Have you ever disconnected from yourself, to build your professional persona?

🙈I have. I still do. And the first time I remember doing it was in my dream job in a big company!!

We had a Diversity & Inclusion committee for our local office. Way before DEI was cool. And I was a young professional with that new grad energy. Bright eyes. Watch out! Get ready for some BIG change world!

You probably know the ending… 🤷🏾‍♀️ another underwhelming DEI initiative for the corporate books.

🤦🏾‍♂️ Our vision was stuck at multicultural food festivals, basic behavioral training, and building a business case for valuing women and BIPOC folks.

🤬🤬 I remember feeling CONFUSED and ANGRY when I first saw our committee’s vision and plan. I didn’t know why. I didn’t have the point of view or language to describe what was off about this strategy.

😶 “Stop it, fahad. Be grateful. You’re so young and you’re nominated by one of the partners to be on this committee! You are learning from the brightest in corporate America. Follow their lead. Overdeliver on the asks. Make your mark.”

😔 But my body knew something was off… Pushing back in its own way: eye rolls, delayed emails, reluctantly executing tasks, keeping my head down, forced smiles, forced affirmations.

I disconnected from myself! Instead, I forced myself to mimic the professionalism of those around me, and make myself smaller… for a bigger role.💼

I’m sure you have a similar story.

We disconnect from ourselves as a way to handle the suffering and pain of the world around us and within ourselves. Instead, we search for leaders, gurus, organizations, and missions that will save us.

No wonder we keep repeating history, stuck in societal patterns, new versions of similar smelling problems.

To move the needle on the big, gnarly problems of our times, we have to center connection:
💓 Connection to ourselves!
💓 Connection to our teams!
💓 Connection to those we intend to serve!