In a previous Advisor, we introduced five steps that businesses can take to create equitable opportunities for women of color in a meaningful, sustainable, measurable way. In this Advisor, we take a closer look at one of these actions: creating and aligning roles with the strengths that women of color possess.
Create & Align Roles with Strengths
Women of color have three particular qualities that make them excellent employees and leaders. The first is resiliency. When people are constantly offered opportunities, they develop the habit of expecting things to happen with little to no effort on their part. When people must fight for every opportunity, they become highly resilient. (On a personal note, I experienced the latter: made to feel inferior, unworthy, the wrong gender, and certainly the wrong color at every turn. The idea was to hold me back, but that clearly backfired.)
The second quality is flexibility. Women of color learn to be highly flexible and creative in order to support and sustain their families. For years, they have similarly found ways to make their voices heard and be recognized in a world reluctant to do so. Against all odds, they nurture those who are unkind to them and those who refuse to see their achievements as noteworthy.
The final quality is a fierce passion for building relationships. Women of color are like thoroughbred horses with blinders on: single-mindedly finding creative ways to form amazing relationships. Women of color are kindhearted and able to read between the lines. They know how to cut to the chase and how to categorize relationships so they yield the right results. Women of color see into the souls of others and bring out the best in them.
Could you use someone who possesses these skills? Resilient workers see projects/initiatives through to the end. Flexible leaders view issues from various perspectives and find creative ways to resolve them. Compassionate leaders form solid relationships that yield exceptional results for the organization.
The intersection, and your ROI, is a high-spirited (HS), high-performing (HP), results-oriented (RO), intentionally inclusive (II) business (see Figure 1). There are people in your customers’ circle of business who look like women of color and share their experiences. Expand and grow your business with a brand that meets the diverse needs of your customer base. If you want to sell your new skin product to women of color, how will you do so without the marketing ability of someone who lives in that skin?
[For more from the author on this topic, see: “Prioritizing & Elevating Women of Color.”]
