Get the Achilles Heel Out of Diversity Work

Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) has made a lot of progress within the last 3-5 years. While we are not where we want to be, let's take a moment to be thankful for where we are. It's because of the tenacity, foresight, and drive of executives, D&I leaders, and allies that we have made the mission possible. Let's take the time to enjoy the journey and the small victories, versus always looking for the big wins. But let's also shore up the foundation so that we can continue to experience the progress that has powered this movement forward.

One fundamental concern is the extent of blatant racism, sexism, ageism and homophobia at work and in our communities today. Equally unsettling is the explicit response of reverse-discrimination, reverse-bias, reverse-inequity, or reverse-exclusion in preemptive actions designed to forestall -isms from occurring. While we shouldn't ignore the original overt offense, we certainly should not return the favor. Protecting yourself or your group in this manner is thought to be self-preservation, but it lacks the foresight to steer clear of the negativity that is designed to detract from the mission and distract from changing the status quo.

An Achilles heel is a weakness, that can lead to downfall, in spite of one's overall strength. In Greek mythology, when Achilles was a baby, it was foretold that he would die young. To prevent his death, his mother Thetis took Achilles to the River Styx, which was supposed to offer powers of invulnerability. Thetis held Achilles by the heel and dipped his body into the water; however, his heel was not washed over by the water in the magical river. Achilles grew up to be a man of war who survived many great battles. Then one day, someone shot a poisonous arrow at Achilles which lodged in his heel. The arrow killed him shortly afterwards. From a simplistic perspective, the myth seems to suggest that an exposed heel is a weakness. However, in 725 BCE, Homer wrote that Achilles' real weakness was being vengeful, quick to anger, and petulant when he didn't get his way. These weaknesses made him vulnerable to an ambush, which resulted in his death.

In the field of Diversity, we get so hung-up on the -isms that we engage in behavior that can be self-defeating and contrary to the notion of inclusion. For example, there are some Diversity professionals who think that excluding White male voices will somehow repay men for their selfish ways. I've also read a few stories about women being angered by the concept of intersectionality in gender, race, sexual orientation, gender identity, disability, and age. Accordingly, some assert that the term "women" as a default, means White, middle class women with husbands and children, causing females of color to feel invisible. Instead of addressing invisibility or challenging the status quo that allows few women to get past the glass ceiling, some females are starting to say, "let's just leave these other groups behind".

In 3 Reasons You Don't Want Women Leaders, Victoria Pynchon says, "Women at the top look positively exhausted, frazzled, irritable and they still rarely exercise the degree of power you'd think people with their work ethic, qualifications and dedication to work should be wielding. Clearly, there's only room for one or two of them at the top. This has created a mini-dog-eat-dog corporate culture for women that's mostly beneath the male radar."

In these types of scenarios, the age of the woman matters too. Gail Williams, Chief Diversity Officer at Hodges University, and I recently had a conversation about this topic. Gail noted how many people assumed that Congresswoman Nancy Pelosi was [too old] to become Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives again. Not only was it a discriminatory concept, but it was erroneous, as Speaker Pelosi is still very effective and could teach some of us younger leaders a thing or two. I was pretty quiet while Gail was talking because I have to admit-- I thought it was time for new leadership too!

My husband and I actually debated about Congresswoman Pelosi for a few days, but I came to the conclusion that both he and Gail were right. I also realized that unconsciously, I was biased against the "old school" of leadership that appeared too soft. Once I understood this bias, I allowed myself to become impressed with Pelosi's political savvy and negotiating skills. Yet, how many Diversity leaders can admit that they are biased? How many are comfortable with the potential criticism that could come with admitting imperfection? In fact, I can count over two dozen Diversity leaders who are absolutely terrified that I will say something about their employer's misdeeds.

A perfect example is Google. Years ago, many of us wrote about Google's Diversity disclosure. While Google took a lot of flack, it survived. The company has since made many changes to improve the culture, equity and inclusion, and they are still working. What's even better is that they brought attention to a decades old problem in Silicon Valley and other companies are becoming proactive in their equity and diversity efforts. The point is that iron sharpens iron. The people who debate our ideas, and challenge what we do, are the ones that help us to grow and improve. If we grow bitter and negative, we lose. If we begin to second-guess our purpose, our employers will pay the price.

Once, I contacted an associate at a major law firm which had several gender diversity issues. I told the Diversity Officer, "Your competitor has been publicizing this issue to prospective clients on their website and social media. They are using your misfortune to their advantage. Now is a great time to get partners and other leaders certified to shift the firm culture and show you're serious about change." The Diversity Officer said, "We're going to go another route." Six months later, nothing has changed. I recently read that the firm was having trouble recruiting female attorneys. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Nadine Vogel, CEO of SpringBoard Consulting. She shared a story about someone who had inquired about her disability consulting services but told her that the consulting fee was too high. They said, "We'll try to Google a free solution instead." A few weeks later, the company got sued.

So what can we do to change?

1. Become a facilitator

D&I risks losing its momentum if we continue down this path. For, when we should be strong, negativity and petulance threaten to weaken our efforts. To get the Achilles Heel out of Diversity work, we have to serve as facilitators. By definition a facilitator is:

"A person that makes an action or process easier; Someone who helps to bring about an outcome without getting directly involved; An individual who acts as a 'lubricant' by helping a team with issues such as inclusion, culture, or multi-cultural communications; A professional that guides a group to understand and achieve their common objectives."

2. Be Clear About Your Purpose

The concepts of equity and inclusion revolve around the power structure, and the ability to distribute access to power and opportunities equitably. Don't confuse this with socialism; equity and inclusion involves creating a viable system for fair competition so that the best people can actually perform at their best in the workplace, and all client/student/patient groups are valued as important customer demographics. Getting one woman, or person of color, or immigrant into a leadership position is great, but ensuring representation in 5 out of 10 executive positions is even better. Five is a relatively small number, but it's big enough to change the status quo, while simultaneously ensuring leadership continuity.

3. Go Out of Your Way to Collaborate

How do we create a system that provides a person of color with the same privileges that a White person has, while simultaneously making sure that ALL have more opportunity? Ask the people you work with. If we want the power structure to change, we have to work together to create a fair system that works for everyone, which means that diverse groups (e.g., Asian women, individuals with disabilities, different religious and non-religious groups, Black men, LGBTQ+, White men, Hispanic women, veterans, Asian men, White women, immigrants, Black women, mixed-race individuals, different generations, Hispanic men, and more) have to be at the table together in order to rethink Inclusion, Equity, and Culture.

Am I proposing that everyone should hold hands and sing Kumbaya? No. I am cautioning on the risks inherent in Diversity splintering and forming factions that focus on self-preservation. I am acknowledging that this work is difficult, and the rewards can be slow and far between. I am conceding that the temptation to operate under the radar is real. Nevertheless, we need leaders that are willing to develop innovative ideas, take risks, and disrupt the status quo anyway. We need visionaries who will take the time to relax and refresh so that the negativities of doing this work do not eat them alive. And, we need facilitators who can forgo their pursuit of perfection and resolve their own blind spots.

Finally, we must constantly ask ourselves, "Am I playing it safe? Am I being fair? How will this action or inaction be remembered in the history books?" After all, it's our responsibility to focus on the future of work, and never forget that united we stand; divided we fall. Let's get the Achilles Heel out of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion work.

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Leah Smiley, CDE, is the President of the Society for Diversity, the #1 professional association for diversity and inclusion. For more information about the Society for Diversity, or its certification, membership or eLearning programs, log onto: www.societyfordiversity.org.