A matter of trust
Almost all the leaders I know, myself included, have spent the last few weeks reflecting on the decisions they have made or have failed to make in their businesses with respect to people and work culture. I’m sure CEOs everywhere have walked through their respective mental scorecards on diversity, inclusion and the day-to-day work culture for which they are responsible. And even those who believe they have done well in these areas, now might find themselves feeling less certain than they expected.
I think this self-questioning is a good thing and leaders should accept the feeling of vulnerability that comes with it. For CEOs, understanding what is real is a never-ending task; it is also critical for success. A reality I believe in is that business, at its core, is built on trust. Behaviour in the workplace that tolerate inequity and disfunction breed fear and despair; this erodes trust. In addition to being reprehensible, it also makes companies weak. As CEOs, we own this. It’s our responsibility to grind on it and set clear examples for people, so that there can be no confusion about how we interact, who we are and how we get work done in our companies.
It starts with your words and then with your policies, but can’t stop there. What concerns me is a lack of follow-through from the top down. Any company can make supportive statements and publish sweeping new policies. But if its leaders fail to actively follow through every day, thus leading their people to do the same, this is tantamount to having an unwritten acceptance of institutional discrimination. This failure will make things worse and erode trust faster. This goes for all company leaders, whether you think you have a problem or not. You need to listen carefully and form your best views on the issues, become principled on them and make folks aware of what you believe. And then continue with constant reflection and active leadership by example. This last bit is key in my view, virtue signalling is not helpful, it’s your actions every day that make the difference.
In other words, treat this as a mission critical element of your business - because it is.
Image: Riding with Death by Jean Michel Basquiat (1988) - he fills this painting with nuanced references to race, racism and society, opening up a dialogue between the historical and the contemporary.
