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Mindset Matters: Why Corporate Strategy Needs The New Disability Narrative

This article is more than 4 years old.

Labor Day has come and gone, yet it is a point of demarcation when summer ends and the working world begins anew. Corporations are heading into the last quarter and focusing on setting up their strategic initiatives for the coming year ahead. Within this post Labor Day stretch it is important that C-Level Executives and other stakeholders not only take a pause to think about their own corporate strategy, but to think about the importance of why critical diversity and inclusion strategies like that of the New Disability Narrative are truly a vital component of corporate growth across multiple areas of an organization.

As pointed out in several Mindset Matters columns the New Disability Narrative is based on the premise that there are elements of the lived experience of disability that one can take valuable lessons from and be translated and modified to meet the needs of both personal and corporate success. A key ingredient of this business philosophy that cannot go unnoticed is that this new narrative speaks to the idea that at its very core is the need to foster Change and Growth. These fundamental principles play a necessary role in the lifecycle of individuals across the corporate ecosystem to the inherent overall progression of an organizations competitive drive to succeed and provide long term value both internally for its employees and externally for its customers.

While one cannot disregard the practical needs in terms of developing new strategies and initiatives  for hiring and integrating persons with disabilities into the global working community, the New Disability Narrative deviates from the current employment storyline  that has been a central theme since the signing of the American with Disabilities Act and other corresponding laws both in the United States and beyond. The vision of the New Disability Narrative  is so that it is not to be viewed solely within the confines of the diversity and inclusion and human resource bubble, but to be part of the broader business strategy that has a longer reach into numerous business segments and due to its malleability it  can grow and evolve with the business. One could argue, that the New Disability Narrative is a leadership tool that is critical for growth of the corporation of the 21st century.

It is time for C-Level Executives and senior management to rethink the way disability is being currently chronicled in the business space and consider how their organizations can benefit from the core values that the New Disability Narrative espouses.  As trends have shown the number of entrepreneurs and founders who deal with numerous types of disabilities such as learning disabilities and mental health issues is on the rise. The very concept of disability is becoming further intrenched in the everyday culture of the business of the digital age. This progression only helps to bolster the fact that the New Disability Narrative must be seen through the lens of leadership and a new understanding of disability as a tool for leadership can be a value add for any organization.

As we take the New Disability Narrative beyond the realm of diversity and inclusion and into the domain of leadership, corporations must become more accountable not only to the origins of this business philosophy but to the value that this community serves to the strength and growth of an organization. In doing so, a foundation is built stating that persons with disabilities have inherent value and offer numerous avenues for corporate growth that are critical for promoting a competitive advantage. Building on this supposition corporate executives will be better equipped to incorporate the New Disability Narrative and its broader concepts into their larger strategic initiatives.

As the New Disability Narrative morphs into a business philosophy it is important to recognize what makes it so powerful is the ability to draw upon the foundations of the narratives that came before. The notion that the disability community is steeped in the idea of nothing about us without us, as this should be something that all C-Level Executives aspire towards because in order to truly meet the needs of employees and customers alike they must look to the disability experience to gain greater intel into what is needed for better success in these ever changing times.

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