I not gay
“Hi.” Oliver peeped into Kevin Taylor’s office. “You wanted to see me?”
“Hello, Oliver.” He smiled. “Come in. Take a seat.”
“Thanks.” Oliver sat down.
“How’re you doing?”
“Not bad. And yourself?”
“Great.” Kevin leaned back in his chair. “Do you remember the launch event we had for the staff support groups recently?”
“Yes. I was there.”
“So what do you think?”
“It was a good event,” Oliver said. What a silly question.
“I meant the staff support groups.”
“Oh. Good.” Oliver wasn’t sure what a better response would be.
“Cool. Has Daniel told you anything about my chat with him?”
“Yeah. He mentioned you needed my help with the staff support groups.”
“Correct. I need your help.”
“How can I help?” Oliver asked.
“Well, we’ve launched the groups already. For now HR would be leading them like I mentioned. But I think there’s a small problem. See. I’m from outside Asia, so is most of the HR staff here. So I’m not sure if we get a clear picture of everything.”
Oliver waited while Kevin picked up a bottle of water and slowly unscrewed the cap. He drank from it and then put it down on the table.
“HR can run it for a few weeks or months but eventually we want non-HR staff to be involved.”
“Well, you could ask the managers to participate.”
“That’s a nice idea. But I’m wondering if that’ll help. People may feel obligated to attend events and not because they want to. By bringing in managers, we may be forcing them into it rather than let them embrace it without coming under any pressure.”
“I see. Shouldn’t this have been decided earlier? How can the groups run if we don’t have the right people to lead them?” To Oliver it looked like a basic flaw. How could they put so much money into something they had not thought through?
“It is a funny situation. We’re under a mandate to roll out the staff support groups in all offices across the world. However, the deadlines are unrealistic. So, HR decided to go for the launch first and then identify the leaders. And, of course, hand over to them when the leaders are ready.” Kevin picked up the bottle again and drank from it.
“I don’t understand where I fit into the picture.”
“I want you to be one of the future leaders.” Kevin leaned forward in his chair.
“A leader? Why would anybody listen to me? I’m junior staff.” Was Kevin crazy? In Asia, age came first. And in Hong Kong, money came first too. Maybe age and money were tied at the first position. What was he thinking?
“Well, just because you aren’t a manager doesn’t mean you cannot manage a staff support group. The program is about building leadership, remember?”
“I don’t think it’ll work out. If you announced my name as a leader, people may ridicule the support groups. Nobody would take them seriously.”
“That’s exactly what we won’t do. We won’t announce you as a leader. At least not yet. You’d be in a supporting role. Like an assistant to the leader. You shall be exposed to a lot of stuff, which will be like a training for you. When you are ready, you’ll be made a leader.”
“I see.” Oliver had another question. “There are so many support groups. I don’t think I’ll have time to help out with all of them. Can I just stick to one first?”
“Sure.” Kevin said.
“Which one?” asked Oliver.
“Before we get to that, tell me something about yourself Oliver. Do you like challenges?”
“Yes, I do.” Was the guy conducting an interview?
“From the feedback I have received about you, you seem inclined towards charity work. Are you an activist too?” asked Kevin.
“What do you mean?”
“I mean do you normally stand up to challenge authority about unpopular or unfair stuff?” He looked right into Oliver’s eyes when he said that and continued to hold his gaze.
“I stand against unfairness. What do you mean by unpopular here?” Oliver felt a bit uncomfortable. Why didn’t the guy just come to the point directly?
“Well, that was just a trick question.” Kevin smiled. “I was hoping you could help out our LGBT support group. You know, LGBT stands for Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender.”
“But I’m not gay.” Was the guy crazy?
“That’s probably the best part.” Kevin smiled again.
“How’s that going to help? I’m not gay. I have no idea what to do for LG… er… that support group.” Even the name was a mouthful, really, Oliver thought.
“The common misconception is LGBT support groups are only for gay and lesbian people. That’s incorrect. The intention of the support group is to ensure a safe atmosphere for LGBT staff within the office.”
“Safe?”
“Safe from the challenges they face outside the office everyday.”
Kevin picked up the bottle again and drank from it.
“But how does not being gay help in this situation?” asked Oliver.
“When a non-gay person leads the LGBT support group, non-gay staff don’t see it as a taboo any more. They too become members. Having so many non-gay staff coming out in their support sends a strong message to the LGBT staff, a message of trust.”
“That’s a good point.” Oliver hadn’t thought about it from that angle. “But what do the non-gay staff get out of this? Why would they want to join? I’m not talking about myself here.”
“Because they are the true champions of diversity and inclusion! This is Asia, everybody works very long hours — but you know that already. When we’re all thrown in together for so many hours every day, our workmates, who come from different backgrounds, become our quasi-family and friends.”
“But this is Asia. LGBT is a big problem. I mean it’s a taboo topic. Nobody discusses it openly.” Oliver had never had the chance to speak so freely to somebody on this topic before. It was a different experience.
“Exactly. Imagine having to live in the constant fear of being discovered and thus losing your job or getting sidelined regardless of your high performance. Imagine yourself having to put on an Oscar-winning performance every single second of every single day at work. Unless the environment in the office is friendly, welcoming, supportive; and unless LGBT staff feel safe, included and valued, this is bound to affect their productivity and in turn the company’s, at some point in time.”
Oliver hadn’t seen the connection at all. Kevin Taylor made sense.
