Balling Onward: Athlete To Successful Business Person

We have all been talking on the topic of inclusion, diversity and equity but what if we approached the topic of inclusivity in a different way? What if we really appreciated the differences that every individual brings to an organization and work around the talents that they bring rather than trying to change them when they enter into an organization through upskilling training or exposing them to what has already been done. Now it is okay to teach them the ropes, but if we don’t allow them to bring their talents and they just do what has already been done, isn’t that perpetuating the cycle of reverting to what hasn’t worked in the past? 

Now, don’t get me wrong, I am not talking equity, which is what we SHOULD be bringing in; individuals with a less traditional 4-year college degree, masters degree or higher, and upskill them. When we talk about equity, that is absolutely what we should be doing. Not making excuses as to why things  are the way they are, but rather try to provide additional support and resources for those groups that are statistically and factually represented at less senior levels than their counterparts (if represented at all). 

I am talking about being inclusively inclusive. What I mean by that is this: Inclusivity by definition is intentions or policy of including people who might otherwise be excluded or marginalized such as those who are racial or sexual minorities or have disabilities or another category of uniqueness that makes up the diversity of an organization.  If we were really honing in on being inclusive by definition, wouldn’t we be focusing on the talent that we currently have and how we can ensure that those people within our organizations feel like they are truly included, rather than changing them to “fit the mold”? 

For me, that would mean that the talents that I was hired to meet diversity metrics are not disregarded or altered. I mean,  as a candidate, I would be going through psychologically questioning, “I was attractive to you when being hired initially, wasn’t I? So why are you completing changing who I am when I get here?”

Its like in our common societal workplace behaviors, we try to recruit talent to have diverse organizations but then when we get that diverse talent we inquire in an effort to “develop” or change them to fit the mold of what the organization wants. Doesn’t that defeat the purpose of why we all think diversity is important? Like, for example, understanding that if we have more diverse teams, it will increase our business performance.  If we think about why diverse teams are more efficient, it is mainly because of the uniqueness that each person’s background can add to the innovation and performance of an organization; right? So why change the person we hire to meet diversity metrics?

When I think about diverse talent in organizations and how these underrepresented or marginalized employees are expected to change themselves to fit into the organization’s dominant represented group and culture, it reminds me of when college coaches recruit a young, excited player who has been promised to make a huge impact on a college program because of how he or she plays in high school, then gets to college and is completed changed. In many cases, their game has been changed so much that they lose all the confidence they had when they were in high school, which is what attracted the college coach in the first place.  By the time they get to be a senior or an upper classman, their game has been so disrupted by the coaches and system in place, that they don’t even remember how to play like themselves anymore or let alone, have fun. It’s really misleading for the student-athlete and mentally confusing, frustrating, and very manipulative of the coaches. Trust, me, I know haha. 

I mean think about in your organization when comparing different counterparts.  There are those who were hired as a diverse hire, who then stayed in a position that they did not plan to be in for far too long. By the end of their career, they regret changing so much to “fit the mold” and are never able to focus on what they were initially passionate and excited about. Then there are those who you see working in an area of work that they were placed in to “upskill” or be developed into what the organization interprets as “fitting the mold” and don’t like this experience at all.  In this position, they are unhappy, they are quiet, they aren’t themselves, they really don’t seem confident when they do muster up that little bit of confidence to speak once in a room full of people they just didn’t fit in with.  But then, they moved to another project where they felt more in their element and aligned to what they were initially excited about when they joined the company, and they literally SHINE!  They feel like they can speak up; they are confident when they speak; they initiative conversation.  It is literally night and day.  How much more productive will our organizations be if we really keep the promises we make when we try to bring these diverse talents in.  Talk about BELONGING & RETENTION!

Final thought, it would be great if we (organizations) can start to think through how we can really use the diverse talent that we recruit to support the benefit of what diversity results in; innovation and efficiency. Rather than changing our systems, let’s use the diverse talents to reimagine a new system with their diverse perspectives and talents that they were hired for.  How about that?