It feels good to allow myself not to take on the additional responsibility of thinking that I have to change people in any session that I facilitate to make sure people don't let me down. I'm so glad that in the moment of reading that email, I was able to help him realize the commitment is not to me, his leadership, his co-leaders, or even the people that he leads, but the commitment is to himself. When he keeps that commitment to himself of being willing to revisit his experience of the two-day awakening, even at 1% every day, in the long run, it will have a huge impact.
As for people of color, specifically Black people, their awakening is sounding like this: “Being faced with the choice of coming out of the safety and comfort of my home and having to return to the office isn’t much of a choice. I’ve been so much more productive because I don't have to face the constant subtle acts of exclusion, and I don't have to explain why a particular act results in my exclusion, and I don't have to explain why it hurts, and I don't have to explain the overall impact of years of microaggressions, and I don't have to explain the fact that my life is constantly managing microaggressions just to live.” This not-so-subtle awakening is leading many Black people to the conclusion that… “If given the choice between going back to the office and staying home, I think I'll stay home –even if that means starting my own business-- because the awakening I’ve experienced while working from home has been freeing for my soul.”
I have often shared with people that I decided to become a consultant because it was the path of least resistance for my soul. It was easier for me to believe in my value than to convince a system to believe in my value. It was easier to become equally yoked with others who live for purpose and mission and vision, rather than to become assimilated within an organization that existed for profit. Of course, I realize that if businesses aren’t profitable, no one wins. Especially in my new role as a consultant. But I choose to be intentional about partnering with businesses that value the synergy which results from leveraging individual strengths to accelerate organizational performance. And, for me, that is only possible through the pursuit of Diversity, Inclusion & Belonging.
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