In this article, I would like to tell you how the use of a biographical approach can be an effective starting point for delving into broad themes, such as DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging).
For some time now, I had set myself the task of recounting the reflections and experiments we are experiencing in Peoplerise on the themes of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, or Wholeness, Equity and Belonging, as we prefer to call them. But I did not know exactly where to start.
The lens of the biographical approach
Then we chose to give ourselves some time to tell each other about an episode in our lives in which we were ‘part of something’ and one in which we felt discriminated against. At that moment, I sensed that I could let go of my worry about creating a systemic, structured narrative and embrace an authentic narrative through the use of the biographical approach.
“All truths are true, only all are partial,” a loved one told me a few years ago.
From our stories emerged mainly moments experienced in childhood and adolescence. Coincidentally, those moments in life when we most construct meanings, language and patterns of behaviour and sensemaking of reality.
Interesting and exciting: try it if you like. In the office at a break time, or with your family.
This experience has strengthened the connection I feel between central themes in organisational projects, which we carry out together with our customers, and DEIB sensitivity.
DEIB is not an island. It cannot be detached from other topics we experience in a company – like a magnet can be detached from the fridge.
DEIB is a place within us. It is deeper and more conscious than those places from which we usually make decisions, speak and give voice in a meeting. DEIB can bring out creativity and potential in a group, it can transform processes and even the organisational model of a company.
The biographical approach to find shared words
In DEIB or UE&P (Uniqueness, Equity and Wholeness) we need to find shared words, starting from our biography and deepening language. Words have a history and a context that influence their meaning. They are part, says Bruner (1992), of the symbolic systems of culture that represent the individual’s ‘toolbox’ for finding meanings.
Let us take an example: the word diversity comes from vertĕre (to turn) and dis (elsewhere), which indicate turning away, deviating, changing direction. The adjective dīversus and the noun dīversum derived from it indicate a quality and mode of being that refers to an idea of separateness, contrariety, remoteness. The lemma dīvertium, divorce, also comes from the same root.
Culturally, at the moment, we have chosen the word diversity for projects dedicated to enhancing the uniqueness of people. It got me thinking and reminded me of the title of a novel by Carlo Levi, “Words are Stones“.
During our sharing of life stories, we verified that facing conversations and choices about Uniqueness, Equity and Wholeness requires courage. Human courage, not the idea of courage. The kind that gives us tachycardia when we wait for the results of an important exam. The one we felt when we had an interview, on which the future years of our lives could depend.
Because confronting these issues exposes us to feel and name our privileges, our reality-checking mechanisms and the power dynamics we exercise or suffer. This touches us personally, it places us on the defensive. It makes us vulnerable, although we are part of some of the most privileged groups on earth. Let alone those countless people who have less privilege and power than us. For them, exposure can mean losing a job, an opportunity, or worse.
Organisational transformation and DEIB sensitivity
Verna Myer says that “biases are those stories we construct about people before we really know who they are“.
No one is immune: that’s comforting. But it does not justify.
There is no greater gift we can give ourselves than to practise the art of exposing the deceptions of our mind on a daily basis. We can do that while setting up a strategy, dealing with conflict, creating or consolidating a team, or while growing as professionals,
Today, the great work on DEIB issues that is already underway provides us with a suitable language and evolved practices to broaden the impact of transformation projects in an organisation.
Let us try to approach the deceptions of our mind with a very simple example. You can find many of them online.
What does this image depict?
Try to give your own intuitive answer before reading on. A contemporary architecture, a house, a convention centre, a model? These are some of the answers I come across most frequently.
…
It’s the inside of a guitar!
Our mind integrates the absence of information by drawing on what it knows by analogy. If we are aware of this, we can create processes that help us compensate for the blind spots, which we all experience.
Let’s bring this brain dynamic back to everyday working life: on what deep-rooted beliefs did I rely the decisions I made in today’s meeting?
Are they in my interest or in the interest of the group?
Are they based on my own and my peers’ needs or do they also take into account other possible visions and needs? What is the blind spot that only the Other can show me that can make both us, the projects and the business more resilient or antifragile?
What impact do my decisions have on those around me? Am I exercising my power, dressing it in the guise of listening?
We can deliberately go in search of disconfirmation of our beliefs. Why? To broaden our view of the world and to allow the neuro-plasticity of our brain to do its work. Darwin already realised that this ‘simple’ practice could greatly benefit his scientific discoveries.
This is one of the many practices and micro-actions that can constellate transformative projects. They can be acquired to renew the DNA of the culture and the structure of the workplaces in which we are immersed – beyond the trends of the moment.
What the hell is water?
DEIB is therefore not a ‘gender issue’.
The still tangible gender inequality is but one of the kaleidoscopic manifestations of intersectional discrimination in the culture we live in. Which is why we struggle to see them.
It can then be a very important starting point, as shown by the project recently launched by CPB London, ‘Imagine…a world where gender makes no difference‘, set in a broad and conscious landscape.
There are two young fish, writes David Foster Wallace, swimming next to each other and meeting an older fish who, swimming in the opposite direction, waves to them and then says, “Good morning, boys. How’s the water?” The two young fish continue swimming for a while, and then one of them looks at the other and asks “but what the hell is the water like?”
If you’d like to tell us or engage with us to hear a bit about “what the water is like” in your organisation and learn more about DEIB/EU&P, please write to me at elena.crudo@peoplerise.net
