Now I Know

Speakers:
Torsten Gross, Head of Planning, J. Walter Thomas
Andrés Ordóñez, Chief Creative Officer, Energy BBDO
Kari Shimmel, Chief Marketing Officer, Campbell Ewald

Blind spots. We all have them. About others and about ourselves. And only when we risk being wrong can we know what’s true. On the other side of discomfort are transformative “Now I Know” moments.

Torsten Gross took over the stage and declared “Let’s get uncomfortable together.”
 
To begin, he asked us to raise our hands if we had worked with someone who was black. Pretty much every hand in the room was raised. Had we worked with someone who was gay? All the same, hands went up. Had we worked with someone in a wheelchair? Very few hands stayed in the air.
 
So there it is. We’ve focused a lot on certain problems with racial and gender diversity in the workplace (very real problems that we do need to focus on) but we have not, as a society or as an industry, dealt with problems for other groups facing discrimination in the workplace. And disabled people, especially people with visible, physical differences, are facing enormous hurdles when trying to get jobs.
 
For example, Gross once applied for a job that involved long hours and travel, felt great about the interview, but didn’t get the job. Later, in a conversation with the interviewer, she admitted that she assumed he wouldn’t be able to work long hours or travel much, and she wasn’t allowed to ask about it.
 
And assumptions are really what this whole panel was about. Assumptions and questions. “We assume because we don’t know.”
 
Gross wants us to recalibrate how and why we ask questions. Many people want to be helpful and kind to others, and may not always know the best ways to do that. “We need to feel safe to ask when we don’t know.” He mentioned that one good way to do this is to ask about individuals instead of groups. Don’t ask him about people in wheelchairs; ask him about himself. But questions (and answers) can take people from a place of not knowing to knowing, from assuming to understanding. 
 
At this point, he brought out his panelists: Andrés Ordóñoz, CCO at EnergyBBDO, and Kari Shimmel, CMO at Campbell Ewald. Briefly, they each shared a personal moment related to the topic. Ordónoz was working at BBDO when his mother was diagnosed with cancer. Thinking that his only option was to quit his job so he could move and take care of her, he was surprised when his boss didn’t accept his resignation. “Don’t quit,” he said. “Go take care of your mother and come back.” This boss recognized that when your family is taken care of, the rest of your life can go well, but when your family isn’t taken care of, everything else will fall apart.
 
Kari Shimmel started as an art director and moved into being a planner and strategist. She said she realized that she had a lot of privilege, and one of her “not knowing to knowing” moments happened through her company’s series of Courageous Conversations. They were hosting frank and open conversations about difficult topics, and at one of them, someone started by asking everyone what their preferred pronouns were. “I never thought to ask,” she said. The conversation also brought a lot to light about safety and acceptance for LGBTQ+ youth at home and the fact that parents were an overlooked group for outreach and education.
 
To avoid conflict, Gross’s idea is to embrace the idea of being uncomfortable and ask more questions. Being neutral and not knowing, he said, is not good enough. Ask about someone’s intent. Ask about why something you said was wrong. Ask a question without fear of looking stupid (and receive a question without treating someone as if they are stupid). The panel suggested that instead of creating safe spaces, we need to create “brave spaces”—spaces in which you can ask without of rejection. Admitting vulnerability is necessary to do creative work, and it’s also necessary to get closer to people and find out more about them.
 
A member of the audience spoke up to ask a question. She pointed out that the panelists were putting a lot of pressure on the person in question—the minority, and the person who has potentially been offended—to teach someone else. She said that they were putting the needs of the person who’s unaware over the needs of the marginalized person. It should be her choice to teach someone else, not put upon her from the outside. She received some applause for her point—a lot of people (myself included) were feeling a little uncomfortable with the idea of having to answer these questions every day.
 
Gross came back with “Is assumption scarier than being the teacher?” Is it worse to explain the truth to someone, or to have them continue to believe something that’s wrong? Shimmel pointed out that when her company hosts their Courageous Conversations, they aren’t forcing people to discuss an arbitrary topic; people come willing to share stories and face issues that are personal and relevant at the moment.
 
Another audience member spoke up. She’s 23 years old and in her first job. In a situation where she’s been offended, she’s now being put in the position of speaking up and asking questions in an unfamiliar environment she’s not sure how to navigate, and in which she was very little power. Ordónoz told her that if she’s in a work environment where she’s afraid to ask questions, she should go somewhere else. A work environment in which you can’t have meaningful conversations isn’t a good one. I agree, but I thought this answer missed the mark a little bit. Especially very early in a career, it’s simply that not simple to quit a job and find a new one.
 
Kari Shimmel brought up another excellent point to follow this. She said you should look for the supportive people in your work environment, and be a supportive person. When something uncomfortable happens in a meeting, look for the other people who are uncomfortable, who are looking around unsure of what to do. Meet those people, support those people, create a supportive community. And then she agreed that the ideal workplace is one in which you can ask questions because that’s what this business is all about.
 
Ordónoz made one last point about the importance of asking questions to find out about your company. “When you ask, you learn where you are.” It reveals the culture.
 
Key Takeaways: 

1. We need to create not just safe spaces but brave spaces to have open conversations about difficult topics without fear of looking stupid
2. Admitting vulnerability is crucial not only to creative work but to building relationships
3. Look for the supportive people in your work environment, and be a supportive person