I recognized myself in so much of this week’s reading, Chapter Three of Kaplan and Donovan’s book, The Inclusion Dividend: Why Investing in Diversity & Inclusion Pays Off. I’m not a female executive, and I certainly don’t have access to an executive cafeteria. Regardless, many moments from Kim’s day resonated with me. The reading prompted me to think back on interactions I’ve had at work, and how while my intentions may have been good, the impacts were not what I would have hoped for.
The pressure of being late on an assignment (in this case annual reviews) drives nearly all of the decisions Kim makes during the day described by Kaplan and Donovan. In being so focused on getting the reviews completed, she doesn’t take time to reflect on how her actions are perceived. Any one of the actions could be seen as innocuous. However, when put together, the distraction of driving while on conference calls, skipping out on commitments, and not acknowledging her peers could cause many to form misconceptions about Kim which could be damaging to her relationships – all without her realizing it’s happening.
The story of Kim’s day was an effective mechanism for Kaplan and Donovan to get readers to reflect on how those small, barely-conscious decisions might lead to places we never intended.
In your response you get at some of the core elements of the article, though in a summary we do need a bit more definition of the source and its project, as well as some more clearly articulated takeaway points.