I am in the process of becoming better and taking time to consider people around me more. A DISC personality test will tell you I’m an empath, but it doesn’t mean that I necessarily ever took the time to properly understand how certain things affect people that don’t affect me.
I’m beginning to appreciate how far people have come and their journeys more. I didn’t really do that before, I didn’t really know, but I also didn’t think to care.
“It’s LGBTQ+ day coming up soon, we’ve got to post something.”
Is when I realised that there’s a theme. Companies are feeling the pressure, and are missing the point.
Being seen to be inclusive, is not the same as celebrating a diverse culture.
Why?
Because some don’t really understand the power that a diverse team can bring.
Why?
Business degrees don’t teach you to appreciate that the best future thinkers, eccentrics, leaders & creatives, are more than just a CV, more than the companies that put them through training, more than their Linkedin brand persona (self dig); that they have lived a life outside of work that make them who and what they are. This can be priceless, especially in leadership or creativity.
I understand and explain it to clients like this:
You have a brief that’s come in from an important client. The team that have eyes on the brief, determine what comes from it. Right?
So, your people are what’s going to make this result go from great, to outstanding.
Your people will literally draw creativity from their previous work, experiences, life lessons, what they’ve seen and who they’ve met to generate lightbulb moments.
This is the point I have come to. It is vital to understand diversity at it’s core — to employers, try and understand people as much as you can, ask different questions, find out what makes them, them and think about how that’s going to add to the dynamic and output of your company.
Ticking a box to say you are diverse is pretty offensive but also unsustainable — people will soon see through it, internally and externally.
To candidates, be proud that you are more than your CV, don’t be afraid to speak about things about outside of the job description, appreciate how your story has got you to where you are, and don’t forget to be ‘unapologetically yourself’ because those that love it, will love it, and those that don’t, won’t be right.
Once you start reaping the rewards of having a team that are celebrated for who they are, you are winning.
