White male leaders who become allies for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) can make a huge difference in the world. From counseling individuals, leaders and institutions over the past three decades on how creating inclusive workforces, I’ve seen the power of “Includers:” These leaders tend to be better at engaging employees, hiring diverse workforces and helping more people make decisions. Not surprisingly, that helps them grow their bottom line. For instance, these leaders make sure they include people of color and diverse consumers in their business’s marketing mix — and that helps them expand their market share. Some of them stand out even more. I call them the “Super Includers.”

Super Includers make anti-racism central to their brand as executives and leaders. They powerfully demonstrate how to “walk the talk” when it comes to diversity. All care deeply about inclusion and are committed to taking courageous steps to move the needle at their own personal and professional risk. What’s interesting to me is that their backgrounds do not tend to suggest that they would be particularly committed to racial equity. For me, that is in some ways the most powerful aspect of their stories: They have taken up the mantle of anti-racism on their own. Coaches, executives and policymakers, whether bootstrappers or born to privilege, they are doing what they can.

Here are just a few examples:

Tim Ryan, then-CEO PwC, became a champion for DEI at the accounting giant. He was made CEO of PwC in 2016, when the fatal shootings of Alton Sterling, Philando Castile, and police officers in Dallas caused him to immediately pivot his business plan and take the dramatic step of closing PwC for a day to have an all-hands-on-deck discussion on race. Prompted by a Black employee, he started CEO Action as a platform for using PwC’s relationship with other CEOs and boards to share best practices on inclusion, bringing together 1,600 top executives. He pushed for transparency and had PwC released detailed diversity data — putting the organization under its own microscope in order to lead by example.

NFL coach Pete Carroll helped undo a longtime NFL practice of overlooking Black men for quarterback position when he drafted Russell Wilson for the Seattle Seahawks. In 2013, Wilson led the team to Super Bowl victory — and under Pete was named to nine Pro Bowls. After George Floyd’s murder he saw the impact it was having on NFL players (most of whom are Black) and held a groundbreaking town meeting with his team. He didn’t try to impose a solution. He listened and committed to being a better ally. When the players voted not to practice that day and decided they would all register to vote, their coach not only defended them, he defended their taking the lead.

Born a white male into the segregated South, Ray Mabus rose to governor of Mississippi, and became Navy Secretary under the Obama administration. There, he refused to adhere to the military’s traditional conservatism when he named naval ships after civil and gay rights icons, like Medgar Evers, Cesar Chavez, John Lewis and Harvey Milk, noting that they too were American heroes. He also pushed against the ban on LGBTQ+ troops. He also showed that progressive outspokenness can actually help leadership when he was ranked one of Glassdoor’s Top 50 ranked CEOs. After leaving public service, Ray remained laser-focused on championing equality as CEO of consultancy The Mabus Group, helping companies and leaders embrace rather than resist change. In the wake of the 2017 Charlottesville white supremacist rally, Ray pushed for changing Mississippi’s state flag and removing Confederate statues.

Could You Be a Super Includer?

Many leaders I work with ask the same question: Is being an includer innate or can it be learned? In most cases it’s both: applying the core values they grew up with and the experiences in their lives to fight for others. But some of us are more inclined to be Includers than others. Answer these seven questions to find out how close you are to becoming one.

1. Have I ever felt like an outsider?
2. Would I be willing to share my stories of including and excluding others to help those around me learn?
3. Have I exhibited acts of courage to stand up for and speak out for others at my own personal or professional risk?
4. Have I reflected on difficult questions like “Who would I be without racism?” and “Do my personal behavior and politics perpetuate racism?”
5. Do I view my privilege as an opportunity to build a more just and inclusive world rather than simply a source of guilt and shame?
6. Am I open and willing to learn others’ stories of race, racism, and discrimination—and to recognize that they are not my stories?
7. Have I made a personal commitment to taking steps to ensure that DEI has become a core value in my personal and professional life?

If you answered “yes” to at least three of these questions, you’re definitely Includer material. Likely, that will be a lot of you. And there’s no question that we need more Includers now to step up — and address a seemingly endless tide inequity and racial injustice. Welcome to the club. Your allyship can and will make an enormous difference in the world.