The u-turn on DEI from the charismatic superbrain tech founder class has been illuminating. These are the same people who wrapped themselves in BLM and ERGs a couple years ago. Now they're saying wokeness is public enemy #1. What happened?
Ego is what happened. The superbrain thing to do was be a thought leader. They learned the language and made small commitments. Sometimes even large commitments, even though many quietly faded away before reaching fruition.
But eventually, they realized this is a game they couldn't win. No one person can be an authority in DEI, because the whole point is elevating a multitude of voices. They kept saying the wrong things, and instead of having the humility to be okay with being wrong, they started throwing tantrums. "No more politics at work (unless it's my politics!)"
The best leaders I've worked with and for are OK with being wrong. They seek out challenges to their perspectives. They know great ideas can come from anybody. DEI simply gives them a language and better toolkit for things they intuitively do.
