Organizations seeking additional learning opportunities that are fun and engaging for teams to get the message about the impact of diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging in the workplace will benefit from lessons showcased in the 2023 film Flamin Hot, currently available on the Hulu and Disney+ Platforms. Consider lunch and learn discussion between leaders and employees to align on implementing essential takeaways in the workplace.
Story Summary:
The movie, directed by Eva Longoria, and produced by DeVon Franklin, follows the legacy of Richard Montañez, who significantly contributed to the Frito-Lay organization through courage and persistence despite tumultuous external life occurrences and internal roadblocks. His success story is inspirational in the grit required to climb the corporate ladder as a diverse employee.
Inclusive Leadership Lessons To Ponder:
Everyone can make a difference if given the opportunity. Much of the movie shows difficulty navigating Frito Lay from a lower position. There is difficulty for Richard, as a janitor, to be listened to by his peers, managers, and leaders. Many interactions with management emphasize the importance of staying focused on the job and that ideas were unwelcome. Richard had multiple ideas to improve efficiencies and eventually a game-changing product idea to contribute to the business bottom line.
Lesson 1: Make It Easy For Employees To Share Ideas No Matter Position Level
Big ideas can come from all parts of an organization. Bias can run rampant in organizations without continuing practice, education, and accountability. To minimize, proactively plan for, and allow vehicles for all voices to share ideas for organizational consideration. Be willing to explore new ideas no matter the origin source. Know that employees are watching the behaviors of leadership and will act accordingly. Meaning engagement dips can occur if organizations aren’t receptive to employee ideas. Kudos to those organizations leveraging, valuing, and welcoming the voice of employee/business resource group members.
Lesson 2: Train Managers To Be Inclusive
In the movie, Richard’s manager seems overworked and focused on results. The consistent message is that Richard should be grateful for his job and get his work done. That’s it. Richard’s manager does not make the time to listen to Richard, which ultimately leads to Richard bypassing the hierarchy to get to someone in leadership who will listen to his ideas.
Managers play a crucial role in upholding an inclusive environment and should receive training on valuing and including diverse employees in the team. In addition, evaluating manager responsibilities to allow dedicated time and thinking time to foster inclusion is wise. Coqual research findings indicate that inclusive managers must welcome ideas and be receptive to employee feedback.
Lesson 3: Make Executives Accessible
Representation matters, and the movie touches upon the fact that representation was a gap at the Executive Level. As such, believability was an issue in considering innovative ideas to address the Latin market. However, executive sponsorship won out, and the idea flourished into significant market share and revenue for Frito Lay. Most staff desire to connect with leaders. Town halls, informal gatherings, and office hours are promising avenues to create inclusive touchpoints with leadership teams. Consider that employees want to understand better and internalize company goals and individual contributions supporting said goals.
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