Diversity is Difficult
Let's be honest; and it is difficult to keep track of all of the nuances and intricacies.
My recommendation is to not even attempt to do so; and rather, attempt to unlearn all of your presumptions.
I mean, what if the Jesus-trick was true ... Abra-cadabra, wallah-kazoo and all your sins are purged - like a baby, you're born anew?
What if people are people, and truly, are always pure - even when their behavior isn't?
Ok, that is a bit woo-woo – but it gets down to the idea that we need to let people be themselves, and explore who they are – now especially.
Humanity's evolution is a gigantic mirror ... we're starting to see ourselves in a new light again. (There's a book called 1968, which details how that year was the first for people to see both war, and political strife, in real-time, on television. Interesting stuff, and with much larger implications, and events.)
Innovation occurs at the margins
This is simply the truth, and why it is requisite to let others explore; whether they be innovators, or muses.
And what this world needs most right now are innovators.
My theory being that when we reduce our own propensity to overthink, and analyze everything ... once we can get to a place where that processing is better than 95% complete ... that is where we ourselves can near "perpetual" flow state ... as the kids like to call it these days.
This relates to diversity, in how it relates to our ability to let go of what we think should be, and what we think is ... in order to allow for all else that might ever be.
As leaders, we need to realize that our teams are capable, and so it many cases it is our job to let-go in-order to let them guide themselves to their best answer, and support them in this. Be a sounding board, but never become a backseat driver.
And this is where, at the core of diversity, there really isn't much to be said except: accept others as they are.
Know yourself, know your boundaries; but for those with cultural and institutional privilege, we are able to do these things with relative felicity if we only take a moment to think about it.
And if we take a second moment to think about it, we realize that, in fact, we can do so much more!
Canin Carlos
In reality, diversity isn't difficult; what's difficult is letting go our need to feel in control, our need to feel like we know.
The future is fast approaching, and nothing will be known about any of it, we will be surrounded by frontiers – and leaders will have embraced the unknown within themselves, what Carl Jung called the Shadow.
Though we'll get into that elsewhere 😃