Please, Ask Me to Dance!
Originally published on hirediversity.us January 24, 2018
By Heather MacKenzie
Diversity is such a hot topic these days, especially in tech. It seems as if I hear people talking about it virtually everywhere I go, which is a good thing! Now there are even roles being created at companies for Diversity & Inclusion leaders, which is wonderful, but I actually think we have the emphasis on the wrong part. In my opinion, it should be I&D instead of D&I.
Diversity is a terrific first step, but can come off as tokenism if the inclusion piece is ignored. To me, inclusion is where the real magic happens. I gave a Headline Event talk at Denver Startup Week last fall, and the slide that garnered the most note and photo-taking was one that simply said, “Diversity is being invited to the party. Inclusion is being asked to dance.”
When people feel truly included, they are more apt to feel their contributions are valued, which in turns creates greater desire in them to actually contribute in meaningful ways vs. just checking the boxes at work. In my I&D consulting work with tech companies, I talk to company leaders about ways to create psychological safety — and why it’s so important. Let’s take a moment to delve into both a bit.
Having a diverse team is the first step to creating more holistic solutions for your customers.
We mainly live in a world created by white dudes, for white dudes — and no knock on them — I happen to love white men, but when we surround ourselves with people who mainly look, think and act like we do, we tend to create solutions for people who look, think and act like we do.
How much of the potential market do we miss when we do that?!
The good news is I’m seeing more and more tech companies that recognize that having diversity on their teams is good for business, but we still have a ways to go. The two main areas I think we can improve upon that will yield significant positive results are 1) Recognizing that diversity is much more than just having women or people of color on a team. Diversity of thought, age, experience, background, country of origin, ethnicity, sexual orientation, military service, differently abled — all of those contribute to creating more holistic solutions, which in turn can expand a company’s target market(s). 2) Working to improve inclusion — when employees feel psychologically safe at work, they feel empowered to bring their whole selves — their fully authentic selves — to their work.
Here’s a recent example of this: I was doing some I&D consulting for a small but growing tech company in Denver, and did one-on-one interviews with everyone on the leadership team, to assess how included and safe they felt. One gay man, who had a fairly effeminate affect, told me that someone else on the team had made a derogatory comment (phrased as a joke) about his voice and gestures, and ever since then, this man said he felt himself checking his tone or his gestures in meetings, because he was worried he wouldn’t be taken as seriously if he didn’t.
If you have a team member who’s in meetings with the constant loop in his or her head about how they think they should sound or act, do you really think that person is bringing their full creativity and brain power to the table?? I also met with the person who made the comments to that man, and I truly don’t think he was trying to be derogatory — he probably thought he was being funny — but that is how unconscious bias sometimes works. We all have ideas about how The Others — the ones who don’t think, act or look like us — behave, believe, present. It is only once we become mindful of the fact that we do have those unconscious biases that we can begin to check ourselves and how we treat and respond to others.
So how exactly does a tech company, and the people in it, create psychological safety beyond an education on unconscious bias? That’s a complex question, and one I could write an entire book about (hey, there’s an idea!), but let’s start with this premise: all humans have a primal desire to be authentically seen, heard, loved, valued and accepted. When we feel those things, we are able to relax, to be receptive, to let down our guard and truly BE who we are. Try moving through your days at work making an effort to truly see, hear, love, value and accept your colleagues just as they are (I get that “loving” a colleague might not be your first inclination, but remember there are many, many types of love!). Be fully present and engaged when a team member is talking to you. Be mindful of anything you might do (consciously or subconsciously) that could signal disinterest, disapproval or disrespect — looking at your phone while they’re talking, answering emails while on a phone call with them, checking your watch, rolling your eyes, shaking your head. Dissent is very healthy in the workplace — again, back to diversity creating more holistic solutions — but don’t let your potential dissent over the point they are making be confused with disrespect or disinterest.
I’ll end with my vision for society’s future: it is one in which all humans are truly seen, heard, loved, valued and accepted, and one in which we all work together to produce innovative solutions to our most pressing problems. We truly are all much more alike than we are different, yet the nuances each of us bring based on who we are can create a beautiful tapestry that is far more interesting than a blank, white slate.
About Heather MacKenzie
Heather’s passion in life is connecting people, ideas and organizations in meaningful ways that accelerate their purpose(s). She is a consultant with 25 years of experience as a former healthcare executive who helps impact-driven organizations, start-ups and entrepreneurs find their true purpose, develop growth strategies, increase market presence and build key partnerships. With leadership, experience in strategy, sales, relationship development, management and marketing at companies ranging from pre-revenue startups to industry giants such as General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Procter & Gamble and Hospital Corporation of America (HCA), Heather brings fresh perspectives to her client’s biggest challenges.Heather is also the solo parent to 6 wildly diverse children, and is committed to gender equality, diversity and inclusion, particularly in the areas of humanity, healthcare and education. Her belief is that loving, feeding, clothing and educating people, in addition to keeping them healthy, provides the foundation for the future world we all need to build together.
Heather is available for business development and organizational development consulting, as well as public speaking engagements. You can reach her at heather@heatherjmackenzie.com and follow her on Twitter @heather_j_mack.
