DEI Principles 2 of X: Agency, Accountability and More on Interdependence
DEI Principles 2 of X: Agency, Accountability and More on Interdependence
When we miss opportunities to take personal responsibility, we inadvertently create a culture of blame and victimhood.
“If it is to be, it’s up to me.”
I first heard this statement when I started my first business in network marketing through Amway.
I didn’t make much money in that business–enough to cover my costs of travel and registration for seminars, books, tapes (it was that long ago), and basic supplies like a portable whiteboard with markers and an increase in my dry-cleaning bill. (I was wearing suits 3-4x a week. Something I only occasionally do these days.) And while I didn’t make my fortune in network marketing like others have, I did learn a great deal about motivation, inspiration, agency, and accountability.
When I quote “it’s up to me,” I am not talking about individualism but individual responsibility. There are folks in the DEI and social justice spaces who believe individualism is at the heart of our woes regarding equity and justice.
I disagree.
If we look at individualism as a notion that says “it is all about me and no one else,” that is an erroneous way to look at it.
In his book Leading with Cultural Intelligence, author Dr. David Livermore tells a story about individualism vs. collectivism. The crux of the story was that an Australian marketing executive opening an office in China struggled to find a high-impact operations manager, and his orientation to focus on what would benefit an individual was getting in his way.
He knew the job was good. It had better benefits and upsides than most.
He didn’t get that while the individual benefits were better, the focus for many Chinese employees was not on the one as it relates to the individual, but the many. That is, ‘I’ as part of a larger ‘We’ that influences decisions, whether or not that larger group is aware of one’s thinking.
A predominant collectivist orientation required him to partner with locally known others to make introductions, eventually leading to his hiring an administrative whiz.
So, I am not talking about individualism vs. collectivism in this case. And if I were, I wouldn’t view these as diametric opposites–a dichotomy that can lead (has led) to us creating what would be sub-optimal in organizational life.
Instead, they are on a continuum one needs to be cognizant of and adapt to, like the marketing manager in the story above.
Literature Related to De-centering Whiteness
Individuals (regardless of their cultural values orientation being closer to individualism or collectivism) are complements–one to another–in an interdependent configuration, ecosystem, or company.
If a stance on personal accountability to something bigger than oneself is absent, one misses the opportunity for meaningful growth and contribution.
No one (consciously) wants that.
If they seem to be okay with it, it is because of a narrative that has made them believe that such a way of thinking benefits them in some manner, if only temporarily.
And, if responsibility for any current circumstance is blamed on an ambiguous “other” (e.g. white men, the wealthy, the government, etc.), what follows is a missed opportunity for developing agency.
When we miss opportunities to take personal responsibility, we inadvertently create a culture of blame and victimhood.
This hinders our ability to develop agency—that is, to act independently and make our own choices with the understanding that we are not operating in a vacuum of our own feelings and interests.
When we choose with clarity, knowing that our actions influence and impact others in ways that we cannot see and can only occasionally be near certain how they will land, given the context shifts always at play, we build the muscle of accountability and expand our agency.
I hope this was helpful. . . Make it a great day! ✌🏿
In this episode of the ‘Reconstructing Inclusion’ podcast, let’s discuss the current state and “the attacks” on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) and the need to redefine its contemporary frame. I talk about the concept of iatrogenic effects, drawing from the work of Ivan Illich, and its relevance in the DEI space. Why are self-reflection, intentional broadening, greater contact, and the promotion of agency in mitigating iatrogenic effects important in advancing the potential of DEI work?