Table of Contents

• Creating a Big Tent: Lessons on Inclusion from the …

  • Use of language

  • Out of many, one

  • Diversity of voice

  • Power of personal stories

  • What Comes Next?

• 1% Solutions

• What I’m Reading/Listening To

• What I’m Doing

Creating a Big Tent: Lessons on Inclusion from the DNC

I have always been interested in politics. The obvious reason is because it impacts all of our lives. But also because I find studying politics to be a fascinating way to analyze human behavior and leadership (fascinating when it’s not causing existential dread, anyway—but let’s put that aside for now.) And while I normally watch political conventions, I don’t think I’ve ever watched with the enthusiasm I did this year. Each evening, I watched the convention until I fell asleep (I had some serious jet lag), then woke up each morning a bit groggy as though I’d just binge-watched some new series.

Why? Besides some brilliant moves by Harris, the convention itself created a sense of inclusion and joy. Now, political candidates have to create a sense of connection and purpose with each prospective voter. But so do organizations that are working to attract new talent while engaging and energizing the people that currently work there.

This made me think about the connections to work and talent—which is why I think the DNC provides such an interesting case study for how to create a broad sense of inclusion that attracts and retains. In watching and reflecting, I noticed a few key themes that translate across industry.

Use of language

Kamala Harris’ acceptance speech focused on “we,” “Americans,” and “freedom.” A word absent from her speech? Democrats. Her intentional use of language created a big tent where those who do not identify as Democrat can still see themselves.

Creating a sense of identity is a key part in creating a sense of belonging and engagement. In fact, creating a sense of identity is in itself a powerful way to increase connection. This starts by using “we” or rooting beliefs and values in a common identity- in this case being American, but at work is rooted in organizational identity.

Of course, this power can also be used for negative purposes. Creating an us versus them mentality can be deeply harmful and dangerous when that divide is based on fear or hatred. It can also be used manipulatively to squelch dissent within an org. Lastly, when folks feel a belief is core to their identity it can limit their ability to critically think. So use this one with the thoughtfulness it deserves.

Out of many, one

Real talk, I was obsessed the the DNC Roll Call- not just because of the music (I have downloaded the playlist from Apple music and listen daily) but the very structure of the event. Each state’s portion balanced diversity with unity.

• The songs were specifically chosen because they had a connection to the state

• The musical playlist that -when viewed as a whole- represents the vast diversity of our nation- Tupac, Dolly, Dropkick Murphys, Bruce and Beyonce?

• A chance for each state to proudly share their unique accomplishments, people and contributions to American history.

• A moment for each state to then proudly pledge their delegates to a common cause.

Creating a space to highlight diversity but then close on commonalities again underscores the point that anyone will be welcomed to the party.

Diversity of voice

The wide variety of speakers, from progressive leaders to CEOs to union presidents to Republicans, shows the diversity of people that have chosen to back Kamala Harris. It is one thing to say all are welcomed or play a variety of music— seeing that diversity is needed to truly believe. Think about it: how many organizations do you see that claim a commitment to diversity and inclusion, while also having an org chart where everyone looks the same? When reality does not align with espoused beliefs, people will see through you (particularly Gen Z, which is a key demographic in both elections and recruiting.)

It reminds me of when I worked with our external affairs team to create our campaign to recruit leaders. We wanted to highlight our diversity, not just in terms of race and gender, but also in work experience, age, and previous leadership experience. Essentially my philosophy was “Anyone who is viewing our social media should see themselves in at least one leader profile.” Why? Because if they connected to someone in our campaign, there would be more of a chance that they felt like they could truly be a part of our org- which increases the likelihood of applying.

Power of personal stories

Speakers did not simply talk abut their beliefs but often shared the origins of those beliefs. Many like AOC, Michelle Obama, Mindy Kaling spoke about the lessons they learned from their parents. Some speakers, like AOC and Walz discussed how a personal issue (a parent’s death) impacted their belief in a specific policy (better insurance, belief in labor unions). At one point, I became emotional realizing how many speakers had a parent they lost to cancer, and how that galvanized them in some way- a point that personally resonated with me having lost my mother and then grandfather to cancer in 2017.

These origin stories matter because they make it personal in a way that others can connect to. Moreover, when the DNC has to battle a reputation of being out of touch elites, grounding a belief in taxes and stronger government in stories like these helps to dispel (or at least strongly challenge) the belief that Democrats are largely out of touch coastal elites.

This in some ways related to the “Out of many, one” point. Another way to create a sense of belonging is to show that a variety of experiences can lead different people to believe in similar values and policies.

What Comes Next?

Time will tell if the Democrats can build on the successes made in its convention and if they can ultimately accomplish their aim- electing Harris. Whether they do or don’t will yield a different set of lessons for us. But the actions they’ve already taken translate to any situation where you need to create inclusive experiences that people WANT to be a part of- whether that be in your recruitment efforts, building internal culture, or designing employee experiences.

1% Solutions

• Want to know what’s working in your recruitment process? Ask the people you just recruited. Create a simple survey that asks new hires questions about their experience. Example questions can include Likert scale questions asking if the new hire received appropriate and adequate communication throughout the process or open response questions to gauge what initially attracted them to your organization and what ultimately made them sign with you.

• Be sure to advertise ALL of your benefits. Increasingly, benefits are becoming more important to those applying for roles (see this recent article). Take some time to examine your job postings and your website. Are you advertising all of your benefits? 401k matches, PTO, subscriptions, tuition reimbursements are just a few examples of benefits you can be advertising to set your org apart.

What I’m Reading/Listening To

• The Talent Pool That’s Surprisingly Overlooked- You may only overlook these candidates because they can’t hit the ground running- and look, you can’t hire an entire group of folks who need extensive training. But if you can’t hire anyone I might suggest you look at your onboarding process and codified standard operating procedures.

• Bias Interruptors are Key to Reducing Workplace Discrimination- Unconscious bias trainings alone will not reduce the bias that may exist in hiring and performance evaluations. Instead, this article points out that coupling training with clear competencies to guide managers can reduce bias (and if you want to talk about doing this in your own org, email me)

What I’m Doing

While my availability for larger projects is limited until December, I am opening up slots starting in October for:

• leadership coaching clients- particularly for those who are beginning a new leadership position

• leadership development workshops or talks on feedback, leading initiatives, running effective meetings. adult learning or hiring and retention strategies

• half or full-day strategy sessions to workshop a topic of your choice

If you’re interested, you can simply reply to this email or find time on my calendar.