Submitted by Linda Hill and Bonnie Robertson (Reposted July 2019)

Inclusive Leadership can be as simple and magical as a diverse group of people exploring the skill of daring to be different through a co-operative game of “Catch the Difference.” As you read this story, we invite you to think about the times in your life when you have felt safe to share your differences with others and the times in your life when you helped others feel safe to share their differences with you. 

• I am proud of being fluent in American Sign Language because my brother is Deaf.
• I can catch that difference because my Mom taught me how to fingerspell. I am proud of being adopted
• I can catch that difference because I’m adopted too. I am proud of being Eurasian. One of my parents is of European Ancestry and one of my parents is of Asian Ancestry.
• I can catch that difference because my mother is Canadian and my Dad is Thai. I am proud of being a member of the LGBT community.
• I can catch that difference because I’m a Lesbian who likes wearing boy’s clothes. I am proud of being comfortable with cross-dressing.
• I can catch that difference because when I was a teenager, my friends and I all decided to cut our hair short and wear boys clothes and we did! I am proud of being a mother of a wonderful son.
• I can catch that difference because I am a grandmother of a wonderful grandson. I am proud of being immature, in that I love playing with little kids.
• I can catch that difference because I love lego.
• I can catch that difference because I love lego too. Another difference that I am proud of is loving Star Wars.
• I can catch that difference because my brother gave me all the Star Wars movies. I’ll watch them some day. A difference that I’m proud of is that I love photography.
• I can catch that difference because I love nature photography. My favourite photograph is a rainbow that is in the shape of a capital letter “N”. Another difference I am proud of is that I’m a Great Grandfather.
• I can catch that difference because I have Grandparents who have passed on. A difference that I am proud of is something I share with the whole universe which is that I am made of stardust.
• I can catch that difference because stardust is magical!

And that is our story about the magic of connecting with differences.