Encouraging Authenticity in Your Employees Is Vital for Diverse, Equitable, And Inclusive Workspaces — Here’s Why.
Photo by Pavlos Vaenas on Unsplash
As a manager, your role goes beyond meeting deadlines, setting targets and exceeding KPIs. It’s actually a lot more people focused. As you build a successful workplace, one of your main priorities is ensuring that this space is inclusive for all your employees.
This can seem like a daunting task, especially when barriers such as lived experiences, microaggressions and systemic oppression hinder people’s willingness to embrace individuality in the workplace. However, as a manager, it is your job to curate diverse, equitable and inclusive spaces that mitigate these barriers and allow everyone to show up intentionally as their authentic selves.
First off, it’s important we get on the same page. What does it mean to show up intentionally? In human speak, all this means is having your employees embrace who they are, not who they think you as a manager need them to be or who they think they need to be to "fit in."
Let's take a look at an example to get a better idea. Cynt Marshall, CEO of the NBA's Dallas Mavericks, joined the organization in 2018 and aimed to speak to everyone who worked under her in the first three months. She said this would send a message that "the whole person matters. Bring your history, values, and personality into work with you. Don't put on your corporate mask. Don't pretend to be a superhero. The whole, real person, makes the organization stronger."
The critical aspect here is a personal connection. Taking the time to get to know your employees and building camaraderie shows them that you not only care about who they are but encourage them to bring their unique backgrounds and experiences into their work.
Once again, this is easier said than done.
It is essential that before going into these team-building experiences or cultural shifts, managers recognize that most workplaces are far from being equitable. This is because workplaces often mirror systemic barriers that exist societally; such as unequal access to resources or promotions due to gender, race, sexual orientation, and others.
A common theme discussed when examining barriers marginalized communities face is that women of colour are far more likely than white women to feel that being authentic would hurt their chances of being considered for leadership positions. This is because, more often than not, leadership positions are often equated with traditional eurocentric masculine behavior. At the end of the day, work environments, particularly at the leadership level, were originally designed for white men, and not enough has been done to change that.
As such, when success is correlated with a specific mold of a person, it inherently stops people from being who they are and instead unfairly pushes them to be someone else.
Thus, as a manager, it is your job to help promote individuality and authenticity.
To revisit the topic of personal connection, it is crucial to come back to this and consider diversity and inclusion. By that, I don’t just mean writing and setting diversity policies. Being passive when approaching a topic like intentionality or diversity will not take you very far. As such, we should be making conscientious efforts to engage in anti-racism rhetoric.
Managers should hold the "responsibility of an ally" in the workplace; by actively standing up to hurtful comments and setting a tone on how to act respectfully. Moreover, supporting, lifting your peers, and giving helpful feedback makes all the difference when creating personal connections that consider systemic factors that hinder inclusion.
We realize this is not an easy task, and taking steps may mean getting comfortable with recognizing your own privilege and power. Consequently, if you need insights on how to facilitate these conversations, we can help.
