Like millions of others, I have a Facebook account. I scroll fairly quickly, reading my “friends’” posts, sometimes playing a game with myself to see if I can tell who posted a photo or an opinion before I confirm who actually did…and I’m getting better at answering correctly.
I’m sure that’s because each of us actually has a voice and a perspective that can come to be known as individual, and it has influence over those who hear or see it. Online is an easy example, but where we work is also influenced by our personal voice and perspective. Take diversity and inclusion for an example. It can seem like a big issue that should be “fixed” by managers and the “higher-ups” who make and enforce company policy. But the truth of the matter is that companies are made up of individuals whose attitudes and behaviors are a huge influencing factor.
If each of us individually began acting toward a goal with our desire for inclusion in mind, things would move in that direction exponentially.
This makes me think of the African proverb, (that a friend posted on Facebook last week), “If you think you’re too small to make a difference, you haven’t spent the night in a closed room with a mosquito.”
Don’t let your brain trick you into thinking that your individual contribution to the larger whole doesn’t matter. It does.
An important point to remember, especially now, when your opportunity to vote in the mid-term elections is right around the corner.
Lisa Petty, Editor
Equal Opportunity Employment Journal