We Can’t Fix Problems We Refuse to Notice
By Kim Scott
(adapted from the preface of Just Work.)
FAIRNESS AT WORK
What does a Just Work environment look like? (“Just” as in fair. “Just” as in not a place where BS gets in the way of getting shit done. Not “just” as in only work all the damn time.)
Pretty simple. It optimizes for collaboration, not coercion. And it respects the individuality of every person in the organization.
WHAT GETS IN THE WAY?
What gets in the way of fairness at work? First, bias, prejudice and bullying. Once you have power in the picture and the systems that come with it, things go from bad to worse: discrimination, harassment, and physical violations.
We often conflate these different problems, and when we do, workplace injustice feels like an intractable, monolithic problem. When we break the problem down into its component parts, we can begin to make progress towards solving it.
That’s why I find it useful to lay these different problems out this way. Often when I write about one of them, I’ll use this visual and circle which one of the problems I’m writing about that day.
WE ALL HAVE A ROLE TO PLAY
These are problems we must solve together, not issues that pit any one group of people against another. To the extent that there’s a culture war in the workplace, the struggle is between the people who are committed to taking action to create reasonable, equitable working environments versus those who are not.
As I write about these different roles, I won’t tell a story of heroes versus villains. I have experienced my fair share of BS at work, but I’ve also, despite my good intentions, been the one dishing BS out.
I’ll be candid about mistakes I’ve made, times I’ve been the biased, prejudiced or bullying one. I’m not proud of those times. Much as I don’t want to be a victim, even less do I want to be the perpetrator. But I can’t fix problems I refuse to notice. I can’t do right if I refuse to admit when I’ve done wrong.
I don’t think I’m alone in all this. I suspect everyone reading this has played multiple different roles, too. In these posts, I’ll invite you to do some introspection, too.
WE CAN FIX IT
This blog is about the things we can do, now, to create work environments where everyone can do the best work of their lives and build the best relationships of their careers. I don’t have the answer to all the world’s problems.
But the fact we can’t fix everything is not a good reason to do nothing. If we don’t intervene, we run the risk of vicious cycles in which injustice compounds over time. That dynamic is all too common but not inevitable.
We can learn to notice the connection between unexamined attitudes and behaviors that cause real harm. We can recognize how the systems we have created perpetuate injustice, and we can change those systems.
When we take proactive measures to create the kinds of working environments where we respect one another’s individuality and collaborate more effectively, we all enjoy our jobs and our colleagues more, make better decisions, and become more successful.
Let’s Just Work–together!
