Two Uncomfortable Truths that Changed My Life

2007, the first 60 employees at Walgreens Distribution Center in Anderson, SC. At that point in time the facility was the most productive in the network and 40% of employees had disclosed a disability. So many great memories with these people!

On June 26, 2006, I walked into Walgreens for my first day (20 years ago today).

Twenty years later, I’ve been reflecting on what that experience taught me—not just about disability employment, but about leadership, organizations, and how people succeed at work.

At the time, I believed I had a lot to offer.

I had spent years as a special education teacher, working in mental health, workforce development, and government-funded systems change initiatives focused on improving opportunities for people with disabilities.

I arrived confident that I understood the challenges.

What I didn’t realize was how much I still had to learn.

The First Uncomfortable Truth

On my second day, I flew to Anderson, South Carolina, where Walgreens was building a new distribution center and piloting an ambitious idea: employing significant numbers of people with disabilities in a highly productive, fast-paced operation.

As I toured the facility, I was overwhelmed.

The jobs were complex.

The pace was relentless.

The expectations were high.

I quietly asked a colleague, another disability advocate:

“Do you really think people with disabilities can do this?”

His answer was immediate.

“Yes.”

Mine was not.

For the first time in my career as a disability professional, I found myself questioning what I thought I knew.

It took about six months of watching people succeed every day before I fully accepted the answer.

“Yes!”

People with disabilities could absolutely do the work.

·      Not occasionally.

·      Not exceptionally.

Consistently.

That realization challenged assumptions I didn’t even realize I carried.

The Second Uncomfortable Truth

Then I learned something even more important. The reason people were succeeding wasn’t because standards had changed.

The reason people were succeeding was because systems had changed.

As a disability professional, I had spent years focused on helping individuals overcome barriers.

What Walgreens taught me was that organizations create the conditions for success—or failure.

People succeed when systems are designed for success.

That lesson changed the trajectory of my career. Because once you see it, you start seeing it everywhere.

The problem isn’t always the people. Sometimes it’s

·      The onboarding.

·      The training.

·      The communication.

·      The expectations.

·      The management practices.

·      The workplace itself.

Randy Lewis

Much of my education came via Randy Lewis.

Randy is a visionary, a storyteller, and a relentless believer in what’s possible.

As the father of a son with autism, he asked a simple but profound question:

“What can I do as a father and as an executive to create opportunities for people like my son?”

He challenged me to think bigger. Whenever a goal seemed ambitious, he would ask:

“What’s the goal?”... “ Now double it.”

One of the first interviews after we knew it was successful has stayed with me for twenty years, he said: “We thought we were going to change people (with disabilities), but what we found was that we were changed.”

At the time, I thought I understood what he meant.

Years later, I realized it was bigger than Walgreens.

He taught me that business could be a force for social change.

He taught me to speak from what I had witnessed rather than from talking points.

And he taught me that when you discover something that works, you have a responsibility to share it so others can build on it.

One of my favorite photos. Carl Suter, who first taught me about systems change while I worked for the State of Illinois, and Randy Lewis, who taught me how business could become a force for social change. Looking back, I realize how much both influenced the way I think today.

My Education Continues

Like many people, I initially believed awareness was the key.

·      Teach managers about disability.

·      Increase understanding.

·      And success will follow.

I was wrong.

·      Awareness matters.

·      But awareness alone does not create successful workplaces.

What I eventually discovered was that most organizations didn’t have a disability problem.

They have a management problem.

Managers were being asked to lead increasingly diverse teams without ever being taught how to communicate, coach, build trust, adapt their approach, or develop people.

They knew how to manage:

·      Budgets.

·      Processes.

·      Schedules.

·      Productivity.

But many had never been taught how to manage human beings.

The irony was that when we taught how to communicate, manage. and train people with disabilities, outcomes improved not only for those employees, but for everyone.

What started as disability inclusion work became an education in leadership, management, workforce systems, onboarding, communication, and organizational change.

The Bigger Lesson

Over the next twenty years, I had opportunities I never could have imagined.

Speaking around the world.

Collaborating with extraordinary leaders.

Advising companies large and small.

Being considered for an Obama administration appointment.

Starting a business with far more optimism than business knowledge.

Watching organizations take risks and create opportunities.

But the moments that stay with me are not the stages, the travel, or the accolades.

They are the moments when I saw evidence that the work mattered.

·      Reaching the milestone of 1,000 employees with disabilities at Walgreens in 2011.

·      Reading letters from families who suddenly believed their son, daughter, spouse, or sibling might have a future in the workforce.

·      Watching companies realize that inclusion was not charity, it was simply good business.

The Lessons I Carry Today

Twenty years ago, I thought I was helping businesses understand disability.

What I eventually learned is that I was helping people and organizations create systems where success was possible.

I was helping leaders champion disability inclusion as a business strategy.

·      Every workforce challenge is unique.

·      Every organization is different.

·      There are principles that work almost everywhere.

·      But there are very few universal solutions.

The work is:

·      Identifying the root cause beneath the visible problem.

·      Creating solutions that fit the environment.

·      Measuring results.

·      Adjusting when circumstances change.

·      And continuing to learn.

Therefore, the work is never finished.

Looking Forward

The employment gap for people with disabilities remains significant.

There is still much work to do.

But after twenty years, I have seen enough to know what’s possible.

·      I’ve seen people exceed expectations.

·      I’ve seen managers grow into leaders.

·      I’ve seen organizations transform.

·      I’ve seen systems create opportunities where none existed before.

Twenty years ago, I thought I was joining Walgreens to help create opportunities for people with disabilities.

What I didn’t know was that the experience would fundamentally change how I think about people, leadership, and organizations.

The greatest lesson wasn’t that people with disabilities can exceed expectations.

The greatest lesson was that when organizations build systems that allow people to succeed, remarkable things happen.

Looking back, that lesson changed me just as much as any person, company, or initiative I worked with along the way.

And for that, I am deeply grateful.