An Inclusion Armistice

How do we celebrate diverse perspectives without needing to denigrate one?

Leadership Moment: Veterans/Remembrance Day

Today is the eleventh day of the eleventh month. One hundred and six years ago, World War I ended at the eleventh minute of the eleventh hour, and Armistice Day was born. Observed until World War II, it then became Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth of Nations, while the United States, which already had Memorial Day to commemorate fallen service members, adopted Veterans Day, using it to celebrate living veterans of the armed forces.

These two days might seem in conflict, and I suppose there may be communities that disagree over them. But, in general, they coexist quite well; US veterans are thanked for their service and celebrated, while Commonwealth citizens wear red poppies and observe a minute (or two) of silence. Neither observing group tries to stop the other.

It’s helpful to remember that being welcoming of another group should not require excluding other groups.

Also, to my fellow US veterans: Thank you also for your service.

One Minute Pro Tip: Spectrum of Inclusion

When we have staff who are outside our current norm, we often want to make them feel more welcome. That inclusive spectrum might range from Exclusion (not able to participate, for overt reasons), through Tolerance (allowed, but not supported), Accommodation (unenthusiastic adjustments provided), Integration (active inclusion in positive ways), Welcoming (openly valued and supported), Celebration (highlighted for their differences), to Preferred (becoming the norm).

The challenge is to know when to stop. Those categories are not actually a good spectrum for including a subgroup; if anything, they’re a recipe for disaster. To move one group to Preferred is to implicitly move another group to Exclusion; rather, our goal should be to move all of our subgroups to an Integration or Welcoming status. So on your journey of change, ask yourself: how will I know when to stop?

Appearances

Recent

Nov 5: CISO Series Podcast, Luckily, We Haven’t Had to Adapt to Any New Technologies Before AI

Nov 1: Super Cyber Friday, Hacking Your Cyber Brand

Upcoming

Through Nov 14, I’ll be in Tel Aviv if anyone local is looking to catch up.

Dec 11: CyberMarketingCon CEO Summit, Navigating the Investment Landscape for Cybersecurity Companies