At church, our current sermon series is entitled, “The Journey…” Today, we focused on the journey to significance. Our Pastor noted that it is a journey of discovery, a journey of self-realization, and a journey of transformation. The journey towards spiritual significance certainly parallels the journey towards building competency in diversity & inclusion as a leader. In fact, I read recently that a psychologist was asked about the best way to prevent the on-set of mental illness…especially if you felt you or a loved one were on the brink of such illness. Interestingly, his response was that you should focus on serving others. If you’re focused on meeting the needs of others, it’s difficult to be overcome by the downward spiral of self-destructive tendencies…
In the leadership context, there are certainly good applications. Get to know your people…their needs and their desires… That’s more complicated in a diverse organization. Again, I turn to the writings of Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. His work “Building on the Promise of Diversity” proves instructive.