Brian Flores, The NFL and Us.

I find it ironic that this news broke on the first day of Black History Month. Brian Flores is suing the NFL, the Broncos, Dolphins, and Giants for racist hiring practices that have been widely known about but never truly addressed in an actionable way by the NFL.

As a lifelong Houston sports fan, I was pretty annoyed yesterday morning when I heard that the Saints were planning to interview Mr. Flores. We should have hired him as soon as we could get him in the door. Then, yesterday afternoon, this news broke and I couldn’t be more supportive of this decision. Brian Flores has a reputation of being an outstanding, insightful coach in the NFL and an honest, trustworthy person. His statements this morning on ESPN make it clear that he feels compelled to make this move because he has been left no choice. What a brave, terrifying step to go against the organization that you have given your career to and clearly love while still holding out hope that your dream of a head coaching job will come true.

Let’s connect this back to business and your bottom line.

I cannot say it enough: when you open the door to give power, autonomy, and opportunity to people who do not look and think like you, you INCREASE your success. You hear different perspectives. You receive different ideas. You are exposed to different approaches that you never would have thought of on your own. Diversity BUILDS on your bottom line; it doesn’t detract from it. As it relates back to the NFL, if 70% of the players are men of color, I greatly struggle to understand how developing, promoting, and placing people of color into leadership positions can be a bad move. The same is true for your business. The numbers may not be the same, but the concept applies.

I know that there can be apprehension around building a diverse team, but there is such skilled, capable help around this topic. You don’t have to go it alone. While I can help, there are people who have dedicated their knowledge, passion, and ability to this topic. Experts in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion abound. You don’t have to look far to find someone who can guide you in building the diverse team you want to have. It is not an easy task, especially if you don’t know where to begin. If you have an open mindset and a heart to make true, lasting change, there are people who can help. If you need names of people who have the expertise and the training to guide you into the process of effectively building your company’s diversity, I am happy to share them with you.

Engage in these important conversations. Make the choice to hear what is actually being communicated and face it. Honestly answer hard questions and be the one to ask hard questions. Be willing to say “I don’t know” or “I don’t have answers” or “I am unsure of how to proceed” and be honest when you say you want to move forward. Genuine engagement will get you so much farther than you realize.

If you need Coaching to prepare to step into engaging these topics, please reach out. I would be honored to help you.