Activating Your Diversity with Inclusion — A Lesson from Pixar
First and foremost, #Purl2020.
When I first watched this video from Pixar’s SparkShorts series, my fingers couldn’t snap fast enough. There are so many lessons here, all wrapped up with a “Will you be an ally?” bow on top to finish it off. ICYMI — let me break it down.
Diversity goes beyond what the eye can see.
So often, we see diversity as just that — what we see. HR departments and leadership smile, patting themselves on the back, when they look up and see a melting pot of black, brown and white faces, sprinkled with men and women, some rocking jeans, some rocking dress pants, all rocking blazers, and often with identities along a spectrum.
Diversity is so much more than what you see. We as people are not the sum of our outward appearance.
We forget the one told they’re “overqualified” when really they’re just over the age the hiring manager is comfortable with.
Or the one who can’t go to the bathroom because neither option is ideal.
Or the person cringing at every anti-Semitic microaggression made by coworkers
Or the one having an anxiety attack and can’t take a sick day because people love to ask what your symptoms were and if it was contagious.
When it comes to diversity, lack of it isn’t always as obvious as a pink ball of yarn among white men in black suits.
While the contrast is stark in the video, it’s often much more subtle in the workplace. Diversity in terms of race and gender have been topics of focus over the years, but it is defined much more broadly. It encompasses religion, age, ability, physical and mental health, sexual orientation, gender identity, sex, professional experience, ethnicity, education and more.
And that’s on one level. When we dive deeper, recognizing intersectionality, our experiences and identities are so complex that diversity becomes a necessity in order to truly be inclusive.
And once you embrace and establish diversity, activate it with inclusion.
“Diversity is inviting someone to the party. Inclusion is asking them to dance.”
“Diversity is inviting someone to the table. Inclusion is ensuring they eat.”
Whether you’re dancing or eating, the point is clear — diversity’s hands are tied without inclusion. If you’re expecting disruption, innovation, leaps and bounds because your team members check a few more boxes now — you’re doing it wrong.
Conformity isn’t the way. Celebrate, seek out and encourage differences.
If you truly want your team members to tap into their potential, they have to be given the space and autonomy to do so safely, in an environment that encourages authentic expression. Diversity’s value goes beyond the ROI it provides for your company. We’re better together. We’re better when we have the opportunity to learn from each other and share our stories.
By caging our authentic self, we put boundaries on our creativity and innovation, never allowing it to fully flourish. Our own personal USPs dissipate. When you have a team all trying to be the same, they will think the same, thus producing more of the same.
Adam Grant, organizational psychologist and host of WorkLife — his podcast with TED — touches on this in the episode "The creative power of misfits."
New solutions to the same old problems aren’t born of the status quo.
“Pixar was founded on a disruptive vision. Their leaders fervently believed it was never too early to throw your own recipe out the window. Steve Jobs wanted to keep raising the bar: bigger hits, longer run times. So he picked a couple of outsiders to drive a shake-up.” says Grant, as he introduces Brad Bird.
(Really coming full circle with Pixar here).
After Bird’s release from Disney, he was approached by Pixar to do some incredible work.
“They were feeling like, ‘We're in danger of falling into certain habits, because we have the same group that are doing things. And we're very proud of this group, and this group is very talented. But we want to shake things up.’ Bird shares.
Shake. Things. Up.
When it comes to D&I, you can’t get disruption and innovation without diversity and inclusion. Put the latter in place, and the former will inevitably come.
Diversity is a noun.
Sure, Purl was on the team and in the office. Check box. But she didn’t feel empowered to be herself. She was singled out, made to feel different, purposely excluded from conversations. To fit in and feel valued, Purl felt the need to compromise her integrity and behave in a way that was out of character and out of alignment with her core values.
She suppresses the unique value she brings to the team and adopts the status quo in order to “fit in” to a toxic culture — telling inappropriate jokes, yelling about finance, and excessive drinking.
What she had to offer was not valued, so she switched gears, never mind the fact that what she had to offer was what got her there in the first place. Diversity will be suffocated and exiled if not activated with an inclusive culture that enables it to thrive.
Inclusion is a verb.
It requires action and intention. At first, it may be uncomfortable — but growth exists outside of our comfort zone. Purl hesitated to reach out to Lacey, to go against the culture and risk being on the outside again. But she knew her current behavior wasn’t sustainable, and she didn’t want it to be. She wanted to thrive as her authentic self and to do what was right.
