Cows

The other day someone asked my thoughts on diversity from a work perspective. A great conversation that got me thinking do any companies do it well? I think most companies have good intentions and are trying to do their part, but it remains a complicated issue that needs work. I do think progress has been made, but it takes work and being mindful.

Which brings me to the subject of cows. Got your attention? I promise this will make sense (to most) at the end.

My oldest son who was 6 years old at the time, whose mother is Italian, wondered why he looked like mommy and not like me. He was further struggling to understand why people are so different in many ways and does it even matter.

As a parent, we are all cornered with the existential questions of children that we have to respond to quickly. Looking to phone and friend and finding none, I scanned the room.

I pulled three stuffed cows and asked him, do these cows have different spots. He said yes they do have different spots. My next question was, what are they regardless of the spots? He said cows emphatically. So does it matter that they have different spots, come in different sizes and looks I asked him. He said no, they are all the same, “Cows!” he said with a big smile.

It’s the collective of differences and uniqueness that bind us together for best outcomes.

I have come to find the most enriching places to work are often the ones that start to be purposeful in ensuring diverse representation at all levels and are constantly working hard to achieve it.

So what do I think? Probably three main take aways for me:

1.      Understand, accept and value the uniqueness of culture, gender, race and dozens of other individual things people bring to the table. If an organization truly embraces, teaches and lives this core tenant, it’s a step in the right direction.

2.      Create a culture that embraces diversity and inclusion, whether through training, Employee Resource Group support, recruitment and activities (this is not meant as an exhaustive list) that celebrate those differences and most importantly transparency around tangible actions of support for a diverse workforce and understanding of what that truly means.

3.      Servant leadership that understands diversity has to permeate the entire organization in multiple ways and it has to be more than top down. If we believe the tenet that leadership is being selfless for the benefit of others, we then should work hard to make everyone feel included.

I don’t mean to over simplify a very complex issue, but it’s simply a way to start you thinking about if we are doing enough. There is probably a deeper lesson here if you think about it.