Culture Fit or Culture Add?
I once had this weird experience upon joining a new company. On day one, when my manager showed me around the office (you remember offices don’t you?) a number of the leaders she introduced me to, made unusual comments.
Comments like “did you hire your twin?” and “Wow, are you sisters?” We both looked at each other in surprise, but not for long.
You see we were both white Australian women, the same age, with blonde hair and had duplicate rotund *cough curvy body types. We really were very similar in appearance and personality. It wasn’t the first time I had noticed bias in a recruitment processs, but it was the first time I noticed an advantage I recieved because of it. This really made me reflect.
I was reminded of this upon seeing this article on LinkedIn. It’s about the dangers of cultural fit and ending up in workplaces where everyone is the same. It has some great advice for avoiding this.
I also wrote about cultural fit and inclusion a little while ago when I was part of a leadership team. There was an “in” group and an “out” group. Hint: I wasn’t in the “in” group and it felt very hard.
At The Culture Ministry we are about working together to build inclusion in organisations. Would you like to join us? We are looking for Corporate members to accelerate our work.
Passion got us started. But what will make the difference?
I started The Culture Ministry because over the past 20 years of my career (mainly in male dominated businesses) I have been frustrated by the lack of progress and change needed to improve diversity and inclusion in organisations. Enough is enough.
Upcoming Event:
Embracing Diversity. Actions Speak Louder Than Words
Microaggressions are defined as subtle comments or actions, that may or may not intentionally communicate hostile or negative messages to a target person or group. Whilst the topic of diversity and inclusion is becoming increasingly important around the world, how unconscious or implicit bias can be managed may not be talked about enough.
Please join me on this free webinar on 18th August, Wednesday at 12:30pm SGT
I’m delighted to be in conversation with Darnell Fine and Benita Chick on our techniques in response to various microaggressions, and the things we can do to be a positive influence in an inclusive community.
A Dog Called Diversity -
Ibukun Olajide has experienced being the only Black woman in the room, in her career as a chemical engineer. She knows about microagressions (and just plain agressions)
We chatted about how she responds to discrimination and bigotry, her response to George Floyd's death and the Black Lives Matter protests in 2020. Ibukun has a beautiful way of communicating and I think you will like hearing her story and her point of view.
JOIN THE CULTURE CLUB
What are the benefits of becoming a member of The Culture Club?
Access to a network of other experienced people working in Diversity and Inclusion
Access to curated resources including latest research, blogs, videos, articles, organisations, book reviews, and tools to download
Weekly newsletter for members only with the latest news
Learning opportunities including events (some free, some discounted), webinars, learning circles, problem solving sessions and opportunities to collaborate
Featured members
Opportunity for members to pitch to run information sessions, webinars, write articles etc and be featured on the website
Special member’s only rates for events