Why Transgenders and Business are the Perfect Match

Figure Out What Lights Your Fire

Until I was four or five I didn't know I wasn't a girl. One of my first memories, when I was about five years old, was of a teacher separating me from the girls' group during a volleyball class and got me completely confused. Around the same age, I started to realize that I was different from the other boys.

School was extremely difficult. I was criticized for being feminine, for hanging out with girls, for liking fashion blogs, among many other things identified as “girly”. They mocked everything they could think of in terms of gender and sexuality.

Since I was little I was forced to be in constant adaptation in the most different social environments.

A lot of people have it in their heads that we woke up and decided to be trans. I would like people to know that it's not a choice, we were born that way. In my head I've always been this weird, ugly, creep thing (maybe this explains my love for Radiohead). I wore baggy clothes to hide my body, sweatpants and sweatshirts, I hid myself behind a beard complying with male affections to appear “normal”, to adapt to the social environment which I was imposed to live.

I didn't really know anything about gender identity until quite late, when I was in my 20s. When I went to the university in a large and culturally diverse city, I finally learned about transgender people. But in my social environment, within my family and friends, this was not allowed: “People like you don't do that”. “Just get married and everything goes away”. That was the perceived wisdom at the time – they said the same thing to gays and lesbians.

Throughout my life I learned to create a tough skin, to be resilient and to seek creative alternatives for my internal problems.

Lacking financial independence, study was my only option to survive. I put a lot of efforts to get a scholarship to live abroad, and finally, be able to breathe a little out of that toxic environment. Finally meeting new people, opening my mind and learning other life perspective, I was enlightened to live with myself, the way I could, the way that was possible.

Traveling and meeting new cultures, exploring new places and people was the key I found to open doors to my magical world.

When I finally concluded my studies abroad and returned home, I was still afraid about the professional and business world. After all, who would hire someone that needs to be constantly adapting to “pass” as a "normal" person – and just like any other romances, unintentionally found the perfect marriage: I was lucky enough to land a job in a management consulting company.

Chase The Perfect Match: Diversity and Business Management

A diverse workplace is an extremely important asset for companies, since it acknowledges the individual strengths of each employee and the potential they bring to its clients. Valuing the differences of others is what ultimately brings us all together and can be the secret to a successful, thriving workplace and a fair work culture. I was finally happy to be part of an inclusive family, and acknowledged the lucky I had back in the days to find such a welcoming environment.

As usual, my first step in any new environment is to study, observe people's behavior, and adapt: a chameleon.

In consulting it was no different, from the very first few days I began to perceive and notice the required skills to succeed in my new environment, and was quite surprised to see that life had already prepared me for that job.

The skills valued and expected by consultancies, that propel you to succeed and thrive your career in any company, is directly linked with LGBTQ+ life experiences.

1. Creative Thinking

The first skill I learned about was Creative Thinking, the ability to approach a problem from a unique angle is a highly valued skill, it allows us to provide new and lasting solutions to problems. It may involve developing a solution to a problem the organization has not faced before or another form of innovation that improves organizational performance.

As a management consultant, you need to be innovative in difficult situations so that you can make the best out of every situation for your client.

Something of which I had already experienced. In, Transgender History: The Roots of Today's Revolution, Susan Stryker discusses in an entire chapter how transgender people creatively approach society's problems. While the book focuses on the uniquely transgender experience, uninhibited creative thinking is by extension queer.

One of the reasons so many LGBT people are at the forefront of creativity is because we see things differently; we saw the world through the lens of the oppressor. As we begin to self-actualize and challenge social norms through creative expression, we are interpreting and/or embellishing that which has restricted our ability to be freely authentic. We are creating a vision of the world in which we see ourselves fully represented.

2. Problem Solving

Finding quick and permanent solutions to industry challenges makes you an invaluable resource in any business. Problem-solving skills require you to precisely define a problem and state possible underlying causes. You should be able to generate and evaluate several workarounds to the problem. As a consultant, you need to be prepared to solve or avoid future challenges for your clients or employer.

What we see today, in 2022, with a steady rise of the far-right across the world, increasingly overt racism, prejudice, wars, oligarchic governments and fundamentalist Christians dictating government policies is an environment that is becoming more and more oppressive.

The powerful know that creating an environment like this not only serves them, but oppresses the air of free expression – the ultimate problem-solving skill to create evolutionary change, joy and meaning in life. What kind of solutions do governments exports from North Korea? This is an example of a slave state where people serve the supreme leader. A recent UCLA study shows that:

• Countries offering more LGBT rights enjoy significantly higher GDP per capita than those lagging behind LGB equality.
• Nations that promote the exclusion of LGB people do substantial damage to their economies.
• Only one additional point on the scale of legal entitlements is associated with an increase in real GDP per capita of US$2,065.

It is definitely not difficult to associate that LGBTQ+ people are trained by our oppressive society to face and solve problems as quickly as possible - it is a survival mechanism for us.

3. Communication

Strong communication skills to avoid misunderstandings and work as part of a team is more than critical in any business. You must be able to express your opinions and ideas to the organization's executive members and clients simply and clearly. Depending on the situation, you may require verbal or non-verbal communication. Regardless of the type of communication required, effective communication skills keep stakeholders informed of your strategies and actions frequently.

