EKMH Innovators Interview Series
An interview series spotlighting global tech influencers, disruptors, visionaries, and of course, innovators.
While it’s never too late to enact change, if readers wait any longer, it may be too late to register to vote.
This week’s post pulls from the EKMH Innovators’ archive to highlight the importance of Diversity and Inclusion. Over the last year the Series has intentionally included many leaders who have personally fought for diversity and inclusion in their own workplaces and communities around the world. Below please find excerpts from these interviews regarding the challenges and rewards inherent in building exceptional, diverse and inclusive teams.
EKMH: To begin, as the Founder of ExecMommyGroup, how do you effectively initiate and lead ongoing discussions about Diversity and Inclusion?
ExecMommyGroup Founder / CEO Joelle Murchison: I have been very fortunate to have developed a reputation over time that embraces the opportunity to engage with individuals on challenging topics. Diversity and Inclusion is one of them. I use personal stories and sometimes humor to help people feel more comfortable navigating through discomfort. It is not easy for people to be willing to think outside of a way that they’ve always known, but knowledge is powerful – and, when used for good, can transform the world!
EKMH: Where do you see the most pushback in your Diversity and Inclusion consulting? Which key issues must people address to spotlight unconscious bias and entitlement, privilege and/or ignorance in order to establish both meaningful short-term and imperative lasting change -- a much needed cultural intelligence reboot-- in and out of the workplace?
Joelle Murchison: In most instances, I think that resistance comes from fear: the notion that by embracing inclusion, somehow you will lose something. I can’t fault people for that resistance because that is what we have been taught – it is human nature. In our polarization, we have become paralyzed, unable to acknowledge a middle ground.
This conversation does not have to be all or nothing, but rather an acknowledgement that our experiences are universally different. Different is ok, it’s just that - different. And the sooner we are willing to embrace the fact that our country was built on a premise that our differences made some of us ‘wrong’ instead of ‘simply different,’ the sooner we can shift our thinking.
Each of us individually must take stock of our behavior and the ways that our unconscious biases influence our decision making. But as long as we fear losing power or prestige as a result of viewing those who are different as our equal, I truly believe we will not fully realize our purpose on this Earth.
EKMH: Could you please share a bit more about your experiences, challenges and successes with regard to your hearing impairment?
FintechOS Head of Solution Architecture Andra Sonea: I could probably write a book or do some stand-up comedy on this topic. I reached a point where the barriers to people with disabilities in the working world seem so absurd to me that I can communicate this absurdness only through dark humour.
All companies I worked for had, on paper, inclusive policies. Try however to obtain the slightest adjustment and you would have walls of bureaucracy or simply blank stares. Working for a global consultancy which imposed Blackberry mobile phones for its work force, I asked for the “major adjustment” to use my iPhone instead because it was connected to my hearing aids. It took me a few months and I ended up needing an approval from a VP of the company and made to thank for the favour to a chain of people who facilitated the introduction. In another organisation, transcription services for a few hours per month for call conferences with over thirty people, were not approved as a reasonable adjustment. Apparently, my discussions about some systems were too confidential and probably I was not even supposed to hear the discussions myself. The list is long.
On the way though, I’ve met some brave people with various disabilities whose determination and dignity stays with me to this day. I learned that most people do not declare their disabilities to their employees for fear of being discriminated or penalised. Because of this, they are effectively excluded from many activities – trainings not available to people with dyslexia or various learning or visual disorders, company events not available to deaf people.
I have also learned to provide information about my impairment and my very specific needs in a very matter of fact way. It helps me but I notice that often people still don’t know what to do with the information. If I am asked questions from the audience while I am on stage, my chances of understanding them are zero. People try to shout louder but this never helps. I have to ask somebody closer to me to repeat the question. I guess it looks strange.
Last year, I saw Haben Girma, the first deaf blind Harvard Law graduate, speaking in London at the Society of Computers and Law. She explained to the audience how she communicates and after her talk there was a long queue of people willing to communicate with her. I queued and told her, “I hope you know that you are very beautiful” and we laughed and chatted a bit. It was for me a profound lesson that if you want to be inclusive and you want to communicate, there is a way; however, people should not have to jump through endless tiring loops to achieve this.
EKMH: As an advisor to the current and next generation of “bold, gutsy and principled” women change makers and a leading advocate for entrepreneurship, how do you recommend building workplace diversity and successful teams?
SheEO Founder Vicki Saunders: Just do it. We need to decondition ourselves from the deeply biased systems in which we live, which is challenging. Many people haven’t been able to see the structural inequities we are surrounded by, and, thankfully, that is changing as we seem to face a daily unveiling of the inequality, the racism and the sexism that is embedded in all of our systems. Our SheEO Ventures are building workplaces that are ‘by design’ family friendly, free of harassment, innovative and full of empathy.
