𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝘀𝗮𝘆: 𝗜 𝗱𝗼𝗻’𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗲 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿?

We hear it in almost every team session on transformation. A leader, sincere and well-meaning, says: “I don’t see colour.” At face value, it sounds progressive, even virtuous. However, it can cause loss of trust, psychological safety, talent, and ultimately results.

𝗜𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁. 𝗨𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘁𝗲” 𝗻𝗮𝗿𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗱𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗹𝘆 𝗻𝗲𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗱 𝗲𝘅𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗿𝘆𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱.

• You say: “𝘐 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳.”
• You think: “𝘐 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘵 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘮𝘦.”
• Their perspective: “𝘐 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘢𝘺, 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺 𝘥𝘢𝘺. 𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘰𝘶𝘳, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘳𝘦𝘧𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘺, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘵 𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘧𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘯, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘥, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺 𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨.”

There are countless similar examples that cause harm, however well-intentioned. Here a few:

• “𝘐 𝘨𝘰 𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘮𝘺 𝘸𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘨𝘶𝘦𝘴.”
• “𝘞𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘢𝘯 𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘶𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘦.”
• “𝘐’𝘮 𝘰𝘯𝘭𝘺 𝘫𝘰𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨.”

How might these be missing the mark? Can you think of other examples? Please share in the comments.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗶𝗻𝗲 – 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 “𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗼𝘂𝗿-𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱”, 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘃𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗼𝗿 “𝗻𝗶𝗰𝗲.” 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝗯𝗲𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝗴𝗵 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝘂𝗻𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗳𝗼𝗿𝘁𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲. 𝗜𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴, 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘃𝗮𝗹𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗼𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝘀.

If you want to lead a high-performing, diverse team, stop trying to be “neutral” and start being curious. Acknowledge the differences, value the friction, and realize that your impact is the only thing that truly scales.

How are your good intentions getting in the way of your impact as a transformational leader? Our directors Sindiswa Calana and Cecil Murray would be happy to support you as you craft your transformation journey. Visit our home page and book time for a chat.

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