Dismantling Dominant Culture Business Practices
Amanda Gorman stole everyone’s hearts and minds when she read “The Hill We Climb” at the inauguration ceremony this week. I have loved hearing new stories about this poet and reading reactions from the public. One in particular stood out to me, “She’s so young.” Yes, Amanda Gorman is 22 years old and talented. The constant remarks about her age reminds me that US dominant culture typically links experience and talent (aka “street cred”) with age. We like to think that “success” comes with hard work and individual effort. While those sentiments are true, they do not recognize the greater community invested in each of us and the systems at work in our lives.
As we continue the work to heal and repair our systemic inequities, each of us plays a part in the work. A big step is learning and recognizing dominant culture practices that exclude others. Dominant culture is a term gaining traction in our US lexicon. Dominant culture defines who's in and who's out. And dominant cultures create problems when they place boundaries on full participation. These boundaries may be seen and unseen. As I've learned about being part of a dominant culture, I continue to learn how these boundaries impede full participation by everyone in society.
These boundaries are mostly behaviors that seem "normal" to those who are widely accepted in the dominant culture. Try these on for size and see what "fits" for you.
Individual effort becomes the celebrity more than group organizing movements.
People with age and experience have more important things to say than our youth.
Faster and bigger is better than small business.
Efficiency and productivity are celebrated more than connection and generosity.
Academic research and education are revered as superior to lived experience.
People without visible disabilities fill leadership positions.
Registration systems offer two gender identities: male or female.
White people are seen as the standard for human measurement
Do you identify with any of these dominant culture practices? I sure do. I trip over “bigger is better” every single day. Whether it is a bigger personal collection or outrageous personal dreams, I go to “bigger” first in my mind. These dominant culture practices may seem obvious and easier to untangle in our daily lives, but what about our individual contributions at work? They matter, too.
Part of my work includes facilitating trainings and listening sessions about racial equity. So often I hear people say after these sessions, “But what do I do now?” I hear this especially with changes at work. While systems need to change, congruent work as individuals and teams also needs to happen. Here are some ideas that you can dismantle dominant culture in your personal practice at work.
· Recognize teams, not individuals, and mentors who helped bring teams to this place.
· Facilitate a team conversation about the ways age plays out in your team and organizational dynamics.
· Slow down your next project by half. Observe what happens.
· Build connection time into every team meeting. (Find tips here.)
· Learn about your customer’s experiences with your product or service through personal interviews and focus groups.
· Asks leaders if they are willing to share their own stories about disabilities. This includes mental health disorders.
· Change the options on every form that asks for gender identity to include more options and an option to not share.
· Examine your standard of measurement. Who is it based on? Open your mind to multiple pathways to multiple solutions.
It’s up to you to determine your next elegant step in dismantling systems of inequity. May you go forth with Amanda Gorman’s closing words. “When day comes, we step out of the shade of flame and unafraid. The new dawn balloons as we free it. For there is always light, if only we’re brave enough to see it. If only we’re brave enough to be it.”