Guest

Balance
In the divisive, volatile, uncertain, constantly changing, ambiguous, unjust and unfair workplaces and worlds we work and live in, inclusion advocates must remain calm, composed and centered. They must be the rocks in our stormy organizations, schools and neighborhoods inundated with gale force winds of privilege, unconscious bias and legacy systems that seek to maintain the status quo.
 
They must be tough, resilient and gritty to withstand the negativity bias of personal accusations their opponents will hurl at them wrapped in words and phrases like political correctness, snowflakes, social engineers and touchy-feely radicals.
 
They use this balance to get in touch with their own beliefs, biases and behaviors. They live by the mantra “physician heal thyself” for they know it they don’t have their own acts together, they will be laughed off the world stage.
 
Feel the Burn
They are fully aware that the search for inclusion is filled with personal risks and peril that manifest themselves in conversations with their inner critic as their consciences bombard them with negative information.
 
They quickly learn that to rein in their inner critic, they must summon their inner champion, their multiplying self to offset the diminishing internal messages they will receive as they challenge the systemic sources of bias in our day to day lives.
 
Find the Force
They quickly learn in their quest for an inclusive planet, that they are working on something that is bigger than themselves. They get in touch with a higher power that is pulling them along the arc of a more just universe. They find support from others who are on the same journey to a city not build by mortal hands as they rely on everlasting arms to catch them when they falter.
 
Follow the Good
They comprehend the necessity of staying on the higher road. They become experts at seeing inclusion possibilities not as threats but as prospects for collective good. They develop an art form of convincing both the oppressor and the oppressed that this struggle is a win-win proposition for all.
 
Outside Listening
Veterans of inclusion battles understand they do not have all the answers. They are willing to listen to outside perspectives often from unlikely sources that appear as strange bedfellows.
 
They discipline themselves to look at inclusion challenges from all angles as they sift through their own experience, projection and confirmation biases. They invite competing and rare voices to the table to ensure healthy debate and vigorous deliberation as no stone is left unturned in the search for truth and justice.
 
The Last Shall Be First
There will always be a vacancy sign hanging in the office of inclusion practitioners that states ‘whosoever will let them come.” The smart inclusion promoters know that diverse ideas can come from low places-those that have been forgotten and left behind on the highway to the top.
 
They expect that everyone in the inclusion movement are not finished pieces of work. They find a way to work with these imperfect vessels who come from the wrong side of the tracks and the trash heap of human history.
 
Laugh A Lot
Folks insuring everyone has a voice in the human choir realize you can take yourself to seriously in this business. Laughter and humor is the antidote to the tsunami of negative messages, fake news and character assassination most inclusion warriors experience.
 
In this struggle, they will often pause for an injection of oxytocin, dopamine and serotonin to find the love, happiness and well-being that they need to live another day on the front-lines of the inclusion battlefield.
 
As you find your inclusion stride, may the force be with you as we build inclusive workplaces and pathways to success and reaching our full potential where no one is left behind.