Management Counsel

MANAGEMENT COUNSEL: LAW PRACTICE 101 By: Brooklyn Sawyers Belk

Litigation and Safety Counsel, Lyft, Inc. and Visiting Professor, University of Tennessee College of Law

THE BEST WE CAN BE: INCLUSIVE HIRING AND SUSTAINABLE DIVERSITY

Early in my career and work with what I then called diversity, equity, and inclusion, I focused on diversity only to realize that diversity is nothing more than adding numbers to headcount. Later, I learned that the adding became subtracting because, without more, you merely add diverse employees and then subtract them because of attrition. As my work matured, I learned to reverse the focus: inclusion, equity, and diversity (IED) because diversity—hiring people who check different boxes—is unsustainable without inclusion.

Inclusion is the act of being included—the opposite of being (or, feeling or believing you are) left out, shunned, excluded, on the outside looking in; defined as the action or state of including or being included with a group or structure. It requires action, presence of mind, and deliberation. In the employment context, inclusion is more than merely hiring someone. Hiring is a first, but never the final, step: much is required between the two for successful outcomes. Because I have led successful IED efforts, I offer these reflections.

Retaining talent is directly correlated to inclusivity—hiring officials’ and the associated institution’s ability to include the employee in the institution’s culture and adapt that culture as necessary to include new people and ideas. Phrased differently, many people work for selfbenefit—from generating economic resources, to fulfilling altruistic notions of giving part of self to others, to engagement. People can satisfy that self-benefit need in any number of workplaces over their careers. But, many people will choose workplace longevity with a particular employer—a conscious decision to stay in a particular workplace—when they believe that they are part of the “thing” and, thus, included.

This inclusivity need and process is similar for all employees regardless of diversity, but perhaps more imperative when the employee is the only one or one of few people who identify in specific ways. To test this hypothesis, choose to be the only one of whatever group you desire in some institutional setting. By way of suggestion, places of worship tend to be segregated. Choose to attend a worship service where you believe you will be the only one who identifies a certain way at the service. Assess how being the minority in the service impacts you, including the impact on your willingness to speak up, share your opinions, desire to shrink back, deny your authentic self, or avoid engagement opportunities. Imagine those feelings aggregated over weeks, months, years, decades, your entire life; in a situation that is not by choice, but your life-style sustaining, needs-meeting, career. The test results will vary, including that some people will leave the experiment unbothered. Things impact people differently. The human condition is complex and our experiences differ. But addressing those who concluded their minority status can be—this is not absolute—intimidating, what solutions exist to address the dynamic? One solution is operating in a spirit of inclusivity. For those who answer the weighty call of professional leadership, the burden of walking in that inclusive spirit in the employment context sits squarely in the recruiting, hiring, and retention space.

You include diverse candidates and employees by doing all you can to make them welcome, their voices heard and opinions counted in an evolving workplace that is adaptable. Over my diverse career, no pun intended, I have assisted others in finding diverse candidates, and been a recruiting and hiring authority. I have been successful in “finding” and then connecting diverse candidates and hiring officials, and have made some connections that resulted in sustained workplace diversity. The techniques that I have employed are below. They are not novel, difficult, or even complex. These strategies worked for me. I have merely prioritized a few things. Organizations that think as broad and diverse as the people who make up the world are stronger than they otherwise would be and, to think like that, requires a brain trust of people who are broad and diverse in their thinking.1 Thus, the more ages, races, genders, abilities, orientations—all the things—the better and the more people the organization is likely to reach. I believe so strongly in these principles that I apply them personally, too. One of the greatest compliments that I have received is people noting that my family has the most diverse friend and associate group that they have encountered. From Larry Nave, my 80-year plus, young friend who graduated from Emory and Henry College some 40 years before me, to all types of law enforcement officers, whom I met as a prosecutor and chose to stayed connected with, to Destiny Sirivong, our 20-something mentee, and so many people in between—all unique, adding something special to every encounter—and making my family richer for having learned from them. That is all, and it is summarized in six simple points.

1. Go to the people. To start, I familiarize myself with diverse organizations. When working with entities seeking to increase workplace diversity, I become acquainted with organizations whose membership reflects that diversity and then continued on page 9

About this column: “The cobbler’s children have no shoes.” This old expression refers to the fact that a busy cobbler will be so busy making shoes for his customers that he has no time to make some for his own children. This syndrome can also apply to lawyers who are so busy providing good service to their clients that they neglect management issues in their own offices. The goal of this column is to provide timely information on management issues. If you have an idea for a future column, please contact Caitlyn Elam at 546-4646.

MANAGEMENT COUNSEL, continued from page 9

make meaningful connections with the organizations.

2. Mentor the desired talent. The world is full of less-seasoned professionals who want an opportunity to do the things they dream of and experienced counsel from those who went ahead of them. Mentoring less-seasoned professionals creates a network of people who are the employment candidates for the positions that you may be recruiting for in the future. In the IED context, the key is mentoring all types of professionals—regardless of gender, race, age, etc.—understanding that the broader range of professionals mentored is directly correlated to the range of familiar candidates in the applicant pool when you are the hiring official.

3. Advertise widely. Diversity aside, professionals I know desire to be the best they can and earn phenomenal careers.

If opportunities are advertised to wide and diverse audiences, the odds of a diverse candidate pool increase. To target a particular group, consider number one.

4. Adapt and evolve. I set the tone for the groups that I am blessed to lead. If people see me willing to disagree and commit, adapt, or even change course, many of them will follow suit, and we evolve together.

5. Attitude. I offer this thought as an example. I like infrequent and fast meetings. But there are people who I supervise who operate with more deliberate speed. They need to meet often and share their every opinion. I must demonstrate a conciliatory attitude and approach making space for all voices to be heard. The leadership team makes the final decision, but the willingness to listen on the decision-making path impacts morale, particularly if the voices have been omitted historically.

6. Value. I am openly and unapologetically Christian. If you spend personal time with me, you may eventually hear a God bless you. In honor of my faith, I send faith-based Christmas cards. But, I have a direct report who believes different than me. He needs to know that his faith matters as much as my faith. I want my faith respected and, to have it respected, I have to also respect others’ faith. I want him to know that

I respect him and his beliefs. To show that respect, for the holidays, I sent him a faith-neutral card—a small respect gesture. It did not require many resources, but made a lasting impression on my employee.

I have made mistakes in this area. I do not know all the answers. But, I am committed. I try to make a positive difference. These simple steps help me. I hope you find your own challenging, but admirable and worthwhile journey—opening doors for others—invaluable.

1 Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters. The McKinsey & Company Report. May 19, 2020. See https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/ diversity-wins-how-inclusion-matters.