EKMH: How do you address pushback?
Vicki Saunders: We have set our values from the start and everyone needs to agree to our credo before joining the community. We don’t have people in our community who want to uphold our old systems that no longer serve us.
EKMH: What makes for an ideal team? How has and does diversity impact your past and present teams?
Vouch Founder and CEO Sam Hodges: The right team is one that has the right mix of skills, where people share common values (which I define as a cultural script for how one should do work, and what behaviors are rewarded) and a shared purpose. Diversity in backgrounds and perspectives is critical in this -- if you can’t create a work environment that’s attractive to a wide range of people, you’ll be short-changing your ability to get the people with the right skills, and you’ll miss out on opportunities to include perspectives which will make you better.
EKMH: What advice do you have about establishing workplace diversity, building successful teams and rainmaking?
Virtual Coffee Talk Founder & former Startupbootcamp Scale Fintech MD & Finnovista Partnerships Director Christine Chang: There are a lot of discussions, especially in developed markets such as in my native US about diversity and inclusion. The first step is asking what does that even mean? To you, to your team, to your company?
For me, personally, I am always for the diversity of opinions and perspectives and creating room for different voices to be truly heard. It has been proven that more diverse teams have better results over the long term. It is important to think of the long term because it is highly probable that it will not be easy at first to lead or be in a diverse team, with differing opinions and different work styles. Sometimes it is exhausting, but I would say the end result is always worth it and it is way more challenging and rewarding to work with people who don’t just agree with you all the time.
What I would say that diversity is NOT: diversity should not be a policy you put in place to cover your a**. Diversity should not be avoiding lawsuits or saying that no one has complained that they feel discriminated against. There is a huge difference in avoiding negative situations and outcomes versus proactively creating a workplace and a company where people are encouraged to think critically and problem-solve in different ways.
In the same way, successful teams are those who are not just ticking the box with all the things they have to do or the bare minimum. Successful teams are those that are clear about and aligned toward the same goal, have the right tools to get there, and are all pulling toward a common objective, including stopping and picking up other teammates when they are down and out and are enjoying the journey as well.
As for rainmaking, there is a Japanese concept called ikigai where you try to link your purpose with your work but finding the intersection of what you love, what you are good at, what the world needs, and what you can get paid for doing. I think that is the ideal situation and environment where you truly and authentically make it rain because if you are passionate about what you do, you will naturally be good at what you do. Then all you have to do is find your product-market fit.
(*Editor’s note: If you haven’t already watched a Virtual Coffee Talk, click here!)
EKMH: You wrote the article, “Why Companies Seeking Diversity Should Start at the Top.” While obvious to many, clarification is always helpful: why should companies seek diversity? In which companies have you seen leadership pushing toward diversity and succeeding?
Nvoicepay CEO and Co-Founder Karla Friede: Companies should seek diversity because it's good for their bottom line. There is now plenty of research showing that companies that have a more diverse set of employees generate more ideas and deliver better results. Unfortunately, I don’t know many large enterprises that are doing a great job with diversity and inclusion. I do see many early stage companies that are interested in diversity and in changing the way businesses work, and that’s encouraging. I think the only way we’re going to make real progress is when people stop thinking about this as a feel-good initiative and realize that it’s a competitive advantage.
EKMH: The team has noted that “Geeqs” come in a variety of shapes and sizes, with a wonderful variety of interests, professions, and specialties. What advice do you have for effectively leading richly diverse teams?
Tech Entrepreneur & Geeq Founder / CDO Stephanie So: In some sense, I think you have to know when to lead and when to follow, and be very clear about which role you are taking at any given time. Everyone I work with at Geeq shines at something and I think our atmosphere is healthy because we all make a real effort to understand what each person brings to the table.
Feedback in my group often takes the form of “I need help with” or “Do you mean ..?”. I know we share common values but come from different backgrounds, so my default when someone makes a request or has a question is that they’re probably framing it from a point of view that I haven’t considered, which makes me intrinsically curious about what and why they’re trying to raise a specific point.
EKMH: In your writing, you note “modeling possibility” as a topic for empowerment. How can other women leaders, particularly those in STEM, better share their energy, success and tools now to help empower female peers, rising female team members, young women graduates and adolescent girls interested in the sector?
Global Empowerment Leader / Entrepreneur/ UN Girl Up Advisor / Board Member / Angel Investor Shelmina Babai Abji: This is such an important question. Our current statistics of women leaders in STEM are dire. Only when we all support each other and create a rising tide that lifts all of us, will we be able to change those statistics. There are multiple ways to do this.