This text described the endless heteronormativity and cis-normativity that stubbornly prevail in our society. Within these conservative workplaces, LGBTQ+ people become skilled at identifying ways they can connect with others with whom they may not have much in common. Alternative genders and sexualities are silenced in communities to such an extent that the disclosure of a same-sex partner is seen as belonging to the private and intimate realm, in the same way that a partner of the opposite sex is not. Fingerhut (2011) found that developing and building alliances between LGBTQ+ and heterosexual allies is key to breaking down heteronormative spaces.

In my personal experience, public speaking, connecting and communicating with people has been a frequent challenge for as long as I can identify myself as a human being. What to say to avoid embarrassing situations, and knowing how to clearly express opinions and ideas are skills that we acquire since childhood, we are trained to communicate efficiently, to know how to put ourselves in difficult situations, verbally and non-verbally, we are always taking care of ourselves.

4. Client-Focus

Focusing on client's needs requires you to be passionate about achieving quantifiable results. Prove that you are passionate about going the extra mile to ensure your clients achieve their business goals. When organizations look to invest in consulting, they want an individual with developed consulting skills who believes in their mission and values. A client-focused mindset means your highest priority is customer satisfaction.

Having experienced exclusion and marginalization, transgenders generally have empathy in abundance and are more likely to be highly sensitized to corporate values and business challenges. The adversity of being different from society has allowed us to develop a number of particular skills that are valuable for leadership, including sensitivity and understanding. In Allies in the workplace: Including LGBT in HRD, Ann Brooks note that LGBTQ+ workers have three primary needs which are inclusion, safety and equity. LGBTQ+ people are likely to have a heightened awareness of issues that client's face and are looking for ways to ensure the satisfaction of their deliveries.

5. Decision Making

Companies value employees who can provide professional advice to make informed decisions. You must be able to provide facts that support different decisions. Doing so makes your decision-making process very effective and this results in better performance.

Courage and risk-taking are vital facets of management consulting's leadership and LGBTQ+ people often develop them in abundance. According to Snyder (2006), the gay leaders in her study felt comfortable taking risks and, using their nonconformity, became creative problem solvers because of their experience of having to create their own ways of life in a society. heterosexist.

It is an act of considerable courage for an LGBTQ+ to authentically present themselves within a new workplace. Those starting their careers are well aware that corporate environments often do not provide space for us to express our identity. Creating such a space is an act of considerable courage and involves great personal risk and can compromise future career prosperity.

The LGBTQ+ leaders in Shallenberger's (1994) study perceived themselves as more valuable to their employer because of their courage and willingness to take risks.

Courage and calculated risk are important in consulting and these acts often build a heightened intuition that guides them to take appropriate risks and demonstrate courage in the best interest of their clients.

6. Ambiguity and Organization

Maintaining order in your processes is essential in any project management. This is because it establishes and maintains a clear sequence of actionable steps to take, conflicting with ambiguity in everyday challenges. Organization is a key consulting skill that prepares you to successfully manage multiple projects or clients.

Trans people are able to tolerate a good deal of ambiguity and learn to function effectively by?planning and organizing actions that make them comfortable, even?when too much is uncertain. We are often unsure who knows about our gender or sexual identity. In the midst of all this uncertainty, we have learned to adopt a business-as-usual attitude, acting effectively and without distraction, while internally we often also manage a considerable degree of personal turmoil, minority stress.

This is an exceptional skill for consulting. Leaders often must protect clients and projects from uncertainty, adversity, or bad news, while exuding confidence, calm, and a sense of being in control of the project.

A crisis is always the true test of leadership. It's easy to lead well when things are going well, it's much harder when things are going bad.

The LGBTQ+ community have extensive experience of operating under great personal stress without compromising their professional behavior. This makes us ideally positioned to provide composite leadership that reassures stakeholders and builds confidence in our leadership.

Finally, Avoid Burnout

The innumerous amount of travel facing different clients from the most diverse industries, gave me opportunities to finally find myself. These coping strategies have kept me alive for several years.

Trans people are just like everyone else, our ideals in life are to be happy, to be respected, to be comfortable. I've had people who have openly told me they had prejudices towards trans people, but once they got to know me, they understood more – it's who I am and the way I was born. There is no real difference between me and people who are cisgender.

Few would disagree that in order to flourish professionally, young people need access to diverse models of committed and authentic leaders. When LGBTQ+ leaders become visible within their communities, they embody a distinct and exceptional type of leadership through the acquisition and application of the five attributes identified in this article. When LGBTQ+ people become leaders, they upset heteronormative and heterosexist institutional practices and, through their own visibility, give other co-workers permission to participate authentically and fearlessly as well.

In the age of burnout and quiet quitting, when the average tenure is less than 3 years, it is crucial that investment in inclusion continues so that we attract, recruit and retain talented leaders who reflect the full diversity of our society.

References

5 Benefits of Diversity in the Workplace - Ability Options

Why the World Needs Queer Creativity Now More Than Ever | by Darren Stehle | Think Queerly

Links Between Economic Development and New Measures of LGBT Inclusion - Williams Institute (ucla.edu)

1% of adults identify as neither male nor female - Ipsos poll | World Economic Forum (weforum.org)