I am scared most days.

I don’t experience overwhelming fear; but almost every day includes moments when I hesitate to share my thoughts.  As a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion professional, my job is to create plans; evaluate products, services, marketing materials and policies; to assess inclusivity; to ensure that everything we do as a company supports nurturing a diverse, equitable and inclusive environment. 

Companies are overwhelmingly comprised of good people who are primarily focused on doing their jobs well to help themselves and their companies succeed.  That success requires meeting tight deadlines and working to achieve ambitious goals; so it’s understandable that oftentimes DEI efforts are not front-of-mind.  I am also keenly aware that good people will still unintentionally say and do bad things.  Additionally, we all have areas of cultural illiteracy (nobody can know everything about every person and identity group).

Almost all people are very married to their “goodness”; and become extremely offended if you suggest that they have done something that is unfair, have benefitted from any type of privilege, or have been ignorant to another person’s situation.  Similarly, people want Diversity, Equity and Inclusion work to be full of sentimental moments that make them feel good about themselves.  DEI comes from the best place in all of us; the place that sees everyone’s humanity and wants everyone to be treated fairly, to have equal access, and to be respected.  But nurturing such environments involves a lot of strategic, hard, messy, consistent and challenging work. 

And it isn’t always easy.

Most days I discuss issues that make many people uncomfortable; that may disrupt and delay plans; and that can force people to question themselves, products, ideas or policies. I am the person who questions whether a product or policy excludes or is unfair to some people; if we have shown bias in hiring, pay or promotion practices; or if we risk offending an entire identity group by something we’ve said, done or written.

Very often, I must be a disrupter.

And frankly, that takes a lot of courage.

It takes courage for most of us to speak up because we doubt ourselves (imposter syndrome); we worry that people will judge us; and we worry that people won’t like us.

I want to remind you that you were hired because you are enough, you are valuable, and what you offer is worthy and needed.  It’s unlikely that you will ever say something that will cause someone to dislike you; but if you do… so what?  Were you hired to be liked or to be helpful?  Is your goal to be liked by some individual or to be a contributing member to your team and the company; and to be successful in your job?  While it’s always nice to be liked; it’s an impossible goal and a completely useless exercise to try to be liked by everyone. I encourage you to always choose to be respected over being liked.

Your unique voice, perspective, and skills are exactly why you were hired.  No product, campaign, plan, department, or company excels that was built with one way of thinking or doing.  Failing to speak up creates an organization that only reinforces itself and causes the organization to miss out on improving.

Speaking up isn’t always easy but I encourage you to acknowledge the fear and do it anyway.  Here are seven tips to help you share your voice at work:

1. Monitor and change (if necessary) your self-talk. Watch what you tell yourself about yourself.  You should be your own best friend and your own biggest cheerleader.
2. Release the need to be liked.
3. Be prepared for meetings: read the agenda, read any supplementary materials, and take notes of your possible talking points.
4. Start small.  Start speaking in small meetings and slowly build your confidence to speak in larger groups.
5. Address problems with a suggested solution.  Ask directed questions.
6. Decide how you want to be perceived within the organization and conduct yourself accordingly.  Do you want to be seen as strong, a leader, knowledgeable, capable?
7. Encourage others to speak up.  Ask someone else’s opinion.  As you help to create an environment where people seek the ideas of others and even appreciate their ideas being challenged, you will become more comfortable doing so yourself.

You owe it to yourself, your team, and your organization to share your unique voice and perspectives. 

“I have come to believe over and over again that what is most important to me must be spoken, made verbal and shared, even at the risk of having it bruised or misunderstood.”

Audre Lorde