When you want a diverse team but you still got a bunch of white dudes under 30
Inclusivity starts at the top
:60 read | 1:30 video | Chime in on LinkedIn here
Stop me if you’ve heard this one: lots of talk about diverse hiring. But the sales floor is still all white dudes under 30.
I’ll give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I’ve seen orgs that have the right intent. But they still struggle to execute on it.
Because of the Catch-22. It can be hard to attract diverse teams of people when you don’t already have diverse teams of people.
The fix? Starts at the top:
Are you truly open to people with diverse backgrounds? Not just skin color and gender, but age? Personality traits? Non-traditional work experience?
More importantly: are you the type of person that different types of people want to work with?
Are you comfortable being yourself while also adjusting to the circumstances? Are you showing that in the interviews?
I hope someday you get the opportunity to talk with Debra Senra. As she says in this clip, you know exactly who you’re talking to: she swears. She’s dorky. She gets distracted. She cries when she’s proud of people.
And she doesn’t hide it.
You can’t “be like everyone.” But when you’re an open book? Lots of different people will want to work with you.
You can follow me on LinkedIn here. Join the discussion on this LinkedIn post (or give it a 👍) here.