“A Few Bad Apples”? Why That Narrative Protects Power More Than People

“Can you help my executive leadership team understand that systemic racism isn’t just about bad people doing racist things, i.e. bad apples?”

It’s the question I hear the most.

It assumes the problem is one of explanation: if only leaders really understood that systemic racism is not just interpersonal behaviour, not just a handful of rogue managers or employees, then things would change.

But here’s my counter-perspective. In most cases (yes, there are always a few exceptions, but work with me here), the issue is not a lack of understanding.

The real problem is that the “bad apples” story protects the system itself, and we often fail to grasp just how much people are willing to invest in keeping that narrative alive. This article shares how and why.

Full disclosure: it’s a longer thought piece, so grab a cup of tea (or coffee) and settle in. I needed to give this sufficient depth and also give you time to process throughout.

It's one of dem ones where you know when people say it's not that deep? In this instance, my response is nah mate, it is that deep, trust me.

And if this isn’t enough to persuade you to read it, let me try with this:

Instead of asking “How can I get them to understand?” the sharper question is “What does the bad apples narrative make possible for leaders and organisations who keep repeating it…even when they know better?”

30 Patterns of Harm is an independent review by Dr Shereen Daniels, commissioned by the Metropolitan Police Service and recorded on 18 July 2025.

The review examines how the Met’s systems, governance, leadership and culture produce and protect racial harm, and why these patterns persist despite decades of reform efforts. Rather than recounting individual incidents, it focuses on the structural logic — the everyday processes, norms and incentives — that make racial harm a recurring and predictable outcome.

Central to this analysis is the role of anti-Blackness. The report identifies it as the clearest indicator of organisational dysfunction and the sharpest edge of harm within policing. By addressing anti-Blackness directly, the review shows how tackling its causes also helps dismantle the wider systems that enable racial iscrimination against other groups.

This audio recording provides an accessible way to engage with the findings, supporting reflection and helping listeners grasp the depth and intent of the report’s structural approach.

For the full 30 Patterns of Harm report and the accompanying Structural Companion Guide, please visit the Metropolitan Police Service website. Both documents should be read together to fully understand the scale of the challenge and the framework for change.

The Structural Companion Guide was developed by Dr Shereen Daniels to accompany 30 Patterns of Harm, an independent review commissioned by the Metropolitan Police Service and published on 18 July 2025.

While 30 Patterns of Harm diagnoses the institutional logics that reproduce racial harm, the Companion Guide provides the scaffolding for what to do next. It sets out the principles, disciplines and structural foundations required to turn insight into practice – helping leaders understand how to rebuild systems that protect people rather than institutions.

The guide is not a checklist or toolkit. It is a framework for reflection, accountability and redesign. It invites the Met to move beyond activity, to align intent with impact, and to create conditions in which anti-racism is embedded within governance, decision-making and everyday leadership practice.

For the full 30 Patterns of Harm report and the Structural Companion Guide, please visit the Metropolitan Police Service website. Both documents should be read together for a complete understanding of the analysis and the route toward meaningful change.

Collette Philip runs multi award-winning anti-racist brand and strategy consultancy, Brand By Me. Brand by Me help organisations harness the power of brand strategy to embed anti-racism, drive equity and tackle injustice. Collette has been building powerful brand strategy for brands for almost 25 years, both agency and brand-side, including McDonald's, Always, Veet, Clearasil Barnardo's and EE. Collette is also a celebrated writer and speaker having featured in Third Sector, Campaign, Forbes and on BBC Radio 4. Her business, Brand by Me was named a “Small Business of 2021” by Lloyds Bank and The Times and she was one of Campaign’s “40 over 40” in 2023.

Collette is also co-founder of Join Our Table, an initiative to increase the visibility of Black women in the communications industries, as well as being Chair of Trustees, for Abram Wilson, a charity which creates visibility and opportunity for minoritised young talent through jazz.

In this episode, I speak with Colette Phillip, founder of Brand by Me, an anti-racist branding and strategy consultancy. We explore Colette’s personal journey from advertising to launching her own consultancy and discuss the challenges of navigating systemic racism in corporate spaces.