First and foremost involves your own behavior. When you trust yourself to figure things out, when you shine your brightest, when you take on challenging assignments, when you are learning and growing, when you proactively seek challenges, when you make the right decisions even though they are tough, when you succeed against all odds, you model possibility. Your mere presence will inspire others to succeed.
Lift others as you rise. It is never too late to start lifting others- become a mentor, advocate for others, share your insights, provide constructive criticism in a way that builds them, encourage them, notice potential and ignite it, provide support when needed- do whatever is needed to lift others.
EKMH: We need more “Lucys” in the world... What’s the difference between your “Lucy” and a “Karen”? What steps can Lucys take to improve company culture and help their team members achieve success while maintaining a healthy work/life balance?
BrainTrust Founder, Lunch with Lucy Author & Serial Entrepreneur Sherry Deutschmann: Karen is only concerned about Karen. But Lucys are leading with empathy – the ability to see the world through the eyes of those around her. She understands that her company depends on those employees even more than they depend on her. The best thing “Lucys” and “Lukes” can do to improve company culture? Give their employees a voice and then LISTEN to them. Create and guard multiple ways to hear from them. And pay them a fair living wage - just put yourself in their shoes and see how far you would get if you were living on what you pay them!
EKMH: What are some of the challenges and benefits of working with a culturally diverse team? What shared experiences helped enable you to “break the ice” and align and strengthen the HedgeTech team?
HedgeTech Founders Laurent Benayoun and Shi (Tom) Qiu: At this time, seven nationalities are represented at HedgeTech. This diversity allows our team to bring different perspectives to the table on all aspects of the job, from strategy design to client interactions. With regard to client relations, for the HedgeTech team to be able to speak more than 10 languages and to share cultural similarities with most of our clients worldwide, is a true advantage when trading on markets that never close.
Despite the team’s diversity, we all have certain things in common. Some of us come from the same universities, others have a language in common other than English and yet others shared the same challenges to come study and work in the US as foreigners. But what brings us all together for sure is how passionate we are about being at the forefront of technological innovation in finance and providing an impeccable service to all of our clients.
EKMH: Enacting change in our communities remains central. As an active philanthropist, how would you encourage others to become more involved in their own communities?
OurCrowd Managing Partner Denes Ban: I suggest approaching how to volunteer just as I would suggest how to find a vocation. Using the “three variables method”, know your “why” - what gets you up in the morning. Combine it with what you are good at and what is actually needed to make a difference. The intersection of these three circles will reveal your best area of work, whether volunteered or otherwise. Find something that you are passionate about and where you can add real value beyond writing a check. The check will help them, but the time spent helping others will help you.
EKMH: Readers, this could be one of my favorite responses of all time. How do you balance your role as CSO and your multiple roles in the Emirates American Football League?
Securrency CSO Patrick Campos: Ssshhh! My colleagues will likely tell you that I don’t balance it all that well, but I can’t help it.
I love football and I love coaching football. It is, in my humble opinion, the greatest sport in the world and the one that best combines human athleticism, strength, aggression, and intellect. No coach in any other sport has as much second-by-second intellectual engagement during a game as does an American football coach, so that is quite appealing to me.
I particularly like coaching American football in the UAE. We have such an incredibly diverse group of residents here, that I have coached players from over 50 different countries, ranging in ages from 8 to 50. You asked earlier about leading global and diverse teams – this is the ultimate form of that concept. I have on my men’s team right now, for example, quarterbacks from England, Ireland and the US, running backs from Egypt, Cameroon, and Syria, wide receivers from Canada, Lebanon, and South Africa, and an offensive line consisting of a Turk, a Hungarian, an Englishman, an American (Texan, no less), and an Iranian. And yes, the Iranian lines up right next to the Texan; the Texan, who is a 40-year old man, has taken the Iranian, who is an 18-year old high school student, under his wing. And I haven’t even begun to describe the defense, with its Mexicans, Russians, Algerians, and others, all led by a larger-than-life lawyer from Tennessee.
My wife and I got involved with the league back in 2012 so we could create an American football experience for our son who was 11 at the time, and since then I have had the absolute joy of coaching him and working with other young athletes and seeing how this sport, more than any other, helps to mold their character and build their confidence. He is now a freshman at Tulane but I’m still coaching kids and adults. I have also taken our teams to play in places like Shanghai, Singapore, Nur-Sultan (Astana), Düsseldorf, Amsterdam, Madrid, Cairo, Kiev, Bucharest, and lovely Antalya. I would like to think that the intellectual side keeps my mind sharp while the mentorship part enhances my empathy. Hopefully, that contributes positively to my role as CSO of Securrency (if any of my colleagues are reading!).
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