Pain

Two people were travelling in a special "accessible" compartment of a train, designed to be friendly to the differently-abled. Both took seats facing each other. Both were in their mid-forties.

Both were double amputees.

They struck a conversation. Small talk. Weather talk.

The usual ice-breakers were done by the time the train passed the noisy city and picked up a respectable pace.

With pleasantries done with, and a foundational familiarity in place, the gentleman facing the direction of the train started in a whining tone, "They say this compartment is accessible - but it took forever to navigate my wheels through the entry door. The slope is too steep and the turn into the berths is terribly sharp".

He further went on to complain about the design of the other accessibility elements. The width of the passage. The access to the washroom. The height of the berth.

A monologue that lasted a good fifteen minutes.

The other gentleman was patiently listening, nodding occasionally.

When the whining settled, the residual grumpiness lingered on quietly.

The other gentleman broke the silence, "If you do not mind me asking, how did you lose your legs? when?".

"To an unfortunate vehicle accident. 5 yrs ago." He seemed to have snapped out of his whining mode, "..and what done you in ? If you do not mind sharing".

"I have never had functional legs, I was born with a condition, I had to be amputated immediately after my birth", he broke a calm smile and continued, "Excuse me, I have to use the washroom, be right back", he glided off his seat and appeared extremely comfortable heading towards the washroom.

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Wait! If you are a regular reader of my posts, you may be waiting for a 'corporate life' correlation by now. Wondering where does it really fit?

It goes back to the ability of sensing 'Pain'.

For as many that can not tolerate pain, there are more that can not feel it.

An employee starting as a fresh grad, spending a decade in an org, that lacks tools, processes and systems to make his job easy, does not miss those conveniences as much as the new guy who joins from an org that prioritized employee convenience and built efficiency of working into the daily routine.

The ability to 'feel' pain, when combined with the right attitude, triggers and catalyses 'change' for the better. While those who have been 'numb' to the pain, because they have not seen the comfort, provide the stability while the 'change' makers disrupt the status quo.

A long-running organization needs to be very cognizant of building a mix - the diversity of ability to feel pain. A dimension of diversity, typically not captured by the HR policies, nor consciously and neutrally observed by the leaders.