We cover:

Colette’s career path and personal journey – Colette shares how her upbringing in Luton and early experiences in predominantly white environments prepared her for the advertising industry, where she faced systemic racism and burnout, ultimately leading her to found Brand by Me.

Racism in the workplace – Colette explains the pressures Black professionals face to work "twice as hard" and how this narrative is rooted in white supremacy, often forcing Black employees to overwork in environments that don't value their contributions.

The dilution of DEI efforts – We discuss how DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) initiatives are often co-opted and diluted, sometimes even reinforcing white supremacy rather than dismantling it, making real progress on racial equity more difficult.

Representation vs. systemic change – While representation of Black and brown people in media and advertising has improved since the murder of George Floyd, Colette notes that these visual shifts are superficial and don’t address deeper, systemic racism within organisations.

Capitalism and anti-racism – Colette reflects on the challenges of engaging commercial brands in true anti-racism work, particularly when capitalist structures and practices like exploitative labor contradict the principles of racial justice.

Internalized oppression and survival – We dive into how internalised oppression affects Black professionals, leading many to focus on survival rather than advocating for systemic change, and how proximity to whiteness can create a false sense of security.

The importance of Black-centered conversations – We emphasize the need for conversations about anti-racism and Black liberation that are centered on Black experiences and not reliant on corporate agendas, to ensure meaningful and sustainable progress.

There are many things to tell you about John. There’s all the usual bio stuff: Professor John Amaechi OBE is a respected organisational psychologist, and the Leadership Transformation Expert at APS Intelligence LTD, the consultancy he founded in 2006. At APS Intelligence, John and his team of specialists' partner with businesses to build bespoke programmes focused on executive coaching and behavioural change that help create effective leaders and authentic and ethical cultures. This is what John believes leads to sustainable organisational growth and high performance while ensuring the dignity and well-being of all colleagues.

Recognised as an influential thinker in HR, John is a Professor of Leadership at the University of Exeter Business School in the United Kingdom and a Fellow of the Institute of Science and Technology. He's the author of the New York Times and the Sunday Times bestselling leadership book, The Promises of Giants, John draws on his early life in Stockport, near Manchester (UK), his career as the first Briton to play professional basketball in the NBA and deep psychological insights, to challenge and inspire others. In doing so, he continues to be driven by the words his mother once used to inspire him when she said that: "The most unlikely of people in the most improbable of circumstances can become extraordinary."

He is a non-executive director of a FTSE 250 company, was a 10-year director of the UK’s largest healthcare organisation and a board adviser for several FTSE 100 organisations in the financial, legal and professional services, technology, publishing, engineering and retail sectors.

He is a LinkedIn influencer and has been a LinkedIn Top Voice since 2020. In 2023, John was nominated for and awarded the Sport's Industry, Integrity & Impact award. But there are some more things it’s important to know:

John is a mentor, a teacher, and always using his deep psychological insight combined with real-life experience to provide a touchstone for people and companies who want to thrive, achieve, and align their beliefs, values and ethics. People who think facts and evidence should bow to opinion drive him crazy; he’s passionate about Star Wars, is a self-confessed nerd & geek, a former NBA sportsman who has a voice like honey and is transported by music and loves nothing more than to eat decadent foods that are bad for him – especially pies!

So, while you’re questioning everything you thought you knew, John will entertain you with his storytelling, confront you with uncomfortable truths, make you laugh and move you to tears (sometimes in the same minute) and ultimately inspire you to grow and develop in ways you couldn’t possibly imagine…so that you can be a Giant too.

In this long-awaited episode, Shereen Daniels speaks with leadership expert John Amaechi about the evolving landscape of leadership and the complexities of driving organizational change. Together, they:

Explore the nature of leadership and influence, highlighting the limitations of individual power in effecting systemic change while recognizing the significance of inspiring others.

