Why I Stepped Away from the Best Job I'd Ever Had... and the Long-Term Implications of Moving Away from DEI to Appease Bullies

A few weeks ago, I walked away from the best job I’ve ever had.?

My decision to depart was voluntary, but also a completely unexpected choice.?

After 14 years, I resigned – without another job lined up or a new career pathway in place, compelled by the company's sudden move away from DEI practices and policies.

One of the biggest dangers I’ve seen in the pushback against DEI is the assumption that DEI is anti-business, or that DEI efforts favor inclusion over merit. Rather than writing about the various bodies of research, case studies, and results-focused analyses that refute that assumption, here's my story and experience…

An abbreviated recap of 14 years

From the start of my career at Brown-Forman, I was thrust into a mix of folks from all sorts of backgrounds. I was given the opportunity to make mistakes in cross-cultural interactions, and to learn from leaders who illustrated the importance of creating a welcoming, inclusive environment that removed barriers to success.?

Throughout my proud 14 years at the company, I saw firsthand the benefits of working with folks representing a variety of perspectives and experiences. My workdays were a dance of collaboration with some amazingly-talented people. Of course, the workplace wasn’t a utopia of inclusion, but I always knew that people were trying their best to adapt, develop, and grow. I also knew that there was a bedrock of policies and practices in place to empower, support, and evolve as my organization adapted and learned along the way.??

I created systems, processes, teams, tools, and ways of working that were completely innovative, and enabled opportunities that no one had considered. I stretched resources to their breaking point, and I made magic out of data, many times over. I consistently found ways to empower smarter decisions through powerful information.?

How did I carve out success?

Sure, I have unique talents and abilities. I have two master’s degrees, speak multiple languages, and have highly specialized skills. I have a healthy combo of stubbornness and a positive attitude.?

But without supportive leaders who knocked down barriers to success, without collaborative colleagues who gave me a chance to learn, and without an inclusive environment to prove that I (and others) were welcome – I would have just been moving piles of dust.?

For most of my 14 years, I grew because others invested in me. I was recruited into powerful training and leadership programs. I was trusted to take chances. I was supported when I fell short. I hired incredible people on my teams who were very different from me – each of them made me think better, smarter, and more broadly.?

So, when it seemed that Brown-Forman was successfully bullied into making diversity, equity, and inclusion policy and practice changes that were in direct conflict with the strategic, business-buoying, future-proofing, people-powered mindset that had been developed in me, I no longer felt at home.

Why I Left

I don’t believe good work is undone by a single decision or change; however, decisions communicate direction and intent. Decisions are made as a reflection of today’s culture, and they also have the power to shape and influence the culture of tomorrow.?

To some, “love” might seem a strange word to use in combination with an employer. But for me, the word fits. I genuinely loved my work, my workplace, and the people I worked with. And it was a shock to the heart to see the organization moving in a direction that was only going to hurt her, limit her options, and push away her advocates.??

Perhaps I was trained too well. Perhaps I was taught to think too strategically, too long-term, too much on the future, too broadly, too inclusively. But I didn’t see how I could feel at home if the organization had shifted in such a significant way, and I didn’t see how the organization could thrive if a proven commitment to people-focused values was seemingly abandoned and rendered optional.

I could no longer continue to enrich an organization through my talents when the organization’s actions signaled to me (and others) that inclusion was no longer at the core.?

I would neither expect nor encourage any of my colleagues to arrive at the same anguished decision I made. We all have our own unique sets of circumstances and influences (hello power of diversity!), and I’ll be cheering on so many of you from afar ??. I hold hope that the organization I loved regains her independent spirit and finds a path to step forward with conviction in her workplace values. I simply couldn't reconcile the changes (and the seeming reasons they were made) with the "home" I'd been a part of for 14 years.

I no longer had trust that the organization would address barriers and bias to ensure me (and my colleagues) could be fully respected. Perhaps I'd misunderstood how the integrity of the organization was translated into action, but I didn't recognize my home.

I do wonder if anyone has ever quit their favorite job because of a company being “too woke”.?

But may it be known - here is one person who quit because a company so firmly and suddenly signaled that inclusion was no longer critical for business success.

Here is one person who felt so strongly that a far-reaching mistake was being made, that he felt the only thing to do was to leave the organization to stand up for what matters, and to stand up for others who can’t.?

So what happens from here?

I hold absolutely no grudges against anyone responsible for the decision that was made. The opposite is true: I want the best for the company I love (or, loved? It’s complicated…). That’s why the DEI-related withdrawals were so painful. I wish nothing but success to the people and place I called home for so long. I simply didn’t see a path where I could feel whole in showing up daily, in a space with new ambiguities regarding which people-based core values would be safeguarded, and which were disposable.?

External pressures and shifting culture wars are best met with openness, data (where possible), and confident compassion. Our time on this spinning space rock is limited.?

A case study in change

If you serve at an organization that is considering making changes that would undo diversity, equity, and inclusion policies or practices, make sure you take the time to truly consider broad, long-term implications of any decisions. Seek and understand the available data. Bravely consider the far-reaching impact across the global workforce – including both retention and recruitment.?

Look carefully at growing and future-market segments and the emerging generation of customers and consumers you hope to serve. If you withdraw seemingly against your organization’s own values and commitments, make sure you do so with clearly communicated alternatives that remain focused on creating a more effective and impactful organization that is business-ready for both today and tomorrow. And make certain that fear is not your primary motivator.?

DEI journeys are about making space?

When a corporation has a strong ethic toward DEI, there’s still room for those who don’t trust it. The alternative – a negation of DEI policies and practices – is only as inclusive as whatever a given group in power finds comfortable for themselves, leaving others behind while limiting the breadth of business innovation.?

Folks who are experts in the field of diversity may even say that workplace DEI efforts in the current form are not perfect (I imagine they'd also say as a discipline there is a broad spectrum of best practices). But a complete removal of critical pieces of the work – versus a true evolution based on what we've learned along the way – I simply can't see how that is a solution that leads to any net positive outcome.

From what I’ve seen, criticism of DEI efforts and general “anti-wokeness” targeted toward business are often based on perceptions that are influenced by untruths. Untruths are often used to weaponize emotional response for personal profit. And ultimately, untruths use fear as a spear to pierce our humanity, at work or elsewhere.?

From what I’ve seen, such spears are often wildly thrown. They can and do harm organizations and people. But–organizations that develop, cultivate, and support an armor of strategic, future-focused thinking are less likely to lose their way. Well-armored organizations can avoid injuring themselves as they attempt to dodge these spears.?

Nothing good happens without people. Valuing people will pay endless dividends.