John Land: Approach diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging from a healing perspective.

That was the attitude with which I interviewed for a job six years ago at the Cambridge Innovation Center — the collaborative work community better known as CIC St. Louis. I brought my full self to the table. I have found success, not because or in spite of my queer identity, but simply for who I am. My background and personal experience as an out, gay man, often on the margins of the business world, have given me interest in the human side of business, or how we treat each other at work. Which is why working in the Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging (DEIB) space is so important to me.

With this national wave of legislation targeting queer and trans people, my heart aches. I can’t help but think, from a business perspective, such exclusion, denial and alienation is as short-sighted as it is morally bankrupt. Many executives categorize DEIB as auxiliary — a “nice to have” thing when it benefits business or offers a great photo opp. To me, doing business in a DEIB-aligned way — healing as we work alongside each other — has the potential to bring us out of the economic impact of Covid and catapult us to new levels of equitable economic growth.

Since I began at CIC St. Louis, we have worked to create a place where people of historically oppressed identities feel psychologically safe and flourish socially and professionally — crafting policies and cultivating an inclusive community where people don’t feel like they have to hide as I once did. My approach is grounded in the belief that liberation for the LGBTQIA+ community is tied to the liberation, celebration, and inclusion of all oppressed identities.

When asked to think about our site and this city from an economic perspective, one of the first conclusions I arrived at is that there is no economic progress until we address the racist, homophobic and transphobic legacies of our history. We must take a closer look at the anti-racist work being done in the city and examine how we are engaging communities of color in ways that are centered on their needs first. We must make sure our spaces are not just available, but welcoming to queer and trans people.

With programs like our Social Impact Cohort and institutions like Venture Café, we begin to eliminate the barriers to entry in our space and the greater entrepreneurial community. When we look at our vendors, we take care to work with local, women- and people-of-color-owned businesses wherever we can to make sure our economic impact is felt locally. Finally, we form powerful partnerships with other organizations that are doing great work in the community so that their light may shine even brighter.

There’s an introspective element to this work too. I am equally as interested in our company’s transformational journey as I am in getting the right policies in place. As we strive, fail, and strive again to get it right, I’m interested in who we become along the way. I want us to examine how white supremacy, homophobia, and transphobia show up in our company and then dismantle those patterns systematically. Make no mistake: Even the best organizations on the planet still deal with these issues. Having the humility to know they are present rather than to deny them is the first step in effectively counteracting them.

Creating welcoming spaces, enabling access to resources, striving to walk alongside community partners rather than out in front, directing our own spend to local businesses, and being mindful of our own internal processes are ways to lead with healing in mind. This month, I invite other business leaders to engage this approach and give hope to those still being forced to hide. You’ll likely discover that it’s not only the right thing to do from a business perspective, but you may find your own path to healing in the process. John Land is general manager for CIC St. Louis