Anyone can be a boss, but understanding how to add diverse cultures into a workplace takes a leader.
I’m using the words diverse and diversity, but if you’ve ever heard me speak you know that I don’t like them because they’re so easily tossed around. We’re all diverse. I don’t care if you have the same skin color or not, we’re diverse in our thinking, walking, working, and all that’s in our bags – what we bring to the workplace.
The idea that you can check your bag when you arrive at work, the way you would check your luggage at the airport, is a lie! You know darn well that when you get to work some of the stuff you try to shove to the bottom of your bag floats or jumps up, because that’s who you are and how you act.
When someone’s in a good mood, everyone knows that today is a good day, or this moment is a good moment, to work with them. If they’re not in a good mood, then folks know that today is not the day. We carry these feelings in our bags, and that’s one element of company culture. I’m not saying it’s a good element; I’m saying it’s an element that you need to be aware of.
If leadership doesn’t make diversity a foundation of the company’s culture, it won’t work.
Unconscious Bias
What Is Unconscious Bias?
It’s thinking that you just don’t like something but you’re not sure why. You’re prejudiced against something, someone, some group and you’re unaware of it. The bias could be based on race, ethnicity, gender, age, socio-economic status, religion, sexual orientation, and so on.
Why Does Unconscious Bias Matter?
Unconscious bias matters because the status quo that’s not inclusive is no longer acceptable. It’s not OK to say you’re sorry, you didn’t know, when bias is being seen by everyone else but you. It is OK to ask questions when you don’t know. Unconscious bias matters because it excludes certain people from taking part, certain people from being candidates for jobs, and diverse thinking in any situation. If you allow a bias to rule your choices, then you keep yourself, and your company, from growing.
How Can Unconscious Bias Be Combatted?
Everyone has unconscious biases. What’s important is that you become aware of them and understand how you react to them.
I give people a simple quiz to test their bias. Before one woman took my quiz, she told me that there was no way she was biased; after the quiz she said she had to do better. She had no idea that she was biased and how her bias affected her life and her thoughts.
When you’re aware of your biases you do better, or at least you can take a breath and ask yourself: Why am I making this decision? Have I looked at this issue through another lens?
Black Lives Matter? Is It bias?
No, it’s not! When people get upset by the phrase and say All Lives Matter – I agree! All lives do matter! But when the conversation is about black lives, and black suffering, it’s important to acknowledge that we’re talking about black lives, not all lives, Black Lives Matter – period! Just as, in discussing the coronavirus pandemic, it’s important to acknowledge that it’s not the Asian flu. Be clear that each conversation is important, but different, and that each one needs to be heard.
They & Them
How do you think it feels to come to work each day not knowing what people are saying about you? How do you think it feels to wonder if people think that you’re only there because of the color of your skin, or your gender, or you’re a checked box?
Answer: You feel like you don’t belong. It doesn’t mean that people aren’t nice to you or that your work isn’t good; it means that you’re left out of conversations and decision-making.
You show up and hope to be noticed and heard and respected for what you bring to work. No matter what department you’re in, you want to be part of We & Us.
It’s up to leadership to dig down into their bags and see what’s in them before they try to help They & Them join We & Us.
Takeaways
1. Take time to be honest with yourself and review what you bring to work in your bag. How can you welcome others to join We & Us in the company?
2. Examine what We & Us means to you and to the company.
3. People want to be seen, heard, and respected and to feel that they’re part of the big picture. If you’re part of the organization’s leadership then this is your responsibility. What will you do?
4. Can you keep your biases and be successful?
5. If you keep your biases up front and out in the open, what’s your value to the company. How long will that be OK?
6. What are your real thoughts and feelings on women in the workplace? African American men and women in the workplace? Latino men and women? (I say men and women because companies look at men and women who are African American or Latino differently.) Asians? Those with disabilities seen and unseen? LGBTQ+?
7. Are you prepared to hire a transgender person and assure that they’re treated as equals?
8. Are you prepared to have the difficult conversations needed for change? If you’re not, are you ready to admit it and bring in someone who can?
9. Are you ready to be the ripple in the pond of change (to speak up about Diversity and Inclusion)?
10. You do see color, so stop saying you don’t.
Ask Yourself
CHAPTER 2
Does Diversity and Inclusion Matter to You?
To Your Company?
NOW THAT WE TOOK A MOMENT to examine what’s in your bag. what do you bring to the table in the D&I space? What do you offer as a leader? What does Diversity and Inclusion mean to you?
Should you be thinking about Diversity and Inclusion as a leader? Is it part of the company policy, which means part of your job? Diversity and Inclusion isn’t just a trend, so you’ll need to figure out how to make it part of the company culture. Not rocking the boat no longer works.
If you answered yes to the questions above, but you feel that Diversity and Inclusion is more than policy and that you need to set an example, then what does that look like? If Diversity and Inclusion matters to you personally, how do you translate that into your work and into your department? You have to be careful that you’re not creating siloed department goals and culture but that you’re working to change your company goals and culture. (We’ll cover that in more detail later in the book.)
Before
