I would like to share my take on AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson’s comments to his team at a recent meeting regarding the racial tension in the United States.
Although many of you may differ on some of the points made in his speech; it would be difficult not to agree that the divisive nature of racial tension is tearing at the very fibers that knit our Country together. However, this tension was not created overnight; it is the result of many years of frustration in a Country that has historically placed so much emphasis on the visual appearance of others. That emphasis on outward appearance has translated into a history of, “them and us”. A history built on differentiation in civil rights, levels of education, disparate economic opportunity and communities divided by how you look.
How can a Country built this way be surprised by the way individuals view our world, when each of us have observed from such diverse front porches? Until we are able to have open and sometimes uncomfortable discussions, as Randall Stephenson suggests, we cannot
expect different outcomes. Unfortunately, this discussion cannot be limited to just racial
tensions; it must be extended to the many other differences that exist in our society.
Differences such as gender, culture, sexual preference, religion, ethnicity, etc. Serious conversation must be extended to these differences also, because they are moving down the same historic route that built the path to heightened divisiveness and racial tension we are experiencing today!
The rapidly increasing change in
America’s demographics; the increased mobility to move throughout the world; the increased need for people to be recognized and heard; the speed of information and communication through technology; and the more educated and sophisticated nature of Americans will continue to create wider gaps in our differences. I believe Randall Stephenson is also on target when he suggests we seek a better understanding of another individual’s environment and experiences that brought them to their particular beliefs, biases and filters regarding others. This understanding of someone else’s “story” will be key in unlocking the friction and tension caused by the lack of recognition, respect and realization that no two of us are the same.
Randall Stephenson’s openness to reveal the closeness of his relationship with a Black friend, without ever having a substantive discussion regarding their life stories should be eye-opening to many of us. These are two individuals that have known each other for years, without having deeply discussed their life story. How do we intend for acquaintances, or even strangers to begin such serious conversations? Our Company, Metrics2Results, is passionate about creating these discussions through our workshops “Leveraging Diversity & Inclusion”. We firmly believe that the serious conversations we help to build between individuals and within organizations regarding “Implicit Bias”, or unconscious bias, have a dramatic impact and positive affect on the success of organizations, institutions… and this great Country. You may not agree with Randall Stephenson on every point… However, we agree that serious and open conversations need to happen and happen soon!
We would like to applaud the CEO, of one of the largest corporations in the world, for taking on the challenge of expressing his convictions whether we agree with every line item… or not.