As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday the idea of food as a metaphor for inclusion seems more appropriate than ever. The wonderful dishes that we prepare for holiday celebrations with our family and loved ones are composed of multiple ingredients. Every ingredient contributes some unique quality to the dish, and all the ingredients together create a whole that is far greater than the sum of their parts. Each ingredient — whether it be sage in turkey stuffing, orange zest in cranberry relish, or cinnamon in pumpkin pie — seems to evoke something in the other ingredients that makes the dish what it is.
Our work at Northwest Center, whether it be with children in the classroom, employees in the workplace, or friends in the community, is about discovering what it is that each person brings to the table — discovering that special gift each of us has, and matching what people can do with some opportunity, some chance to engage and evoke qualities in others, to be part of a whole.
Take the parents who founded Northwest Center and many other organizations like it back in the 1960s. Someone brought the gift of determination and tireless commitment. Someone else brought the gift of writing clear and compelling stories. Someone else was good with numbers. Someone else brought pot roast to serve at legislative potlucks. United in their diversity by a strong common purpose, they became a relentless force for human value and civil rights.
Like most successful companies, our team at Northwest Center is composed of people with a diversity of complementary skills. We have experts in everything from early childhood education to manufacturing, from vocational training to database design, from event planning to finance. Thankfully, there is even someone who enjoys handling human resource issues. By the way, none of us can do calculus or dunk a basketball. But we all bring something to the table and Northwest Center would not be able to operate without the diversity of skill and experience on our team.
The renowned organizational theorist Margaret Wheatley says that people are “bundles of potential”, and that it is relationships that evoke those potentials. This is the argument for inclusion in a nutshell. If some of us are not at the table, if we are not working together in the classroom and in the workplace, if we are denied the purposeful relationships that come from working together — then we can’t bring our gift, we can’t amplify each other, and we all lose.
We were recently awarded a contract to assemble holiday gift packs for a major coffee company. Our manufacturing team put together an assembly line where people of all abilities work side by side, everyone contributing to the process what they are best at. One of our employees whose developmental condition manifests itself through (among other things) an eating disorder is an important part of this food-related production team. When she is isolated, working only with others who like her have developmental conditions, her disability comes to the fore and she requires support from a trained job coach. But when she is included, when she works in an integrated environment, her disability temporarily recedes into the background and her ability is amplified.
The stories we share with you in this column are stories of ability, stories of human value that would be unrealized were it not for the power of inclusion. I invite you, as you reflect on these stories, to consider your own experience. Who supports you? What relationships evoke the fullest potential in you? Where would you be today if you had not been included in your school and workplace?
Everyone brings something to the table. Inclusion works for you, it works for me, it works so very well for people with developmental conditions. It makes our schools, our workplaces, our communities — richer and stronger, more productive, more profitable, and wiser.
Tom Everill is the President & CEO of Northwest Center. Contact him at inside@nwcenter.org
