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The Empty Chair

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The Empty Chair

A reminder about what it means to care

Scott Monty
Jun 28, 2022
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The Empty Chair

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Vincent Van Gough's famous painting "The Bedroom," a small room with walls painted in blue and scuffed green paint on the flooboards. A single bed is up against the right wall, where a couple of Van Gough's paintings hang. Behind the headboard hangs another of his paintings and some hooks where his clothes and hat hang. Next to the bed is an empty chair, a small table with a washing basin and jug, a carafe, a glass, and a plate with a piece of bread. Behind the table is a French window, slightly open, and a small mirror hanging on the wall.
The Bedroom by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889. Original from the Art Institute of Chicago. Digitally enhanced by rawpixel. (Wikipedia - CC BY-SA 4.0)

“I swear to the Lord
I still can’t see
Why Democracy means
Everybody but me.”
— Langston Hughes, 1943

 
 

While there’s been a lot of talk about Democracy lately, leaders at work deal with small-d democracy. Or, a state of society defined by equal rights and privileges.

Simply put, leaders ought to ensure that everyone in their charge is made to feel welcome and included.

In recent years, this leadership and culture practice has been given an acronymized category: DEI, or Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion. It’s not some corporate gimmick or trend; it requires empathy and thoughtfulness in how it is executed.

Daniel Gill knows something about inclusion.

 
 

When Daniel was growing up in the Washington Heights section of New York City, he experienced something that would stay with him for decades.

Daniel was invited to a birthday party in his apartment building when he was nine years old, and he decided to invite his friend Archie.

They rang the bell, and when the door opened, the mother of the birthday boy looked at Daniel, and then at Archie, who was Black.

“We have no more chairs,” she said.

Daniel was confused. He had been to this apartment many times and had seen plenty of chairs in it. He said he would gladly sit on the floor or go get more chairs, but the response was “There’s no more chairs.”

Daniel slowly realized that he was welcome but Archie was not, because he was Black.

The boys handed over the presents and left in tears.

 
 

Years later, Daniel Gill became a social studies teacher in the Montclair school system and helped with its desegregation. And in doing so, he remembered that incident with his friend Archie — with a small but significant symbol.

Gill keeps an empty chair in the center of his classroom. For a very specific reason.

“I put a chair in my classroom so that anybody who comes to my classroom filled with anticipation, like a party, would feel welcome.”

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He keeps it there so students “know this is an accepting place. When they forget that, I point to the chair,” he said.

 

Isn’t that the job of a leader? To make everyone feel welcome?

The challenge is that everyone has blind spots due to their own background. We can’t all experience the world the way every other person has.

Twitter avatar for @ScottMonty
Scott Monty @ScottMonty
This thread and the replies are a great reminder of how our own worldview might not feel the same – or comfortable – to others. Inclusivity and empathy are essential for leaders. https://t.co/7uUvfttjOC
Twitter avatar for @JewishWonk
Alex @JewishWonk
Jews who went to public school or have children in public school, if you're comfortable, reply to this sharing a time you had someone else's religion imposed on you through "secular" public schools.
12:18 AM ∙ Jun 28, 2022
27Likes6Retweets
 

And so, the decent leader gets the input of other executives and employees, putting together different perspectives like pieces of a puzzle.

And having someone represent DEI isn’t checking a box or hewing to a trend. Being inclusive is simply showing that you care.

Inclusivity means everyone matters.

The empty chair reminds us of that.

 

If this spoke to you, consider signing up to receive more essays like this.

In a recent episode of the Timeless Leadership podcast, Dan Pontefract shared lessons from his book that outlined why caring is at the center of good leadership. Put it on your playlist:

Timeless & Timely
Lead. Care. Win. [Timeless Leadership Ep. #40]
We hear more about soft skills and leadership these days. And let’s face it: these “soft” skills are actually quite hard to master. Dan Pontefract believes in the power of empathetic leadership; he led teams at TELUS, SAP, and more and transformed their cultures…
Read more
9 months ago · 6 likes · Scott Monty

Thanks, and I’ll see you on the internet.

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The Empty Chair

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