Leslie Short - Expand Beyond Your Current Culture

EXPAND BEYOND YOUR CURRENT CULTURE

EXPAND BEYOND YOUR CURRENT CULTURE

DIVERSITY & INCLUSION

FOR CEOS & LEADERSHIP

LESLIE SHORT

Published by Maven House Press, 7 Church St., 2nd Floor, Lambertville, NJ 08530; 610.883.7988; www.mavenhousepress.com.

Special discounts on bulk quantities of Maven House Press books are available to corporations, professional associations, and other organizations. For details contact the publisher.

Copyright 2021 by Leslie Short. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without either the prior permission of the publisher or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923; 978.750.8400; fax 978.646.8600; or on the web at www.copyright.com.

While this publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered, it is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting, or other professional service. If legal advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional person should be sought.

From the Declaration of Principles jointly adopted by a Committee of the American Bar Association and a Committee of Publishers and Associations

Library of Congress Control Number: 2020942122

Paperback ISBN: 9781947540132

E-book ISBN: 9781947540149

Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Special thank you to my family for their support through every twist and turn of my many careers. Gothrie, Mae, Sheri, and Michael, I love you dearly!

Tony Rahsaan and Lynne Filderman, from the moment I said Im opening the doors of The Cavu Group, you both said Im in! Thank you!

Tony Rahsaan deserves an extra thanks for also creating the graphics in the book, social media content, and working on the book cover with the publisher. Hes the only one who gets away with calling me and simply saying, NO, that doesnt work!

Stanley Desbas, thanks for the photo shoot that is now being used as my promo.

Anne Hegeman, thanks for your publishing insights and for your unwavering friendship throughout the years.

Becca Lee, thank you for allowing me to use your poem in the book. I hope that nobody ever feels they need to apologize for their space at home or at work.

To all the participants who took the time to fill out the questionnaire, I am forever grateful for your time and honesty. Thanks to those who called, texted, and emailed stories to add to the book.

To all of my friends who supported me through the writing of the book, and for those of you who had special jobs during the writing of the book, you deserve an extra thank you. I cannot name you all, but please know I appreciate all of my friendships, champions, advocates, and allies!

Dwayne Andrews, my unofficial-official attorney, thank you for jumping in and always ensuring that I do more than check the boxes when it comes to my business deals.

To The Cavu Group Council, thank you for sharing your knowledge.

Finally, Jim at Maven Press, for saying I didnt think about you being black. You had something to say about a topic that needs to be discussed. Thank you!

LS

PREFACE

A Note to CEOs and Leadership

I M NOT ONE TO MINCE WORDS or, as the saying goes, Im not a banana-up-the-tailpipe kind of woman. Lets put it on the table and figure it out, whatever it is. We can figure it out if we want to.

All the careers Ive had have led me to focus on Diversity and Inclusion full time, and thats how my company The Cavu Group was born. To be effective and to be part of the process of change, Ive also had to bring in my mediation, pastoral care, conflict-coaching, and leadership skills to support that focus. There are a lot of feelings and nuances in implementing a successful Diversity and Inclusion effort, even if folks dont want to admit it.

For some reason the concept of Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) is a floating cloud that everyone is trying to grab hold of. Why? Because were told to make it happen. Or we know that we need to do it. Or we genuinely understand how the world works.

If youre stuck dealing with Diversity and Inclusion, or youre not sure that you have it covered, this book is for you. Its a simple read, and it will guide you with honest answers from over 30 people who are a mix of gender, race, religion, disabilities, and LGBTQ+. They represent, but are not limited to, tech, education, theater, writing, fashion, art, automotive, disability activism, medical, media, financial services, sales, events, promotions, construction, risk management, photography and video, lobbying, public relations, not-forprofits, social media, marketing, the faith community, entertainment, wellness, travel, personal and executive development, communications, architecture, engineering, science, service industry and the C-suite. I didnt want to write a book from only my perspective; I wanted to share with you how people under different parts of the diversity umbrella feel and think.

Throughout the book youll see quotes from these participants. Please dont assume, if you see the same title under different quotes, that theyre from the same person or that you can guess who they are.

Ive written the book as if you and I were sitting in a caf or bar, having a conversation on whats working in your organization and what isnt, and, most of all, how the diverse community that youre supposed to be focusing on knows whether your commitment to Diversity and Inclusion is real or not.

Those of you who are part of that diverse community can give this book as a gift to those you feel need to know the real deal on Diversity and Inclusion though you may not be able to talk to them about it yourself. I hope Ive done that for you.

Read this book, and continue to use it as a reference today and in the future. And lets chat when youve finished.

Leslie Short

CHAPTER 1

Whats In Your Bag?

W HEN I TRAINED TO BECOME A CERTIFIED MEDIATOR, one of the first questions the teacher asked was: Whats in your bag?