Replacing Saviorism with Inclusion

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Replacing Saviorism with Inclusion

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I have the honor of presenting to tens of thousands of people every year. In these situations with crowds of audience members listening to me, it can become tempting to assume I’m the gatekeeper of knowledge. But in these moments where I’m called to “teach,” I remember to also learn. Whenever I take the stage, I remind myself that everyone sitting in the crowd has something to teach me because the educational experience is a two-way street.?

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The same applies to all situations where I’m called to lead. Whether speaking, consulting, or coaching, I watch out for the threat of “saviorism.” This distortion makes people assume they have all the knowledge, power, or help to give and the counterparts they “teach,” “empower,” or “help” can’t do anything but wait to be saved.?

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To counter this psychological habit of saviorism, we must have operational systems that foster inclusivity. Inclusivity doesn’t seek to give people from underrepresented groups the skills, knowledge, or opportunities that allow them to conform to the status quo. Instead, it removes the obstacles that prevent them from fully contributing all they have to give. What’s more, it implements systems that give them the platform to improve the normal state of affairs. Instead of just seeking to change others, inclusive leaders seek to be changed.?

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Whether you’re a hiring manager looking at the résumé of a non-traditional candidate or leading a DEI presentation, how do you know if you’re avoiding saviorism and being inclusive? Look at the partnerships you create with people from marginalized communities. Does that relationship actually benefit the marginalized? At the same time, does it also change the centralized? What’s more, does it move the center altogether??

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When these engagements change everyone, there is was I call the principle of mutual transformation. It is a fundamental characteristic I find in all kinds of organizations that move beyond saviorism to true inclusivity. To illustrate what mutual transformation looks like, here are a few examples.

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COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT ?

Whether you’re a non-profit working with underserved populations or a corporation volunteering with underrepresented groups, stepping outside of your bubble to reach new communities is important. But problems arise when the centralized party assumes they have everything to offer and the marginalized community has nothing to share. If you’re serving the underserved, avoid the pitfalls of saviorism by ensuring you are being changed by the populations you’re serving. Take steps to ensure that this change isn’t just an emotional one. Set in place systems where those who are served change the way that service happens. If you’re volunteering in these communities, create operations that require participants to learn from the communities they’re engaging with and use that knowledge to improve the organization.?

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RECRUITING ?

Few things can drive the diversity of thought that leads to innovation like recruiting from underrepresented groups. If you want different ideas, look to different people from different populations with different experiences that lead to different perspectives. For example, organizations that go to a women’s college to get more women in their STEM program can get new thinking. Those who work with a historically Black college or university to attract more African Americans to their marketing firm can get different worldviews. But does your recruiting strategy fall into saviorism? Does your pitch emphasize all the great things your company can do to help recruits but get vague when it comes to specifying how they will be able to change your organization? Does it go beyond suggesting that your business is saving them and guaranteeing they’ll have the chance to share the innovative ideas that might save your business? Does your recruiting process emphasize what you have to say or does it solicit feedback about how you might improve that process?

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HIRING ?

Even if your recruiting process encourages people to continue being who they are, what happens after you’ve recruited them? If you’ve trained people on the recruitment team to listen to the needs of the underrepresented populations you seek to attract and used those findings to evolve your organizational culture, what does your hiring process look like? Do the people who review the résumés give privilege to those with degrees from the same institutions from which they graduated? Do the interviewers have a standard set of questions they ask every candidate or do they have informal conversations where people who are most like them end up seeming the most “likable” and, therefore, most hirable? Do questions encourage interviewees to demonstrate how they’d conform to the organization, or do inquiries challenge them to explain how they would improve it? If you looked at your hiring process from start to finish, would you say it rewards those who demonstrate “culture fit” or those that bring culture add, not to mention culture change?

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ONBOARDING ?

Even if your hiring process encourages people from underrepresented groups to improve your organization, what happens in the onboarding process that follows? People from marginalized communities are already more likely to have been socialized to believe their identities, experiences, and perspectives are inferior. Higher education and the labor market will further encourage them to minimize what makes them different precisely when you’ve hired them to bring the diversity of thought they have to offer. With these factors in mind, interrogate your onboarding process. Does it ensure the onboarded have the chance to share their ideas? Does it create an environment that encourages them for a career of giving contradictory, unpopular, and even controversial opinions you’ve hired them to propose? Does your onboarding process suggest your organization has saved the underprivileged and they should show their gratitude by conforming to it, or does it encourage people from underrepresented groups to assert their underrepresented perspectives in ways that improve the organization??

The threat of saviorism creeps up in many aspects of professional life. Whether in mentoring, performance reviews, meetings, or countless other areas, there always lurks the chance that our attempts at inclusivity are little more than saviorism. So how can you tell if you’ve drifted into saviorism or are genuinely inclusive? Here are a few questions to ask yourself.?

• How often do I change my mind based on input from underrepresented perspectives??
• How often do I admit this improvement to those who helped improve it??
• What systems do I have in place that guarantee people from marginalized communities have the opportunity, comfort, and even safety to share their underrepresented perspectives with openness, honesty, and even protection??
• What evidence can I point to where my organization has gone beyond “saving” others to being changed by them?

In short, to measure whether you meet the standards of mutual transformation, ask yourself how you’re replacing saviorism with inclusion.

This Week We're Reading....

Most of us are learning about or celebrating World Down Syndrome Day, International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, or another inclusive subject.

I want to share a few articles the Uplifting Impact team would recommend for more knowledge and insight on racial and discrimination topics.

???Eurocentrism

???Change How You See the World

???7 Examples of Being an Ally At Work

?Some immediate ways Uplifting Impact is overhauling workplace culture:

• Professional DEI Certification Program
• Uplifting Impact Podcast
• “How to Be an Ally” Virtual Summit

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Being an #ALLY is ongoing work. Any uplifting impact we make now, no matter how big or small, will build a better world for future leaders and generations to come. So, let’s keep working together to affect change. Subscribe to continue these Uplifting Conversations!