Lynne Walker
Looking back now, I can see my family was exceptionally blessed, despite some real challenges. Like most kids, however, I just didn’t realize it. My children are fourth-generation college educated, which is unusual for an African-American family. My father and mother met at Howard University, an HBCU, getting their graduate degrees. My father’s aunts who raised him were PHDs, one of whom went to Bryn Mawr and knew W.E.B. Dubois. If you are unfamiliar with him, Dubois was a graduate of Fisk University in Nashville in 1888, was the first black to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard and co-founder of the NAACP.
I learned great life lessons from my father growing up. He was actively engaged in the community in both civil rights and as a city councilman in the 50’s and 60’s. He put our family in situations where we were forced to learn how to engage in broad and diverse circles, including socioeconomically. We were the first Black family to integrate a neighborhood about 15 minutes outside of Princeton, N.J. in the early ’60’s and often the only African-Americans in schools we attended or in the neighborhood. I didn’t realize how those challenging experiences would impact my life and career choices.
I always say I was a banker who never should’ve been a banker. But someone saw something in me – the ability to learn, work ethic, and the ability to engage in diverse circles, among other things. After decades of building, growing, managing, and mentoring teams and developing strong customer relationships in corporate and commercial banking, I was asked to take on a new position charged with developing and leading the company’s DEI strategy. As I started this journey, I knew I would need the insights and lessons from my childhood and my business career. It also occurred to me that Diversity and (+) Inclusion isn’t simple math. Something was missing. As I thought through how to be successful with this, it became clear to me that the complete equation is Diversity + Affinity = Inclusion. Affinity is the missing piece of the equation.
What does that mean?
- You need diversity of all types and at all levels of the company. Diversity provides access to the best talent, best customers and best market share.
- The diversity must “mix” and work well together for the team and the company to achieve their goals. We work best on teams with people who are like us and have similar goals and values. That does not mean they have to look like us or come from the same background, schools or communities we do.
- The ability to spend quality time in diverse circles personally and professionally to find affinities – similarities – with someone who, at a glance, is very different from us.
It takes the courage to connect and have a conversation. It also takes the courage to be uncomfortable, which can be painful. But that’s the only way we grow ourselves and our relationships. And ultimately, it’s the only way to really become inclusive.
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Proven P&L leader who applies business strategies to run Diversity and Inclusion distinctively and competitively by connecting the diversity of talent into the diversity of the marketplace using a 360-degree model.
The P&L Inclusion System®
At Connect Consulting, we understand that at the end of the day, you are in business to make money and build balance sheet equity which, in turn, allows you to care for and reward your two most valuable assets — your employees and customers. A performance driven DEI strategy increases your company’s equity by increasing talent equity. It starts by making connections with your people.
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