ability to expertly marry merchandise with storytelling to craft rewarding consumer experiences. The Atlanta resident is also a partner with Archer Gray, an independent media company.
He has now transitioned into being a professional coach, speaker, and writer. He recently sat down with me to discuss his book All Pride, No Ego: A Queer Executive’s Guide to Living and Leading Authentically while on a writing sabbatical in Jamaica. A lot of his work fostered diversity, equity, and inclusion as a principle (DEI) before the term was fostered; before it became a buzzword which we saw upheld by the liberal left and mocked, even demonized, by the Trump campaign.
Sebastian Fortino: Why the title, “All Pride, No Ego?”
Jim Fielding: To be honest, 80% of its life was Moments of Truth. I had a moment of panic. What we kept coming back to is that the book means living and leading. For me to accomplish living and leading, I had to control ego. My mantra is to live with pride, and live without ego. So that’s where the title came from. Make decisions with pride, satisfaction, and decisions without ego. We all have ego. But it’s about learning and tempering ego. I wrote the book to help younger leaders and executives learn – something I wish I had 20 years ago.
SF: I see, “committed to providing support, guidance, and mentoring for all to enable Safe and Productive Team environments” on your website. So, this is in keeping with DEI (diversity, equity, & inclusion). How have you implemented or fostered DEI?
JF: Well, I’m grateful to have built cultures. High-performing team cultures. Regardless of what was mandated by DEI – and as you know there are really diverse backgrounds in creative organizations – I thought it was really important. Without ever having a name for it, I pushed to create safe physical and psychological spaces for people to come to work. By doing that I’d get the most innovation out of that environment. Come to work without fear. I always manage with the idea that two heads are better than one. So, I was always walking around and talking to colleagues. “This is an interesting situation, how should we deal with it?” As we began rolling out DEI I was – naturally – managing DEI because I was unconditionally accepting. If you are comfortable sharing your story that would be in a work environment where you are accepted.
SF: How will you foster such inclusion now that we are seeing a pivot in US politics? Or, will you not alter your approach?
JF: I don’t feel like I need to alter my approach. I feel a greater sense of urgency as agencies roll back DEI initiatives. Consider states like Oklahoma, Florida, and Texas and think about Project 2025. DEI was correcting years of under-representation of marginalized communities. It wasn’t just LGBTQ+ issues: But also women, Latin/Latinx, neurodivergent, anybody that come from historically marginalized experiences. But in the political space – they turned the focus on LGBT but particularly the T community. Trump played into it “Kamala is for they/them, I am for you.” Horrible misinformation. That stuck with people. I’m not changing my message as much as there is more sense of urgency around it now. In my coaching practice I speak to all audiences. I don’t change my message even if I am working with cisgender heterosexual male executives in their 50s. No echo chambers in ourselves, we have to get out of our egos.
The family neighborhood, the family unit has changed. Yet, those norms have not been replaced by anything. Families are not connecting or discussing like they once were. I think we have to work overtime to advocate for our communities. We have to come back to that.
[Side note, but I think it’s important to share: Here we spoke about how the “nuclear family” and how American families have changed in the last several decades. With multiple generations under one roof, with (oftentimes) weekly gatherings of families coming together. It begs the question: Was the American family perhaps more diverse and/or willing to discuss change than the compact, nuclear family most Americans have experienced. Fielding was raised with a large family which had multi-generational experience. As for the author, I was raised in an extended Italian-American nuclear family with relatives literally next door and many more in walking distance. Very few topics were ignored or “off the table” at the Sunday table. An article in The Atlantic from 2020 discusses this very issue.]
SF: “May we leave our corner of the world better than we found it” – what does that mean to you? I assume this is the mantra of your work – so please explain.
JF: That quote is from when I was 17 in high school in Ohio. That was in my speech, my valedictorian speech. It’s just as important to me now at nearly 60. We have to get back to doing these small impactful things. Any situation I enter – I want to add value to this situation so the group feels this added value. I want to make sure I am very interested in receiving feedback and adding value. It’s about small incremental things – I’m not looking for a massive sweeping change.
SF: Have you faced any challenges in bringing your book to the public?
JF: Some stores will not carry my book because it has queer on the cover. Literally I have called book stores myself to do a signing, I hear “we don’t carry your kinda books.” So, I haven’t booked as many independent bookstores perhaps because of DEI roll backups. I wasn’t prepared how hard it is as an author to market the book
SF: In keeping with that: How often do you find executives or stakeholders who are uneasy with your initiatives?
JF: Interesting about community: More heartwarming than dis-heartwarming. My journey is paved with allies all around us. I find this in some of the most unexpected places. Appleton, Wisconsin for instance, the woman who invited me told me when she picked me up that she was an ally because of lesbian daughter.
SF: What are you doing with or around the book launch? Any highlights you wish to share?
JF: I haven’t had a bad event yet and I have done 50 appearances and events. The book has been out for 16 months. It’s been great – all over the country. A month ago I was in Spencer, Indiana. It’s an adorable main street community and the entire LGBT community center was staffed by farm moms and grand-moms. I make every effort to get there – if it is possible to get there. I’m booked for Des Moines, Iowa for an event & that means the world to me. I don’t do it to sell more books – I think it’s important to create spaces to talk about our community, history, and needs and how to protect and celebrate each other. That, that’s a gift.
To learn more about Jim Fielding, and where to purchase the book, visit AllPrideNoEgo.com