Humanly Possible: A New Model of Leadership for a More Inclusive World
About the Book
“I wrote Humanly Possible because I believe that humanity has just scratched the surface of our potential for creating a world where everyone belongs, and because I have some ideas for how each of us can take specific actions, every single day, to move us towards a more inclusive future. I’ve made more mistakes as a leader than I can count. The same goes for my status as a cisgender, heterosexual, able-bodied white man. I continue to make mistakes every day. It’s inevitable. What matters is what our mistakes teach us, and how they help us become better and more inclusive leaders and humans.”
Jason D. Patent, Ph.D.
Three Themes
Human beings have everything we need in order to create radically more inclusive workplaces and a radically more inclusive world.
Our brain’s threat-detection expert, the amygdala, is always at work, convincing us that the people around us are a threat, because of the way they act.
We see culturally-based differences in communication and work style as rude, inconsiderate, or just plain wrong. Our ace in the hole? The neocortex. That’s the part of the brain that can quiet down the amygdala, and allow our creativity and collaborative energies to shine forth.
1
Power mucks up everything.
Not only does power amplify our ability to do harm (even when we don’t mean to), but it also makes us ignorant. The more power we have, the harder it is for us to see the negative consequences of our action and inaction.
It’s also harder to get accurate feedback because people feel threatened by our power. (In the book I use the term power to include not only organizational authority, but also identity-based privilege, or “unearned advantage.”)
2
When difference is present, someone needs to adapt.
Who should adapt? Those of us with more power.
One way to tell the story of our species’ past and present is through the lens of the folks with less power constantly adapting to the norms of the dominant cultures around them: national cultures, organizational cultures, team cultures, and so on. It’s exhausting and life-draining.
The story of our species’ future will feature a flipping of this pattern: leaders who are aware of their own power and its tendency to harm others, and who apply specific tools, skills, and strategies for adapting their behavior towards those with less power.
3
What Readers Are Saying
In Humanly Possible…
Part 1 contains the Introduction, along with a brief chapter establishing some terminology.
We get introduced to some of the book’s key themes and overall vision. We take our first look at power: how it plays out in the mind and in the workplace.
Part 2 (Chapters 3-6) focuses on the core skill of “bridging": adapting our behavior, in context, towards the preferences of others.
We look at three specific examples of work style differences through the stories of a few interviewees, along with specific advice for how to bridge, and some thoughts on the challenges and opportunities of those with more power doing more of the bridging.
Part 3 (Chapters 7-10) digs further beneath the surface to deeper and more challenging forms of bridging.
We look at the courage required to ask the toughest questions and to reckon honestly with the answers. We see how gender and racial bias sometimes play out in the workplace, and how we can combat it in our own thoughts, words, and deeds.
Ultimately we’ll see how we can create and sustain workplaces where colleagues with less power can feel safe to fully express their talents.
Part 4 (Chapters 11-12) brings everything together by addressing specific challenges related to a scarcity mindset and white supremacy.
By naming these “elephants in the room,” and acknowledging what we’re dealing with, we can most powerfully move ourselves into a more inclusive future.