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“I became very familiar with the politics of people of color, the politics of Black people, and then I was able to expand my base,” Moore told The 19th.
“When I go into a room, if I don’t see Asian Americans, if I don’t see anyone in the LGBTQ community, if I don’t see Black women — and sometimes if I don’t see White men — I’m like, ‘OK, well, what’s wrong with this table?’
That’s how I was trained. I was trained to see who is not at the table, and that’s been an important benchmark for me in how I like to lead today.”1 |
The above quote is from The 19th, an independent, nonprofit newsletter to which I subscribe. It focuses on gender, politics, and policy.
The quote caught my eye as a perfect example of “chronic unease,” one of the Conscious Change skills under the Bridging Differences. “Chronic unease” is the shorthand term we use to refer to “Sustain chronic unease toward exclusionary behaviors.”
It thrills me no end to see examples of people who notice differences and use them to promote the group’s goals.
As Chair of the upcoming National Democratic Convention, Minyon Moore is in charge of managing the 150 staff members who will be pulling off the event. Her commitment to diversity is crucial, as the involvement of multiple stakeholders demands a proactive approach to inclusivity.
Failure to maintain this vigilance could lead to the exclusion of stakeholders, jeopardizing the event's success.
“Chronic unease” was not one of the skills listed in Reframing Change, our first book. We added it to Conscious Change, which was recently published.
How did we happen to add it?
On one of our podcasts, I interviewed Mark Hays, a dear friend and colleague, who talked about his experiences as a White male watching Black women being ignored or undercut.
In one instance, he observed a Black woman being overshadowed during a meeting, with questions directed at her White male managers instead.
During a break, he asked the woman if she would be willing to go with him to explain her predicament. The two of them approached the leaders who immediately and fervently apologized. Mark’s sensitivity to the situation illustrates the importance of maintaining chronic unease to address such subtle biases.
In explaining his actions, Mark described chronic unease this way:
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[It’s] not trying to force ourselves to be negative or anything like that at all. It's maintaining that sense of chronic unease to make sure we're doing everything we could do to not …create something that kills a bunch of people, that hurts people. And so that's like, become my theme for how I describe what I do. |
The term “chronic unease” is derived from the safety field. People who work in dangerous zones – underground or around dangerous equipment -- must adopt a stance of “chronic unease” to keep themselves and others safe. Minding their own business could end up putting people at risk.
If you are working around hot wires, it’s too dangerous to just mind your own business and not point out to a coworker that they are working very close to high voltage wires.
Walking into a room, as Moore does, and noticing what group is *not* represented, is an act of chronic unease. She is making sure no one is overlooked or excluded – which would put the cohesion and potential success of the whole group in danger. It’s her job to intervene and keep this from happening.
One of my most popular workshops is what to do if you observe someone -- often a nondominant member – being put down or ignored.
- The first step is adopting the stance of “chronic unease” so you even notice it.
- Next is recognizing the harm that putdowns and ignoring people does to the workplace culture *and* the target individual.
- The last step is the subject of the workshop – how to intervene to keep the group esprit de corps without alienating anyone. Mark’s example illustrates how.
Chronic unease is a difficult skill for most people to adopt and act on. Still, it takes this level of vigilance to create lasting change and build genuinely inclusive communities.
If you have intervened in such a situation, please let us know. If you want to know more about how to intervene, let us know.
Questions:
- In what situations have you been where you could have engaged in chronic unease and fostered greater inclusion?
- Did you intervene? If so, how? If not, what might you do in a similar situation the next time?
[1] Norwood, C. (2024) She helped create a more inclusive Democratic Party. Now she’s leading the convention.
