“It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.”
~Audre Lorde
There are so many ways that we are all different. How we look. How we act. How we think. What we like. Whom we like. Where we’re from.
You get the idea.
There are so many differences, and we often use those differences as justification to keep us apart from others or to keep them apart from us. Both on a big and small scale.
I might think I have nothing in common with you, so I don’t engage with you and get to know you. I might look at you and be uncomfortable with what you’re wearing or the color of your hair or the way you speak, so I decide I have nothing in common with you, so I don’t engage with you and get to know you. I might think that our differences are so irreconcilable that I can’t engage with you and get to know you.
People who are different from us – in background, culture, experience, approach – offer us an opportunity to learn, grow, and expand. Combining our differences – or at least engaging with our differences – often brings about a greater result than we’d achieve if we stayed only with those just like us.
The more we can recognize, accept, and celebrate differences, the more we can move forward, effectively, together.
Our role as leaders is to help bring that to fruition.
How have you moved past differences to a greater result?
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If you enjoyed this post, you can read more like it in our book, The Power of Thoughtful Leadership: 101 Minutes To Being the Leader You Want To Be, available on Amazon.
If you want to recognize, accept, and celebrate differences more, contact Lisa at lkohn@chatsworthconsulting.com.
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