‘Five Little Indians’ and my MBA Class

Need a Culture Boost?: Building Extraordinary and Adaptive Cultures Course Available Now!

Are you a leader, consultant, coach or trainer? Join Belongify and get certified!

Why should my MBA students be asked to read “Five Little Indians?”

I’m privileged to teach two different EMBA courses, strategic Human Resources and Building Extraordinary Cultures, at the U of Alberta. For my strategic HR class, I’ve asked the current cohort to read five books (they ideally will consume 60 plus books per year for the rest of their lives). One of these is the Canadian, award winning novel by Cree writer, Michelle Good, Five Little Indians.

This is obviously not a sociology class. Why would I ask them to read a book about five characters that were released, escaped or rescued from a remote, church-run residential school? As teenagers, the five fictional friends (based on real life experiences of the author’s mother and grandmother), enter a foreign and hostile world with few life skills or resources. They attempt to navigate Vancouver's Downtown Eastside, confronted by racism and the trauma of their childhood. It is a gut wrenching, insightful read.

I believe you cannot be an impactful, constructive leader in 2023 and beyond, without being fully immersed and evolved on issues related to diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB). You need DEIB experts around you for enlightened guidance. However, with authenticity, you need to be able to lead, think, speak and act with understanding and compassion on related matters. If an employee claims “white privilege” is B.S., you need an answer that advances the conversation. If someone says DEIB is a waste of time, and we should just all be color blind, you need to know how to respond. When people plead, “can’t we forget about the past and move on?” What's your answer? Providing a more egregious example, if you are speaking at the Chamber of Commerce at a small town (this happened to me) and a counselor tells you things “would be a lot better downtown if it wasn’t for the f’n drunken Indians,” what would you say? When people on your team ask you what the difference is between equity and equality, will you have a thoughtful answer? Become knowledgeable and enlightened. Beware of your conscious and unconscious biases.

Relative to the Indigenous community and related issues, note what author Michelle Good has to say: “It is a healing process, but that healing process is more than — no disrespect — it’s more than land acknowledgments. It’s about rejigging our social structure. Because if we don’t, then the nature of the relationship stays the same, and that’s not reconciliation.”

On another note, it is important for evolved leaders to appreciate that everything is a story. The whole world is a story. Your entire organization is made up of the story of every employee. Stories in the Indigenous context are not like storybooks. Stories in Indigenous culture are an ancient social institution that has been designed carefully to pass down the truth of Indigenous experience, because their history isn’t written. We can learn from that.

If you had just one tool (and you have many) to build a high performing, collaborative organization, have everyone share and LISTEN to each others’ story. It’s that simple and that hard.

Think Big, Start Small, Act Now,

- Lorne

One Millennial View: Of course, DEIB is important, however I personally gravitate towards the positive notion that when we belong, we can focus more intention towards individuals than groups. I simultaneously acknowledge the apprehension regarding too much DEI bandwidth. If we’re being thoughtful, we recognize the world is astonishingly vast, and there are too many varied experiences for us to clump people together, and make assumptions that any group lives the same type of life. It’s arguably arrogant to imagine we have that level of comprehension. Shouldn’t basic DEI be a “duh?” A no brainer? We love eclectic participation, and realize it makes teams stronger. As our learning continues, workplace precedence on DEI will likely have a shelf life. However, taking the time to listen, learn, belong, and hear everyone’s individual stories is where authentic, everlasting value can exist, flourish, and will never spoil.

- Garrett

Edited and published by Garrett Rubis

‘Five Little Indians’ and my MBA Class

Search Blog Posts:

Follow Us: