Levelling Up

On the 15th September 2021, a new UK Government Ministerial post was announced and a Minister for Levelling Up appointed. 5 months later (February 2022), the Levelling Up Secretary, unveiled the government’s flagship Levelling Up White Paper. This was aimed at setting out a plan to transform the UK by spreading opportunity and prosperity to all areas of the UK.

Understandably, there is scepticism about whether this policy will yield the promised rewards and some question whether ‘levelling up’ for the less privileged can only be achieved by levelling down for the more privileged. Nevertheless, the heart of the message is fairness. This is not unlike the conversations that have been taking place in our organisations and communities.

A competitive mindset

We have been conditioned to believe that in every part of our lives we are in competition with others and we even have mechanisms that emphasise competition albeit at times, accidentally so.

When I had my first child, I was young and very insecure. I didn’t have a family support structure around me so I held on to the comparison chart that the visiting midwife used to check the progress of my son - was he doing what the average child would do / in the right percentile? Was he sitting up and noticing things at the right stage, was his weight above or below average, did he walk when he was supposed to? Was he not as clever as others because he didn’t speak as soon as others did etc. Mechanisms that should have supported me like the toddler groups only served to increase my insecurity and the feeling that I was pitting my son against other people’s children.

With examples like this and many others, is it any wonder that our lives have become a series of perceived cutthroat competitions? In our work environments, the competitive ethos makes us believe we are all in fierce competition with each other. This competitiveness stifles collaboration.

We need to change the narrative that makes us think that we only win if someone else loses or that we only reach the top if we take others down. This is just too simplistic because we know that when an individual achieves alone especially when they do it at the expense of others this is not real progress.

The Impact of a competitive mentality on the Diversity Conversation

Few have missed the conversation about diversity and the richness it brings over the last few years. And yet whether it be due to fear or a feeling of futility, progress is being slowed down.

Our internalised sense of competition means that some in majority groups may feel threatened consciously or unconsciously by the thought that they will be disadvantaged if equality is afforded to minority groups.

This is not helped by the fact that often those in minority groups want to fit in and have over time lost trust – in the systems and structures of our societies and feel that attempts to change are futile. They may not like the status quo but by acceding to it, they maintain it believing (but also ensuring) that the status quo remains firmly in place.

These perfectly natural perceptions of fear and futility prevent people engaging and supporting the move to greater equity and mean that we are in danger of sabotaging any gains that can be made from genuinely including a diverse range of contributors and collaborators.??

Many organisations are attempting to collect data in an effort to gain insight and track progress towards equity but fear can mean that colleagues whether part of majority or of minority groups are afraid to declare their characteristics thinking they might be disadvantaged as a result. We can end up in situations where white, male, middle class colleagues feel that they ‘don’t tick the right boxes’ and therefore rule themselves out of some opportunities whilst underrepresented groups may not engage because they fear that opportunities are not open to them because historically, they haven’t been afforded those opportunities.

This leads to fear (admittedly for different reasons), from all different groups that any diversity information they provide could be used against them!??

These are some of the uncomfortable conversations that strike at the heart of the debate and that we need to get comfortable about openly discussing if we want to reap the benefits of diversity.

Positive Sum versus Zero sum mentality

Positive sum is an approach in which the desires and needs of all participants are satisfied. On the other hand, a zero-sum mentality is where one person or groups’ gain is perceived as a loss for another.

We need to shift our mindset. We shouldn’t continue in a position where some groups must work so much harder to achieve the same as other groups or where mediocrity is tolerated from some individuals or groups just because of characteristics they possess that are not material to the opportunities made available to them.

No competent man has to lose so that women get equality.

No competent white person has to lose so a BAME person gets equality.

No competent person without a disability has to lose so that a disabled person is treated fairly.

Young people have a different contribution to make than their older colleagues.

When we say Black lives matter that doesn’t take away from the fact that All lives matter.

Ronaldo is a great footballer but so is Messi – 2 people can be greats without ones’ greatness diminishing that of another.

Let us challenge our conditioning and see the possibility of mutual benefit. In so doing, we allow our goals to shift from crushing the competition to contributing – each of us in our own unique way. We rise by lifting others up. Dignity and fairness are not zero-sum games. In fact, when one person affords dignity and fairness to another, both people get more. Indeed, just like the government’s policy of levelling up, the promotion of diversity should end a cycle which means that some flourish whilst others are left in a cycle of decline – everyone benefits.?