Inspiring Awe: Dignity under Pressure
A week ago, I was going to continue my series on developing healthy workplace cultures by focusing on diversity at work and, in particular, the lessons history can teach us from the Black Lives Matter movement after recently reading the excellent book by the former West Indian cricketer Michael Holding, “Why we kneel, how we rise”. And then I became aware of the man in the photo above.
So what’s the link?
Firstly, I am in ‘awe’ of the dignity under pressure that people display in the light of massive provocation. This is obvious in the current Ukrainian crisis from so many people and in particular in the calm dignity that their President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, is displaying on an hourly basis. This mirrors the ‘awe’ I feel of the dignity shown by black people every day in dealing with the blatant and implied racism in our western cultures (which is still very apparent today in the treatment of Africans trying to flee Ukraine and being told ‘No blacks’ at the border).
Secondly, both situations show that we need to educate people on the historical antecedents. History is written by the victors. Well not always. Often, history is rewritten to suit the political ends of the oppressors.
What is Awe?
Let’s take a step back for a moment and examine another thread I have been exploring recently, the power of positive journaling.
In a previous situation, such as the Ukraine war, I would have allowed negative thoughts to spiral me down into a trough of depression. In trying to counteract my depressive tendencies I have explored the benefits of positive psychology and found the routine of writing down positive reactions to situations extremely helpful. I was writing on the subject of awe – a really misunderstood word which is too frequently used to describe people and events that are anything but ‘awesome’ - and was interested to read what it really meant. Collins dictionary defines awe as;
Awe is the feeling of respect and amazement that you have when you are faced with something wonderful and often rather frightening.
Hayes states that awe is an emotion aroused by exceptional moments. Moments that recalibrate our sense of reverence and remind us of our own diminutive role in the universe. The sense that there is something out there larger than our daily lives. As a result, stopping and reflecting on what arouses awe in us helps to ‘change a life in profound and permanent ways’. Awe can be an antidote to being absorbed in our own issues and raising our gaze to seeing our landscape from a different perspective.
Most of us will be familiar with this – I know it’s clichéd but I felt a real sense of this emotion after walking for several hours along the south rim of the Grand Canyon. We had stopped for a drink and looked back to see the majestic cliffs of many layered colours topped with a very faint green line.
At the point that I realised the ‘green line’ was the pine forest that grows away from the rim and that we had also been walking through. I suddenly started to grasp the true nature of how BIG this hole in the ground was.
I had to sit down as it literally took my breath away!!
It was indeed awesome.
When I got to the exercise on writing about awe I could have gone down this route, and described how I have felt a sense of wonder at our beautiful planet. However, what came to mind were the myriad of stories outlined in Holding’s book of the racism encountered by himself and his co-collaborators (great sportspeople such as Usain Bolt, Michael Johnson, Naomi Osaka and Adam Goodes). So instead this is what I wrote:
They all had commitment to success in their respective sports. They worked hard, won hard and yet stayed dignified. I am in awe of that dignity in the face of such massive racial headwinds. I remain in awe of how that dignity shines through now as they act as advocates for their own people, as part of an equal society and without the need for retribution.
Feeling that sense of awe brought into my mind a dimension of the diversity debate that I hadn’t yet realised. In the face of horrendous provocation these sports stars followed in the example of icons such as Mandela, Ghandi, Tutu, Obama and King in choosing to stay dignified. They chose to stay calm, serious and controlled in a way that makes people respect them. We can now add President Zelenskyy to this awesome group of people.
A lesson from history
Let’s talk a moment about ‘massive racial headwinds’. As a student of politics in the 1980s who marched in London to ‘free Nelson Mandela’ and heard Bishop Desmond Tutu talk at Wembley Stadium on that very topic, I thought I knew a thing or two about racism. I was wrong, there is so much more history to be learned!
Holding advocates education on the history of racism as the antidote to people perpetuating racist attitudes. Two examples he gave shocked me. Firstly, the story that one of the poorest and most troubled countries in the world, Haiti, was created as a result of the ONLY successful slave rebellion in the Caribbean in 1804. The resulting peace treaty with their colonial oppressors, France, left them with crippling reparation payments that were not finally paid off until 1947. No wonder they haven’t been able to invest in their own country and people.
