Is ‘Fit’ or ‘Culture’ Socially Acceptable Exclusion?

A couple of years ago I was recording a series of videos for LinkedIn . At that point I was doing them in batches and editing. I recorded a few minutes about ‘Fit’ and what that means. Fitting into cultures, being rejected for not ‘fitting’ that sort of thing. I questioned how organisations and groups use fit and culture to exclude and isolate.?

Not ‘fitting’ anywhere?

I’ve spent most of my life not fitting in. Never conscious or deliberate but I have come to learn that I am wired differently than most people.I have always seemed to end up in a niche or on my own at the extremity of a group. At the side but not embedded into. In recent years this has taken the form of getting rejected from jobs and Boards I have applied for after my redundancy from EY. Getting down to the last 2 but not being chosen. Despite due diligence, solid expertise to contribute and a strong and supportive network and references, where I fit or not being seen to fit has been my issue.?

I have spent a lot of time listening to people explain to me what I am not (a doctor, Occupational Health Lead, academic, someone with a job title…) than understanding and accepting what I am, and what I have to offer.

This is anything but a sob story. It’s been a hard, lonely and frustrating path at times, yes, but I have come to realise that not fitting anywhere is actually my gift or super power. By not fitting into one system I can be the bridge across many. I am and have always been totally multi disciplinary (I did the only fully multidisciplinary BSc in the UK) so have always not fitted anywhere specific but have taken learnings from different places and integrated into a new approach.?

I sit across and understand different functions, groups and people. Translate systems and language, and bring people together to build something bigger, better and collaboratively. It is my special gift and unique talent. Something I have now fully leaned into. Hence offering my own training and services. If I don’t fit anywhere else then I will just create my own ship and see who joins me there? :-)

Workplaces are not set up for teams or initiatives that don’t fit anywhere?

The working world (and our societal culture) isn’t set up for people or things that don’t fit the norm. The first question we ask others is ‘what do you do’? A seemingly innocuous question but it isn’t really. We are asking ‘what box should I put you in and address you as?’. Work structures, jobs and careers are structured in a linear and box-like fashion too. What role you have, the team you are in and how you are measured in it fits a structure and pattern. You have to fit into the structure to progress. Performance management is across your teams and the box of your role.?

A big challenge for many organisations I am working with now is how to flex these structures for the new working world. Employees are expecting more and management and leadership practices, organisational structures need to change. In the world of workplace health, mental health and wellbeing, or change, this means creating a new multi disciplinary team or business unit that doesn’t fit anywhere but stands alone. The trouble is that organisations aren’t structured to do this. Everything has to fit somewhere in the structure which is why things become so siloed. We haven’t figured out how to effectively weave cross functional initiatives across an organisation.?

Are we using ‘fit’ to discriminate?

Taking this one stage further (and the reason I couldn't edit my video into a coherent, non-whiny point) is that we are also at risk of using our notions of ‘fit’ and ‘culture’ to exclude and discriminate. Much of my work is around making cultures supportive of people from different groups - those with mental health conditions, women, disabilities, neurodivergence. The sad reality is that many will be excluded as they aren’t perceived to ‘fit’ or don’t fit into the right box for the structure or culture of the organisation.?

There is a fine balance to be struck here. Was I discriminated against when I was rejected from my applications? No. Was I rejected because I didn’t ‘fit’? Yes. Does this happen to many others and those with far more serious issues than being ‘different’? Yes. Where does ‘lack of fit’ become discrimination? It’s often a complicated and grey area.

The irony is that our popular culture reveres artists, musicians and free thinkers who don’t fit the mould?

But only when they achieved the right level of success or acclaim. Often their path is lonely, isolated and rejection filled. Not fitting into normative structures and paths.?

Our future needs creativity and innovation. To embrace change we need to flex. That means looking discriminately at our societally acceptable notions of fit and culture, and challenging what we see. Are we really embracing all?

I’ll delve into this more next week when I look at the consequences of ‘fit’ on creating group think. We need diversity of thought to evolve hence why my work now and ‘Do Workplace Health Right’ Live is about holding space and including all. Listening to and giving space for different people to create a new, diverse and creative future.?

Have a good week?

Best Wishes

Amy x?

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