The Inclusive Organization

7Diversity Recruiting

Let's kick this off with a little exercise of pretend, shall we? Let's imagine that in this situation, you are not you, and I am not me. We are simply two attendees at an annual gala hosted by a nonprofit we both happen to work with. I was invited to speak at the gala, and you were excited to have a chance to chat as we both work in the same field and you were already familiar with my work. The night of the gala you approached me after my speech to congratulate me and introduce yourself, but I brushed you off, literally walking past your extended arm before you could even get out “hello.” I walked right by you smiling while I extended my hand to shake the hand of the person behind you, as if you weren't even there. To put it mildly, I left a bit to be desired in interpersonal skills. To put it accurately, well, I was a bit of an arrogant jerk. The day after the gala, I had lunch with the founder of the nonprofit when I mentioned one of my current ongoing projects that had been giving me a bit of grief. She was surprised—apparently there was a guest at last night's gala who actually specialized in the exact area I was struggling in, and she thought we would have connected given our shared work and interests. Surprise, surprise—that guest was you! The stranger I rudely ignored all night. She gave me your contact info so I could reach out later. Now, what would you do if you received that call from me? Well, if you're anything like me, you might laugh into ...