The below transcript is from a 2013 interview with Nate Copeland, Chief Operating Officer with InTec. Interviewees for the series My Inclusion Dividend were asked for their personal opinions and not those reflective of their current or past employer. The views expressed are not necessarily those of any employer or this website.  Click here for other interviews in this series.

The Dagoba Group: Please provide us a brief overview of your work history and your current role.

I served as an Officer in the US Air Force for ~7 years following college. I then worked 19 years at Booz Allen- progressing from a more junior technical contributor to a mid-level Executive. I left that firm for BAE Systems where I served as a Senior Director of Business Development. After only 17 months, I accepted an offer to serve as the Chief Operating Officer for a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business, where I have now been since 2012.

The Dagoba Group: At what point in your career did you become aware of the topic of diversity and inclusion in the workplace? In what way?

Not long after I left the Air Force for corporate America, I was in my supervisor’s office one day where he was commenting on my work in the client space. I vividly remember him saying, “You know Nate, you do a great job, and we get along great, ‘cause you don’t act black.” Wow! I paused, closed his door, and for the next 45 minutes I got him to better articulate what he meant or was trying to say. That was an irreplaceable investment in time. While I didn’t receive it this way, his statement was meant to be a compliment to me. It was also an opportunity for me to express the impact his statement had on me. It was a great learning experience for both of us. Today, using an old military analogy, I would follow that guy into battle.

The Dagoba Group: Have you experienced D&I development? If so, on what topics and in what capacity? What was the impact of that development experience on you?

Early in my corporate ladder climb I began to take on many mentees/advisees- I had a problem with saying “No”. I was spending 30 minutes here or there with some 54 people. As I managed my business (and life) the time commitment was overwhelming. One morning the light came on- “What were these 54 people asking me?” Oddly enough, each were asking me the same line of questioning…”Nate, what’s it like surviving and growing here as an African American…and how can I, as a (insert social identity here) succeed?” It was a powerful “ta da” moment for me. Everyone wants to know how to be recognized, contribute, and progress being who they are. With all of that now realized, I went to a Senior Partner in the firm who had the courage to support an idea I had- The Diversity Roundtable. Basically, rather than have just individual one-on-ones, I tried pulling all 54 folks together to discuss that basic question- “How do I succeed?” I was able to create a comfortable environment where people could communicate in their dis-comfort zones. It was powerful. The Roundtables took off around the firm and became a staple in the company’s D&I offerings.

The Dagoba Group: Could you tell us a time when you were personally impacted by a D&I strategy/event/training?

During each Roundtable I grew in my understanding of people differences. One growth moment in particular that I recall involved a Muslim woman adorning her burka. As we were talking about perceived and real challenges in the work place, she asked the entire group a question. “Men, when you see me dressed this way, what and how do you perceive me?” After a bit of silence and seeing no one else anxious to take on the question, I responded, “Being former military and having served in Operation Desert Storm, when I see a woman in a burka, my first thought is that she is oppressed by the men in her culture”. She thanked me for my honest response and then shared, “Many American men share Nate’s view of me. Well, I’m not oppressed at all- in fact (she said), I look quite good in a mini skirt…it’s just not me. This is who I am.” She went on with another question, “What is the first thing that two people do in corporate America when they meet?” …more silence…”Shake hands”. “In my culture, touching men outside of my husband or my family is not something I’m comfortable with. Imagine how hard it is for me day-to-day in this business. At my interview, I thanked the gentleman that interviewed me, we stood, he reached out his hand, and I did not take it.” Then she said jokingly, “…and he hired me anyway”.

We are all generally different people than our “at work” persona. We all leave something at home when we come to the office. I challenge that some people leave more of themselves at home to come to work than others. The more you repress/hide of yourself, the less productive you are. The more of you that you’re comfortable bringing to work, the more productive you will be. For me, that’s part of the D&I business case….creativity begets productivity.

The Dagoba Group: Can you describe a situation in which you saw a clear and measurable impact from an inclusion strategy or an inclusive behavior? What was the impact personally and on the business?

At one point in my career, I was leading a large team that was delivering in distributed locations. I was trying to manage everything alone…grow the business alone…manage my corporate responsibilities alone, etc. When someone asked to assist, I prescribed the “How’s, When’s and Why’s”. While they may have had different approaches to solving our problems…I was reluctant for them not to do it “my way”. It took a very determined leader on my team to challenge my processes and methods. She had a way that would work for her to get to the results that we needed. Another fellow, seeing the success of his counterpart in changing my way, suggested yet another way that worked for him. The business impact was measurable. During the year they were held to helping “my way”- the way that worked best for me, the business grew by ~12%. The following year, when they were doing things in a way that was comfortable to them, the business grew at ~33%!!!
I know this doesn’t sound like rocket science, but in hindsight, it amazes me how generally reluctant we are to diversity of thought….and how people only consider “visible differences” (e.g. skin color, attire, stature, hair styles, some disabilities, etc) as “diversity”.

The Dagoba Group: How do you define inclusion?

For me, inclusion is the welcoming and leveraging of differences (both visible and invisible) into the work place. The outcome from a business perspective is the richness of our delivery to our clients. An individual’s walk through life and their experiences make them diverse….those experiences lead to differing ways of problem solving…those differing solution paths equate to richness in our client delivery.

The Dagoba Group: For those companies that have not invested in an enterprise wide D&I strategy, what is your advice?

DO IT! It doesn’t necessarily have to be a huge financial investment. It depends on where you are today and how your workforce feels contributing in your environment and their view of the culture. If you’re a large business, for example, and the workforce believes they cannot contribute at their fullest because of some perceived push back of being “like them”, then you’ll need to incur great cost- in D&I Awareness, communication, organizational change management….basically a series of real measurable actions that professional D&I consultants can walk you through. On the other hand, which is the case of my current company, D&I is and has been part of the culture from the company’s inception. All here are valued and know that they can contribute to our corporate success. That tone and feel has to be owned by the top of the organization. As the leader goes, so goes the organization.

Interviewers Mason Donovan and Mark Kaplan are principals at The Dagoba Group, a global diversity and inclusion consultancy, and authors of The Inclusion Dividend (Bibliomotion, 2013).