Weaving Our Human Tapestry

“We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry. And we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.” – Maya Angelou

Frayed and Tattered

The fabric of our society feels threadbare. A tattered cloth with gaping holes, it barely drapes us nor does it display its full beauty. We wish it were different as we seem to have lost our ability to weave that tapestry. But in truth, we’ve never really mastered that craft in the first place nor has our tapestry ever truly been complete.

This frayed fabric often stretches thin at work too. Some dominate, often unaware of their privileged place, while others work under the strain of exclusion rarely if ever sensing they belong, that they are trusted, and that they are understood. Their contributions from different perspectives don’t seem welcome. Their threads aren’t woven in. But point this out to the privileged and there’s more fraying and fear.

We know that organizations that create human-centered cultures that are equitable and inclusive, where no one is afraid to be who they are and bring their authentic contributions, we know that those workplaces perform better. Their fabric is stronger. And we know it’s the right thing to do. But where to begin?

Learning to Weave

We need to learn to weave. We need to learn to bring together all our vibrant threads into rich textures, hues, and patterns, to craft a fabric that is strong and resilient, innovative and creative.

Every tapestry is woven of threads running two directions, the warp and the weft, old terms from old technology still used today. A loom holds the vertical warp threads firmly in place, while horizontal weft threads move back and forth, in and out interchanging colors in various patterns.

If we are to have a strong and beautiful social tapestry including at work, we must strengthen both our warp, that is, our common human threads, and our weft, that is, belonging for all. It can’t just be one set of threads or the other, because then there would be no weave.

In other words, we can’t just comfortably turn to focus on what we hold in common, and not understand the differences that make us all unique. Nor should we exclusively focus on what distinguishes us and not honor our shared human experience. We must have both, woven tightly together to create the stunning and inspired tapestry we seek. This weaving means that many of us need to learn new skills and new habits.

Imperfect Practice

When learning to paint, play an instrument, cook, work with wood, brew, weave, whatever, as beginners our early efforts will usually be pretty feeble, and by no means a masterpiece. Because we are learning. But the only way to get good at something is through imperfect practice. This means being uncomfortable with not getting it quite right until more skills are built. But becoming skilled at anything requires being comfortable with being uncomfortable.

So it is with building the skills and habits that create a more equitable and inclusive workplace. We have to get comfortable learning to have new conversations, centering those who are most impacted rather than ourselves, with having our assumptions challenged, discovering our implicit biases, or learning to honor other perspectives and experiences different from our own.

We will make some mistakes with each other. We are going to "hit the wrong note, brew a bad batch, bake something unappetizing, take a blurry image." You get the idea. We will be learning, which is important because we have a lot to learn when it comes to weaving ourselves together. We need to do this with care and mindfulness to minimize harm in the process.

But as we move through the discomfort of collective learning, hold onto this vision too: We will get better at this weaving. One at a time, and then collectively, can come a more inclusive, dynamic, innovative, human-centered way of working. We will expand who collaborates, how we collaborate, and what we actually talk about and work on. What we create together will be so much better than before.

So let’s learn to weave, warp and weft, our common humanity and our differences, creating something more beautiful together.