I had a fascinating week. I had dialogs around diversity with 3 intelligent and successful employees, each needing support on how to be successful in Silicon Valley. One conversation was with a non-American white male employee regarding his polite soft-spoken style that doesn't come aggressive enough in Silicon Valley. Another with a female employee regarding how she can be perceived as intimidating because she's a strong successful leader. And another with an Asian female employee who asked me to mentor her so she can show up as a confident leader in Silicon Valley.
As I reflect on my week, I wonder if these are common dialogs in the workplace or I happen to draw more of these conversations because I'm a minority in the workplace. I remember when High Tech companies decided to engage in offshore software development, a lot of attention was given to cultural diversity. We openly discussed it, recognized the differences and worked through them. 20+ years later, high tech industry is a lot more diverse not only because of the extensive global workforce, but also because Silicon Valley itself has more diversity. It gives a perception that we're past diversity issues. The truth is, we now work with people from diverse background but not always appreciate or incorporate the differences. Instead, we expect people from diverse background to adopt what success looks like in Silicon Valley.
The truth is, I don't think I've got this down perfectly either. What I learned is that success comes from awareness and working through them. I leverage my strength, overcome my weakness and tailor them to the 'audience' around me. When we do formal presentations, we often say that we should know our audience and present our ideas appropriately. This is my rule of thumb, whether I'm doing a presentation or interfacing with colleagues. Because I'm an Asian Female, I have certain traits and tendencies which I leverage or tone down based on my environment. For example, I let my natural tendency to be humble when I'm interfacing Asian colleagues. Where there's success, we know that there's a strong team behind it without explicitly calling them out. If I have an opinion, I don't need to assert myself because someone will ask for my input. As I started my career in the U.S., I realized that this style didn't help me or the team because we'll just get unrecognized. I adjusted so that the teams are explicitly recognized with business success. I also learned to speak my mind openly and clearly. Meanwhile, I learned to solicit input from my Asian or female colleagues who may not share their opinion unless they're asked. One of the women I mentored last year, shared that she's now more respected by her colleagues and manager because she is now expressing her opinions instead of holding them back. Imagine the great ideas that could have been suppressed or talent being wasted because of the cultural differences. We can't afford diversity to hold us back. We need every valuable idea on the table for economic growth.
On a personal level, I truly love the diverse workforce in which I work. I pick up on great attributes that come with each person I interface: keeping my zen during the time of stress, ensuring I value my friends and family instead of getting too focused on work, or keeping a great sense of humor (especially the British humour!). Diversity makes my life so much more interesting and makes me a better person.
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