The Room Has Changed

Certainty shows up in subtle ways in the rooms I facilitate.

It is the abrupt end to an inclusivity initiative because a mistake was made. A committee that created an accountability framework 2 years ago and has not looked at it since. A board or leadership team that assumes everyone understands equity and belonging in a similar way.

Meanwhile the room has changed, the issues have shifted and the capacity of members varies. New members have likely joined who did not participate in previous conversations, others left and took valuable history with them. Community expectations and language have shifted, as well as the socio-political climate. So there are conversations to be had and perspectives to listen to. Some members around the board table are ready for more than just talking about equity, and are interested in integrating and practicing it, while others need a bit more support and skill or knowledge building. What I am seeing is that equity practice keeps moving, and we keep treating the conversation as closed.

In the movie Conclave, Cardinal Lawrence shares a homily and states: "Certainty is the great enemy of unity. Certainty is the deadly enemy of tolerance […] Our faith is a living thing precisely because it walks hand in hand with doubt. If there was only certainty and no doubt, there would be no mystery, and therefore no need for faith." In my work, certainty is also the enemy of learning.

The other day while facilitating a learning session a board member asked, "How are we going to make decisions together if we don't know each other?" He was asking for time. Time to meet, to talk, to build the relationships that support decision making processes.

When last did your board or your team have a conversation about how equity and inclusivity show up in your workplace or in your relationships with community? Have you talked directly about power, who holds it, who does not, and how it is distributed? And if I asked each of your leadership team members to define equity, belonging and inclusion right now, would I hear something similar?

I've written before about why shared definitions of equity drive deeper commitment, and I keep returning to it, because organizations that skip that step drift back to the status quo.

This is also why I encourage boards and teams to build a learning agenda, a shared roadmap of what you want to explore together. A standing commitment to keep making sense of this work as your people, and the issues, change.

Alignment is something you keep coming back to, and re-alignment can shake up the certainty that hinders growth.

This fall I'm offering a workshop for boards and leadership teams on power. Details coming soon. If you want to talk before then, I'm always up for a conversation.

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Good work cultures don't happen by accident. Chanel Grenaway & Associates Inc. works with leaders, staff teams, and boards to design cultures of belonging, equity, and contribution. Let’s chat.