Book Commentary: Inclusion on Purpose by Ruchika Tulshyan
As someone who spent 30 years in a variety of professional roles – high school teacher, actuary, consultant, financial guaranty underwriting, banker, trader, executive – I’ve had many opportunities to promote an inclusive environment for the groups I led.
I’m sure I failed more often than not, “good intentions” getting me only so far.
Sure, a lot has changed in 30 years, and the world I grew up in has moved on in many ways. During my time, the conversations about diversity on its own broadened to discuss the importance of equity and inclusion. To visible markers of identity, we added for consideration others that might be less apparent at a glance. All good stuff. And yet I felt in the corporate world where I lived we spent most of the time – and it wasn’t enough time, to be honest – debating the economic benefits of diversity rather than identifying and taking purposeful steps toward an inclusive environment.
These debates felt repetitive at best, diversionary at worst, and somewhat demoralizing to a lot of us. Was it as if, once we all agreed on the financial benefits of having a diverse, equitable and inclusive organization, such an organization would simply create itself, pushed by the invisible hand of capitalism?
It just doesn’t work that way. For a variety of reasons I’m sure people can and do debate. But it doesn’t.
Lately, I’m heartened to see those who drive the conversation away from debates about the benefits and toward the question: what can I do to make this organization more inclusive?
Ruchika Tulshyan’s book, Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Create a Culture of Belonging at Work, addresses this question both at the personal and organizational level. I won’t try to summarize or defend the arguments Ruchika Tulshyan makes – she’s the authority on this topic, and I encourage you to read for yourself.
Instead, I will share a few purposeful actions that resonated with me:
✅ Build awareness of, and overcome my own defensiveness; accept it will be uncomfortable
✅ Develop my personal empathy around inclusion by recognizing my experience is not universal
✅ Listen more and connect to individuals, not labels
✅ Amplify others’ voices and get out of the way to let them shine
As a coach, my opportunities to promote a more inclusive culture are a bit different than they were in my prior roles. Today I use my position to create space for leaders to explore these topics, be vulnerable, and grow in an authentic way. Despite the potential for discomfort, I relish the chance to support leaders as they challenge themselves to take purposeful actions that build a developmental culture and allows everyone to be their best.
If you would like to speak more about building an inclusive, developmental culture in your organization, connect with me here or at john@aconnectedcoach.com