Today, there is more and more emphasis on the importance of hiring team members who are cultural fits. This is why. Incongruence creates cognitive dissonance and stress. However, it is key to examine your culture before seeking cultural fits. A toxic culture can drain an organization’s life force — it’s people.
When you have an inclusive work environment, authenticity is not only welcomed and encouraged, but genuinely accepted. Energy no longer goes toward keeping up appearances, but rather toward the work at hand, opening mental space to create, innovate and bring value to the business.
This is where allyship comes in. Purl only felt like she could take the risk once she was part of the in-crowd. She then used her position and power to inspire and effect change in a space where Lacey did not have access.
What is an ally?
An ally is any person that actively promotes and aspires to advance the culture of inclusion through intentional, positive and conscious efforts that benefit people as a whole.
Everyone has the ability to be an ally as privilege is intersectional — white women can be actionable allies to people of color, men can be allies to women, cis people can be allies to members of the LGBTQI+ community, able-bodied people can be allies to those with different abilities, economically privileged people can be allies to those who are not and so on.
What is allyship?
Allyship is:
a lifelong process of building relationships based on trust, consistency, and accountability with marginalized individuals and/or groups of people.
not self-defined—work and efforts must be recognized by those you are seeking to ally with.
an opportunity to grow and learn about ourselves, whilst building confidence in others.
Empathy is key.
Diversity, inclusion, innovation, disruption, alliance — at the root of it all is empathy. Have you ever felt excluded? On the outside? Have you hidden parts of yourself for fear of rejection? Or changed your behavior or appearance in hopes of acceptance? Have you ever been uncomfortable expressing your identity? Many marginalized groups feel an aspect of this every day.
So if you see yourself standing with the in-crowd, in a position of power or on the elevator headed to Swifty’s — remember what it felt like to have the doors closed in your face. Make the effort to extend an invitation to groups who historically haven’t had access to those spaces — be it the conference room or the C-suite.
You don’t have to move mountains or scrap your staff, you only have to start.
Through personal actions, a more inclusive environment can be fostered by:
Becoming a sponsor – Champion someone from an underrepresented community to support career growth and increase company retention. Being a sponsor is different from being a mentor – sponsoring is being actively involved in aiding someone’s career progression, mentoring is providing advice.
Calling out inappropriate behavior – People in privileged positions have the ability to call out unacceptable behavior towards underrepresented people and be heard. Underrepresented people may not be comfortable raising issues due to a fear of backlash or risk of jeopardizing professional relationships.
Tasking all employees with getting involved with diversity and inclusion related tasks – Embracing diversity & fostering an environment of inclusion is good for business. Everyone should be involved. Do not assign this daunting task to underrepresented people only.
Using inclusive language – Be aware of gendered terms, and use language which embraces all walks of people. For example, using “partner” instead of gendered terms such as “girl/boyfriend” or “husband/wife” to be more inclusive of those in the LGBTQI+ community.
Rolling out unconscious bias training regularly – Understand that unconscious, unchecked bias cannot and will not be fixed after one unconscious bias training session. This is a growing process and continued challenging of ourselves and peers must happen to aid growth and learning in this space.
Trying different recruitment methods – To attract and retain different kinds of people, use different recruitment methods. Partner with organisations which actively push for equality in that space, be present at conferences, and reach out to underrepresented people for their honest feedback on where they would look for roles – listen to the people you are trying to reach.
Recognizing privilege and use it to amplify underrepresented voices – Understanding and recognizing privilege can be a daunting and uncomfortable task. Having uncomfortable conversations with yourself, understanding the systematic and societal issues which may have played in your favor is eye opening and allows you to use this privilege to amplify those who do not have it.
Following an array of voices – Learning and growth will not happen without being challenged. Follow different people and listen to them. Challenge yourself to cross-examine your bias after learning from different voices.”
I get it. You may look around and perhaps you don’t have the most diverse team or company. Or if you do, maybe you’re struggling to be inclusive. Maybe you know a Purl or two. You’re in the perfect position, because to even see it and be aware places you steps ahead.
“The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”
Now, I’m not saying it will take a thousand miles, but it will take time. So, as with anything you hope to achieve, set some SMART goals, make a plan, chart your path.
"Regardless of the unique diversity challenges that companies face at every stage, it always starts with setting goals that are predicated on the understanding that, much like R&D, investing in diversity today may not result in immediate measurable returns, but is sure to yield long-term results. Like innovation, making progress on diversity takes time."
And that path doesn’t have to include companywide change or a program proposal. It could just be an intentional and inclusive invitation to the Laceys in your life.