Secondly, the story of Adam Goodes, an indigenous Australian Rules Football player who was racially abused from the stands by a 13-year-old white girl, showed how deep seated these attitudes can be. This lead to the revelation that the Australian government didn’t change the designation of aboriginal people to ‘human’ from ‘fauna’ until 1967.
Unfortunately, Holding may be fighting a losing battle, as the reactionary populists in West (Trump and Johnson to name but two) try to rewrite history again to reflect the glorious past of the white race (see 1776 Commission in the USA). And it’s but a short leap from them to Putin, twisting recent history to ‘justify’ his invasion of Ukraine. Any students of history will see the immediate parallels with Hitler’s similar narrative to invade Czechoslovakia in 1938.
So for anyone who has seen President Zelenskyy’s message to the Russian people (https://www.linkedin.com/posts/activity-6902722813799522304-CJTw), or seen pictures of his calm ‘dignity under pressure’, how can you not be in awe?
What This Means For Business Leaders
If you are a C-suite leader in a large business you will be very familiar with the CSR agenda. You will probably also be aware of the benefits to organisational performance that can emanate from a more diverse mix of employees and leaders in a business. Holding believes that big business has a huge part to play. That means you!!
“Thoughts and feelings have to be backed up by real action, though, from the power brokers of in the world. And that means big business has to start behaving like activists, donating money, putting pressure on politicians to end the cycle of racial injustice”
He quotes numerous examples of large US corporates getting on board, from J P Morgan and Amazon to Nike. It's also interesting to see how many multinationals are taking a financial hit in the short term to remove themselves from link to the Russian regime, e.g. BP, Apple et al. We are making progress but we are by no means there yet. I recently saw a post of the top 100 Diversity leaders in the USA (http://top100do.org/2022/)
It is great to see so many big organisations taking DEI seriously and appointing people into senior roles to help move the agenda forward. This is so important to create workplaces where all can flourish. I guess we will know we are really making progress when we see more white males being appointed into similar roles to add their voices to the cause. As, when this happens, it will be seen for what it truly is - a cause for everyone, to be championed by everyone. One of the most encouraging aspects of BLM, as Holding notes, was the multiracial make-up of the people getting involved.
Call to action
Ok, so what is that you can do?
Well in the short term support the beleaguered government and people of Ukraine in any way that you can. In the longer term, act!
Act to challenge yourself, your friends, your colleagues, your customers, your stakeholders, your boss. Understand history from the perspective of those most disadvantaged and do something to redress the balance. Realise that the absence of ‘racial headwinds’ in your life IS the definition of white privilege and then become an advocate for change.
If you are looking for clues you could spend some time investigating the common causes for the failure of DEI programmes (as highlighted in the recent publication by the UK and US based consultancy Talking Talent “Why your DEI initiatives are struggling – and how to truly move the needle”). Is this your organisation?
1. The leadership team hasn’t fully committed
2. There’s newfound awareness, but no real action
3. The numbers take priority over day-to-day experiences
4. The focus is on people, rather than the workplace (i.e. the culture)
When I was 16 I wanted to be a professional cricketer (what else for a boy growing up in Somerset in the heyday of Ian Botham and Viv Richards?). I had seen my fair share of great players at the county ground in Taunton but then my dad took me to see my first Test match against the all-conquering West Indies team at the Oval in south London.
I saw Michael Holding destroy the cream of the England batting. He seemed to slowly saunter almost the boundary edge, only to turn and to glide into the crease and then to unleash a laser guided bullet of a ball that was well nigh unplayable by the batsmen and impossible to see from the stands. The umpire Dickie Bird (above) gave him the nickname ‘Whispering Death’ because he was so light on his feet. Add to that the joyous, cacophonous, boisterous support of the West Indian supporters all around us and I came away with a very changed perception of cricket and of life.
Awe can do that to you!
So slow down your busy life, reflect on people who give you that sense of awe and allow that emotion to change your life, and those of the diverse people around you!
If you, or your team, would like to explore some of the implications of this article for your business then please get in touch - chris@silverhowecoaching.com