I had an adult learner ask me a very relevant question during a recent training. He reminded me that we work in a federal agency that has some of the lowest levels of customer satisfaction in the federal government. The difference between the highest and lowest engaged employees in our workplace by race is a whopping 15%. Our current work culture is stuck in the 20th Century obsession of getting work done with little attention to how we treat the people we do the work with and for. His question quite simply, “How is that hope thing working out for inclusion.” I replied, “Not very well but I was hopeful we could turn things around in the future.” He responded, “How can you be hopeful when there is so much fatigue around this thing called inclusion.” Here is what I said.

We Have Positive Curiosity
Inclusion warriors constantly keep two sight lines in mind. What is the status quo and what might be. We understand that the next training, staff meeting, email or watercooler conversation has the potential to be a game changer for inclusion.
 
We also learn to look for inclusion revelations in the most unlikely places. In the faces of those who have not been invited to the inclusion table. In the voices of the silent, neglected and forgotten about employees who want a spot in our inclusion choir. We aim to win the hearts and minds not of our leaders but of the experiences of our front-line employees who take bullets for the agency every day and who know 100% of the inclusion problems.
 
We Believe in Magic
We recognize with this inclusion stuff, we are working on something that is bigger than ourselves. We understand that we are about to be part of story whose final chapter has not been written. We acknowledge there is strength in numbers as we fight for workplaces where no one is left behind.
 
We Dance to the Rhythm of the Seasons
We get that inclusion is messy. Success in this business is not a straight line but a squiggly one. There are times of drought and there are times of plenty. Volatility, uncertainty, ambiguity and change are to inclusion what global warming is the climate change. We learn to ride out the rough seas brought on by naysayers who claim our noble cause is a pipe dream.
 
Hope is Not Always About the Present
We stay grounded in the day to day struggles for inclusion and at the same time envision what a more inclusive workplace looks like for tomorrow. We are not aiming for perfection but excellence. We know that inclusive workplaces are not built immediately. We strive to create the conditions for inclusion, so it can thrive on its own.
 
We Know Our Hearts
We are fully invested in the fight for inclusion. We are in this thing all the way. We have not spilled our blood to build an inclusion bridge to nowhere. We are tough, resilient and gritty from taking so many punches to the chin for our inclusion cause. We will keep the faith, but we know faith without works is dead.
 
Here is hoping you will join this caravan that is marching to a more inclusive tune of positivity, curiosity, magic, dance, vision and values. Where hope is not a passing fad or useless buzzword. But a lifeline to those who want to experience the ride of their lives.