THE PROBLEM
It seems we are in the midst of a long, gradual dawning of realisation about the profound consequences of social and economic dominance, and privileged advantage: white, male, straight, cis-gendered, able-bodied and neurotypical, and colonial legacy power structures. Many of us who have lived our lives with some or all of these advantages have been blind to the impact on those who have not.
And we are also realising the huge untapped talent and power of diverse cultures, backgrounds, perspectives, insights, and ways of being and thinking. Just as a natural ecosystem thrives most with bio-diversity, so any social ecosystem thrives most with socio-diversity. At a time in history where we have huge challenges which require radical innovation, diversity is a vital part of the solution. So what does this mean for you and your leadership, and organisation?
THE SOLUTION
After reading Layla Saad’s “Me and White Supremacy”, and other powerful books on this subject, we became consciously aware, at a new level, of the extent of colonial legacy and institutionalised and structural marginalisation in our society. It is a lifetime of work for all of us to explore how to unravel this; to explore what our privilege means, and to work out, for each of us, “what is mine to do?” in terms of rebalancing the inequality and disadvantage of marginalised people in our society – whatever their disadvantage.
In this work, often the most difficult issue is dealing with powerful emotional responses, including shame and guilt, frustration and anxiety, or anger and fear. The first and most important lesson we have learnt is to let go of them. It is useful to allow and acknowledge these emotions (all emotions have a message for us), but if we hold onto these emotions and take things personally, this can seriously undermine and sabotage any useful action.
And it’s all about taking action. Not to try and atone for one’s sins, direct or inherited; but to work at calling out and dismantling the things – both at a micro level and at a systemic level – which perpetuate discrimination and marginalisation. This is something that everyone – people of privilege and marginalised people – can work on together. Not as privileged “allies” (which implies an unequal relationship) but as true, equal collaboration partners.
The key challenge for a person of privilege is how to develop a greater understanding of the lived experience of more marginalised people. Only then can they see what action is required and how collaboration might work in order to have real impact. This means being curious and open to exploring new horizons, relationships and perspectives – and also listening more, and speaking less. And this may not always be comfortable... Understandably, there is a lot of unprocessed emotional trauma in the worlds of marginalised people, resulting from so many kinds of discrimination through to extreme abuse. It means seeking people out, spending time with and getting to know them. Finding out how they see the world, what is important to them, how has marginalisation in society affected them? What they believe needs to change, and how. And it’s also important to remember, most people have some degree if privilege, and most people do know what it’s like to have at least some degree of disadvantage (however minor) in life.
And in the process, one discovers the amazing array of diverse talent which does exist, which organisations are completing missing out on. This was so powerfully demonstrated by an example in an innovation workshop we were involved in, which included a group of marginalised young people of colour in East London, together with white mainly male leaders from a large corporate. When brainstorming ideas for a significant business challenge, the most and best ideas came not from the leaders, but from the diverse young talent. This was a real eye-opener – it is such a vital source of competitive advantage in all areas of life.
There are a lot of “DEI” initiatives happening in organisations as we speak: some are more effective than others, some are not much better than “box ticking”. But how many leaders are really engaging in the kind of engagement and collaboration work mentioned above?
THE OPPORTUNITY
The power in society is shifting, and not acting to change the systemic marginalisation of people is increasingly going to create negative corporate and brand reputation, with consequences for attraction and retention of talent. And at the same time, bringing in more diverse talent is so clearly a major business opportunity at a time when innovation is going to be more critical than ever.
How are you stepping into this leadership opportunity? To what extent are you genuinely engaging, with openness and curiosity, with marginalised people, and shifting your worldview as a result. How are you creating competitive advantage through diversity in your ecosystem?
Aim Higher Leadership’s expertise in coaching and in diversity and inclusion leadership, combined with our C-suite experience, means we can help leaders to adapt their thinking and build future-facing teams and cultures. We co-create spaces for emergent and transformative leaders to grow.