DEI: Are You Listening?

I am not a DEI expert. I identify as a cisgender, gay, Latino man. In addition to having a bachelor’s and master’s degree in social work, I am a certified diversity professional. These do not make me an expert in DEI. I work in the area of health equity; I provide leadership and resources for behavioral health authorities to address health disparities in their communities. I firmly believe that DEI is a part of and a strategy to effectively address health inequities. 

While I am not an expert, I do actively learn and participate in the DEI space. Something I have noticed in the discourse on DEI, is the emphasis on hiring a more diverse workforce. Yes, we should be doing this. Absolutely. No arguments here. Yet, we don’t talk about an important area of diversity because the people leading the conversation do not readily identify with this segment of the population.

Who are these people who are often excluded from certain positions? It’s the quite people. The introverts. The people who are not loud and boisterous, but soft spoken and contemplative.  The people who may not have the charisma but are still able to lead from a place of authenticity.

There are many talks on introverts in leadership:

Angela Hucles – Why We Need Introverted Leaders

Simon Sinek – How to Leverage Being an Introvert

Carol Stewart – Introverts Make Great Leaders Too

While we are breaking away from the dichotomy of introvert vs. extrovert, a lot of our knowledge still centers around it. Barry Smith has said that ambiverts, those who fall in the middle of introverts and extroverts, make up about 68% of the population. Popular beliefs seems to still hold that if you are not an extrovert than you are an introvert.

So, what does this have to do with DEI?

I’ve heard from interviews that they were looking for someone to “take charge” of a room. That is not my style. I want to observe the room, learn who is there, and listen to what people are saying. “Taking charge” sounds like white supremacy culture and that’s what I want to actively dismantle.

Far too often those traits we are looking for in potential candidates, those traits outside the job description, hinder the potential pool of applicants. Not redefining your beliefs about leadership can curtail view of who can be a leader; it can hinder possibilities. I am not saying that charismatic leaders should be overlooked. Reverse engineering leadership to focus on traits more related to introverts is not the answer. To be clear, if we do not interrogate our beliefs about leadership and expand our views of leadership than we are overlooking quality candidates. 

Soft spoken does not mean weak

A continual critique I receive is that I am quite/soft spoken. It is an odd critique because some people are just naturally boisterous, and others are soft spoken. Concerns have been verbalized about my ability to lead because I am soft spoken and will be perceived as not confident, unknowledgeable, or incompetent. I am also not very talkative; I am an internal processor. So this comes across to some as disinterested or aloof. It amazes me that people would rather have an unknowledgeable, confident person who speaks loud and often than a knowledgeable person who is soft spoken but displays restraint and confidence. I’ve actively worked to reframe my perceived weaknesses as opportunities to quite the room and listen. I choose fewer words because what I say is meaningful and matters. I do not need to be loud or over speak because I am confident in what I am saying.  

I encourage those in the DEI space to become allies to those potential leaders who are introverts and soft spoken. Don’t just listen to the loudest ones in the room. Actively listen to and support those who are overlooked. It’s time to quite the voices of the loudest in the field to make room for those who are not as loud or charismatic – so their voices and perspectives can be heard. DEI, are you listening?