Discuss the challenges posed by socio-political dynamics, including the widening gap between leaders and employees and the reluctance to engage with uncomfortable topics.

Emphasize the importance of embracing discomfort as part of the journey towards inclusivity and organizational change, advocating for a nuanced understanding of learning and transformation.

Examine the role of “mediocrity” within organizational structures, challenging traditional notions of excellence; and Offer insights into the complexities of leadership in a rapidly evolving world

Join Shereen and John Amaechi on this absolute “must-listen” episode of Advancing Racial Equity 4.0.

Karia shares his entrepreneurial journey, starting from his early days selling video games on floppy disks to building Canada's largest crypto company, WonderFi.

Karia discusses the transformation of his identity, including his name change from Ben to Karia, and its profound impact on his personal and professional life.

He speaks about the importance of understanding his heritage, connecting with his roots, and how this journey has influenced his values and business approach.

The conversation also touches on Karia's transition from WonderFi to focusing on social causes, particularly bonded labor, modern slavery, and human trafficking. He shares insights on the challenges and motivations behind this shift and offers advice to aspiring leaders of colour navigating corporate environments.

James E. Francis is a distinguished entrepreneur and diversity advocate, celebrated for his role as the founder and CEO of Paradigm Asset Management, a top-tier, data-driven asset management firm on Wall Street. In addition, he is the visionary behind BlackChatai.ai, a pioneering platform committed to dismantling barriers in awareness, access, and understanding of AI technologies for underrepresented communities.

A Morehouse College alumnus, James is based in New York City, where he is committed to influence both the technological and financial landscapes with his innovative and inclusive approaches.

In this episode, Shereen and James Francis discuss the implications of generative AI, particularly focusing on its impact on the Black community, James emphasises the following:

• the historical contributions of Black innovators to AI development
• the evolutionary nature of AI and its current significance in various sectors
• potential discriminatory outcomes and privacy concerns arising from biased data and the lack of community involvement in AI development.
• strategies to mitigate against AI threats
• opportunities for AI concerning economic empowerment, accessibility and personal development

Joel Edward Goza is a writer, speaker, and community advocate. He is professor of ethics at the HBCU Simmons College and teaches in Kentucky prisons. Before focusing on writing and teaching, Joel worked in urban redevelopment and community activism for over a decade in Houston’s Fifth Ward. He is also the author of America’s Unholy Ghosts: The Racist Roots of Our Faith and Politics, and contributes to The Hill, Salon, and Religion News Service.

Joel and I discuss the following during this reflective conversation on race, class, religion and reparations.

- How historical figures like Thomas Jefferson and Ronald Reagan perpetuated racial myths that still justify systemic oppression today.

- The harmful narratives around Blackness in America, such as the myth of Black laziness and criminality, and their continued influence on society and policy.

- His views on reparations evolved, moving from scepticism to support, as he recognised the need for both financial and moral reparations for Black Americans.

- The interconnectedness of race and class and the rationale for why they should be addressed differently. We also touch on the modern narrative that focuses on class over race, noting how some people believe solving class issues will solve racial inequality, a perspective we both find problematic.

- And finally our views on why reparations is needed for both the US and the UK

About Joels latest book

Joel Edward Goza dismantles the deep-seated myths that perpetuate white supremacy—and makes the case that reparations are necessary to heal America’s racial wounds and live up to our democratic ideals.

Like many well-intentioned white people, Goza once believed that he could support Black America’s struggle for equality without supporting reparations. Reparations, he thought, were altogether irrelevant to the real work of racial justice.

This is a book about why he was wrong. In fact, any effort to heal our nation’s wounds will fail without reparations.

In Rebirth of a Nation, Goza exposes lesser-known aspects of racism in American history and how Black people have consistently been depicted as responsible for their own oppression to justify slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration and gross inequality. Goza’s iconoclastic and incisive account exposes how revered figures like Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln embedded white supremacy deep into our nation’s consciousness—and how Ronald Reagan manipulated this ideology so that society cheered as he advanced a set of policies that wounded our nation and intensified Black America’s suffering.