Hi, reader!
Apparently I made a bunch of people cry with my last newsletter.
“You made my eyes leak.” - JF
“Here I am in this coffee shop just crying my eyes out.” - CL
“Whew, that was a tough one!” - AL
I am hopeful they were good tears!
With that, welcome to the 39th newsletter! This one is all about outsiders.
A read.
The Hidden Workplace Dynamic That is Killing Your Company’s Inclusion by Maya Hu-Chan
A look at how workplace environments traditionally have people who are insiders and people who are outsiders. This dynamic creates an unhealthy culture that can lead to suboptimal outcomes.
Examples include:
Smokers (insiders) on break talking about work while non smokers (outsiders) stay inside
Colleagues at a bar (insiders) building trust and rapport while non-drinkers (outsiders) go home
Co-workers in one time zone (insiders) make a decision while others in a different time zone (outsiders) are asleep
Co-workers who are outgoing (insiders) getting better projects than those who are reserved (outsiders)
Without intentional action from leaders and team members, the result is outsiders feel excluded and tend to leave the organization.
A thought.
My favorite team is the University of North Carolina (UNC). Most of my clothes are Carolina blue. I watch every game. The license plate on my car has the UNC logo on it.
Last week, while driving, a car cut in front of me that had the same UNC logo as their bumper sticker.
My reaction:
“Oh, that’s ok, they must be in a hurry”
My least favorite team is the Duke Blue Devils. My kids know them as “boo Duke” and they are easily our favorite team to root against.
That same week, while driving, a car cut in front me that had the Duke logo on their license plate.
My reaction:
“Oh, what the Hell?! Learn how to drive!”
Exact same scenario. Completely different reaction.
One was an insider (UNC logo)
One was an outsider (Duke logo)
What outsiders are you treating differently?
A quote.
“Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou
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Looking for more? You can read the first 38 editions here.