I actually benefited from being different
“When you become the image of your own imagination, it’s the most powerful thing you could ever do.”
― RuPaul
Fiona Grant
“I’m one of those Gen Xers who stayed with the same company for life,” says Fiona Grant, a former Managing Director with global professional services firm, Accenture. She had a noticeably positive experience with Accenture — as a leader and an out lesbian for the majority of her tenure.
Originally joining the London office in 1989, the large, youthful office made her feel welcome. “My colleagues were so tuned-in to who I was. Some knew my partner had moved to the UK from the US, and I came out in the office gradually through the early 1990s.” It finally came to a head in 1995, when a senior partner called her into his office to ask why she had not disclosed her partner to everybody. Rather than making her fear, the “outing” felt like moral support and boosted her confidence to disclose her personal life formally.
Fiona started out as a consultant and flourished with the organization, getting exposure to recruiting and change management before homing in on human resources as her focus.
With an American life partner, Fiona eyed moving to the United States in the mid-1990s for their relationship — to be closer to her partner’s parents — although she harbored concerns that she wouldn’t be able to be out about her relationship in the US.
In 1996, a human resources manager role with a new internal group opened up in the Washington, DC office — the right next role for her career. She was able to approach Accenture to sponsor a work visa and the firm was supportive of the move and her family.
Still, Fiona had reservations. “It is funny to look back and think how I assumed Washington, D.C. would be stuffy; with everyone wearing the obligatory yellow tie!”
As she arrived, a senior finance leader and out gay man, Richard, approached her. “On only the second day of my arrival, he outed and informally adopted me as his mentee and friend. We became tight-knit from then on and worked closely together on LGBT initiatives in the office.” Again the patronage boosted Fiona’s confidence in Accenture’s support of her, inspiring her boldness to put herself out there within the company.
Her self-awareness at work, which led to notoriety and respect from her colleagues, only strengthened when she became a parent. In 1999, “My wife and I decided to become parents, and becoming a parent is a huge normalization.” Accustomed to having a different lens than her straight colleagues, her foray into parenting endeared her with her colleagues and earned her power. She became emboldened to take more of a stand for her communities and drove the effort with a small team to “make the business case for domestic partner benefits at Accenture” with the CEO.
The team was successful and Accenture chose to implement the benefits, additionally supporting the creation of an Employee Resource Group (ERG) to ensure a national network for LGBTQ employees.
From there, Fiona continued to be a champion and leader within the organization.“I always volunteered to be the diversity lead on initiatives. Eventually I was easy to recognize by colleagues because I had been in so many internal ERG videos.”
Over time, Fiona had been progressively promoted to a Human Resources Senior Manager and eventually senior roles with global influence and oversight on Diversity & Inclusion Initiatives. As she earned recognition and responsibilities, “I actually benefited from being different in terms of promotions, as once you get beyond the manager ranks, you need to have traits that differentiate yourself.” Fiona developed a reputation for being “an authentic leader” and says, “I knew I was promoted partly because I was open about my sexuality, and that I had coached and mentored others going through the same experiences.”
Upshot
- Lean in to being outed, whoever you are. When you take full ownership for who you are as a political maneuver — as much as personal acceptance — you gain momentum in your pursuits. People also align their impressions of you with what you demonstrate to them; the harmony resonates for building trust, confidence, and rapport.
- Some environments are more welcoming than others; keep searching for the ones that are. Fiona blazed a trail to ensure that the others who came behind her have critical workplace rights and benefits. Never settle for organizations below the bar.
- Being different from your peers can actually be the distinction you need to move into higher levels in an organization. By connecting with members of your staff/workforce/group who are outside the usual, you mobilize resources for the organization that might otherwise be untapped or uncultivated.
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I hope you enjoyed this excerpt from my new book, Pull Yourself Together! Ready to take your career to the next level? Email me at kate@drivendifferent.com or connect with me on social: LinkedIn or Twitter. To read more, check out Pull Yourself Together on AMAZON.
