Each Wednesday, we share how Blue Yonder associates DIVE in — their personal stories of diversity, inclusion, value and equality. Throughout the year, each has offered meaningful takeaways that we can apply to our lives both at work and at home.

As we reflect on a year full of challenges, rewards, sorrow and joy, let’s look back at 12 — one for each month — incredible lessons Blue Yonder associates taught us in 2021:

January

Let us heed King’s call to work together to help those who have been disenfranchised, marginalized, and brutalized. Let us move beyond just posting MLK quotes on our favorite social media platforms and put in the work to realize his dream. Now more than ever, let us take a stand toward that righteous goal of equality and justice for all. 

— Brandon Harris, Embracing the Ideals of MLK

February

I realized I had a gender bias and have seen men as harder working than women, and that has changed for me over the years. I no longer have that perception and see women joining our consulting team here who are doing great work. We need gender equity. It’s important.

— Pearl Hu, Opening Up

March

I think without self-love we have nothing. When you accept yourself as you are, your past, your present, and when you accept your emotions and deal with them — the good and the bad — you are taking control of your situation. Taking control and accepting things as they are is healing. And that could only come out of self-love.

— Alexandra Perales, Growth and Adaptability

April

I got feedback that I need to be more assertive. I thought about it and my point was, I don’t think I am not assertive, and as long as I am getting my point across, it shouldn’t matter. I have heard from other female colleagues that this type of feedback isn’t uncommon. But it’s a bit of a stereotype and an unconscious bias. We need to constructively confront that to ensure we get things done.

— Reshma Deshpande, A Thread of Independence

May

Read before you lead. Leaders need to interpret the landscape before making a decision. This is also heavily related to empathy. You can’t be a good leader if you don’t understand others. 

— Corwin Tobias, The Perfect Opportunity

June

I think the biggest misconception is that LGBTQ+ is more than just one group of people — it is a very diverse community! It’s not just one big bucket with one challenge. We have to pay attention to each space singularly.

— Mike Boughton, Launching BYourself

July

Excessive prolonged stress can leave you feeling overwhelmed and emotionally drained, like you are unable to give any more of yourself. Burnout can lead to a lack of motivation and a withdrawal from the world. Knowing where in your life you’re feeling burned out will help you figure out why you’re feeling the way you are.

— Charlotte Coy, Coping with Burnout

August

I’ve learned to look at the person, not their disability. And to try to understand what it is like to be them. When you truly interact with a person that is different from you and see their true potential and strengths, you realize that you have a diamond in the rough. Don’t overlook unique skills or talents.

— Scott Welty, Life’s Defining Moments

September

Being yourself and being authentic is so incredibly important for your own happiness in both your personal and your professional life and you shouldn’t change for anyone’s sake.

— Silke Gray, Diversity and Inclusion Makes Me a Better Leader

October

It’s common to think that being a good ally means doing a grand gesture, like delivering a big speech or hosting a diversity and inclusion event. But the small, everyday acts continuously build lasting and sustainable impressions that can truly change the quality of someone’s life — in or out of the office.

— Bryant Miller, Microaffirmations: How Small Acts Can Build an Inclusive and Empowered Culture at Work

November

I learned a lot during my time in the Air Force, and most of it was because I was surrounded by people who were different than me in so many ways and who helped shape the man I’ve become. That’s what Veteran’s Day is to me: a celebration of the incredible collection of people that all signed the same dotted line, each with their own story to tell.

— Chris Clark, How Military Service Helped Me See Beyond Assumptions — and Embrace Differences

December

We all live and work with people with disabilities, some visible and some not. Whether it’s dyslexia, diabetes, asthma, anxiety, colitis, sight loss, mental health issues as well as people who have or are going through difficult health challenges — just because we can’t always see the disability, it doesn’t make the daily challenge less real.

— Maxine Tingley, Honoring My Daughter on International Day of People with Disabilities