TRUE AUTHENTICITY AND DIVERSITY. CAN THEY CO-EXIST IN BUSINESS? Part 2

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Welcome back to this week’s post! In Part 1, I raised a critical question: Can true authenticity and diversity co-exist in today’s workplace?

Part 2 continues that conversation with a story that indicates the two can co-exist, when we’re intentional.

I’ll admit that I don’t have the same years of experience as others when it comes to building equitable workplaces. My journey began in the early ’90s, when I attended my first diversity training session. Not long after, I was invited to become a facilitator for that training at my organization.

Back then, diversity conversations centered mostly around race, particularly the power dynamics between Black and White employees, and the lasting impacts of inequitable practices rooted in racism. Those early training sessions were eye-opening, challenging, and foundational for me.

As the years passed, the definition of diversity began to expand. Today, we include not only race, but also diversity of thought, education, background, experience, belief systems, and more. And while that expansion was and is meaningful, I don’t believe it was ever intended to pull us away from the root issues that still prevent people from having equitable access to recognition, advancement, pay, influence, and opportunity. If I’m understanding this correctly, and I’m open to feedback, the goal was never about everyone “agreeing” with one another. It was about learning how to work together within our differences, even when that work gets uncomfortable, and let’s be honest, it often does. The opportunity here is to capitalize on those differences in a way that allows us to expand our collective impact, both within and beyond the walls of our organizations. This can only happen if we agree that what makes us different may never change, and that’s okay. What does have to change is our work including our systems, behaviors, and approach to inclusion. This is non-negotiable.

Here’s a personal example that still resonates with me.

Years ago, I worked with a Muslim colleague on my team. I’m highlighting this experience because our religious differences didn’t prevent us from building a strong working relationship. In fact, it was often our personal beliefs that informed our professional values and helped us collaborate effectively and respectfully.

We had fundamentally different religious convictions. In fact, we had some deep conversations about our beliefs, and we both stood firm in what we believed to be true. To this day, we still sit on different sides of the table theologically. And yet, we never allowed those differences to divide us. We kept the main thing front and center, and that was the mission of our work. We served our team, employees, and customers with care. We built a relationship grounded in mutual respect and an authentic interest in getting to know one another as people. We didn’t shy away from our differences, but we also didn’t let them be the focal point. Our faith values were interwoven into how we showed up professionally. We were both guided by a moral compass rooted in integrity, compassion, and accountability, and that’s what allowed us to work well together within our differences.

Now, someone might say, “Well, maybe you connected because you were both part of marginalized groups.” Maybe. But I’d say something deeper happened: We had a genuine interest in learning about each other’s lived experiences, and we were willing to look past the stereotypes that often plague our groups, in order to build a “true” connection. And the organization we worked for? Well, it wasn’t perfect, but it was great in that it valued people and relationships, and that made a huge difference in our ability to be true to ourselves. I didn’t have to change my personal beliefs, and neither did my co-worker. Yet, we found a way to honor one another and do great work together, without compromising our core beliefs. To me, that’s what true authenticity and diversity looks like in action! But what about today?

In my opinion, somewhere along the way I think we’ve added so many letters and identities to what started as a heartfelt intention to create equity for underserved people, that we’ve lost our focus. As a Christian, I’ve experienced exclusion in a space that was supposed to be inclusive. And let me tell you, it doesn’t feel good. When someone tells you they’re committed to supporting a certain marginalized group in their organization, but to do this meant they had to dismiss another group that’s marginalized, it sends a clear message that somewhere, we’ve lost our way. Somewhere, we’ve lost the true meaning of diversity. The loss of a long-standing relationship built on trust and a shared commitment to the advancement of people was difficult. But, that experience gave me the pause I needed. It prompted me to reflect, not just on what I believe, but on how diversity is being lived out in many organizations today. What became clear to me is that we still have growing to do if we want to create workplaces that are truly authentic, equitable, and sustainable.

So how do we fix this?

That’s the question I’m sitting with, and I’d love for you to sit with it too.

Part 3 is coming next week. I’ll be sharing a model I created to help us re-imagine diversity and leave you with questions for reflection to determine your vision of diversity in your organization. I’ll also share with you the outcome of the story I mentioned in Part 1. I hope you’ll join me. 

Bye, Bye, for now…