Ten at the Top and the Urban League of the Upstate recently hosted their final Upstate Connect small group discussion of the year, where we asked the question: “How inclusive are we?”
In recent years, the phrase “diversity and inclusion” has become part of the lexicon within society when talking about ethnic, gender and racial equality and engagement. Many businesses and organizations have created departments and programs to promote D&I practices, while on the other end of the spectrum, some leaders and communities have blasted the concept as being exclusive and adding to the ethnic divide within our country and society.
Without getting into some of the specific arguments on either end, I hope we can all agree that if decisions are made in an inclusive way that provides everyone with the opportunity to achieve success, it can serve as a win for individuals, communities, organizations and our overall society.
We sometimes fear that providing the chance for someone to be successful automatically hurts the chances of others. In my opinion, that discounts the idea that providing an opportunity for everyone to succeed will ultimately grow the collective capacity and provide greater opportunities across the board.
In Ten at the Top’s role as a convener and connector around issues that impact economic vitality and quality of life, we strive to build relationships and collaborative partnerships that ultimately will help increase the collective capacity of our Upstate region. Sometimes that is through individual actions that benefit one community or stakeholder group, but more often it is through initiatives that can build the capacity and rate of success for all.
As a growing region with many great opportunities ahead, we must be intentional in ensuring that we are inclusive in our decision making so that all stakeholders have the ability to prosper from the success of our region. If we are successful in that effort, the ultimate result will be a region where all residents are benefitting from our collective prosperity.
Accomplishing this is certainly not easy, as it may mean putting aside immediate personal gains for the long-term gains of all, but ultimately our region will be stronger when we think about the consequences of decisions through the lens of the impacts for all residents and not just a select few.
As the saying goes, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link. In the Upstate, we all must be committed to building a culture of inclusivity that provides all links of the chain the opportunity to increase strength and be part of the collective success of our region.
Dean Hybl is Executive Director of Ten at the Top, a regional non-profit serving the 10-county Upstate region. You can learn more about Ten at the Top at www.tenatthetop.org.
