Tiny Rice Grains: How Small and Impactful Actions Build Inclusive Workplaces, #author Lyn R. Lee

Tiny Rice Grains
How Small and Impactful Actions Build Inclusive Workplaces
Author Lyn R. Lee

Tiny Rice Grains explores the human side of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

Given the business case that diverse and inclusive organizations thrive and drive better performance, the question begs to be asked: why are so many organizations still struggling to implement and embed DEI in the workplace?

The book explores this question and tackles how DEI strategies are often approached. as standalone initiatives rather than being woven into the fabric of the organization. Too many people are still afraid to have brave conversations and confront uncomfortable truths in the realm of DEI.

What strikes me as I work in this area is the impact that small actions can have. Like dropping a single rice grain into water creates ripples, small acts of kindness and inclusion can have ripple effects, inspiring others to do the same and creating a cascading impact for those around us.

Each of our small actions adds up to a greater whole. DEI doesn’t need one passionate person leading the charge. It needs all of us to do our part, in whatever small ways we can, to make our workplaces more inclusive.

I have found the three principles of courage, curiosity, and care to be useful when approaching DEI, and I share my learnings in this area throughout my book. I also bring in other people’s stories and perspectives, widening the conversation and giving readers a chance to learn from a collective wisdom far greater than mine alone.

To connect with Lyn ....
https://www.instagram.com/tinyricegrains/
https://www.linkedin.com/in/lyn-lee-dei/
https://www.penguin.sg/book/tiny-rice-grains

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:02

It's well, it's good morning for you, Lindley. Welcome to Yellow Shelf. Thank you, Joe.

SPEAKER_00 0:08

It's really a pleasure to be with you.

SPEAKER_01 0:10

Oh, thank you. You're coming in from Singapore. I'm here in uh Sydney, Australia. Congratulations. We talk the same language as far as my ex-corporate life goes. Your newest book, it's out now, it's available now. I want you to tell the audience all about it. It's called Tiny Rice Greens.

SPEAKER_00 0:30

Yes, that's right. And uh make no mistake, it's not a book about food. Although it is inspired by food. It's inspired by my childhood, uh having meals together with my family, uh, three generations. So my grandfather, my parents, me and my siblings. Um, yeah, so it's inspired by food, but it's not about food.

SPEAKER_01 0:54

Uh, it's funny because you know, I think the wrong person could actually put this in the wrong section of a bookstore. But you know what? I know it's not about food, but it's a very clever title. So, do you want to tell us what we need to know about the book?

SPEAKER_00 1:10

All right, so as it says, tiny rice grains, I wanted to focus on all the tiny things, the tiny everyday things that we do that could make a difference and make an impact. Uh, so what I would like to summarize is this small actions with big impact. Uh, and actually, that's a lot to think about because it means that we need to be intentional about all the tiny things and the tiny behaviors that we um do and go through every day.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Yeah, and Lynn, those tiny behaviors, they stack, don't they? They become like learned behaviors, and then you teach others those behaviors. So it is incredibly intentional to make sure the tiny behaviors are intentional and correct.

SPEAKER_00 2:00

Yes, you're exactly right. So let me just go back to what you just said about intentional and about stacking and the fact that it becomes learned behavior. So, just back again to my childhood, um, these meals around the table were not just about eating, it was actually life lessons. It was the time for the family to come together, especially during dinner times. And that was when we asked each other about the day. Uh, my my grandfather showed care in terms of the choice meats that went to the grandchildren, my mom, and how she cooked the food with care so that we all got nutritious meals. Uh, the debates that my dad and I always had, because mom always says that dad and I were just too similar in terms of our temperament. So we have lots of debates. And you can imagine then a young child, me as a child growing up, and we had all these debates all the time at the dinner table, but it still felt safe, right? It didn't feel like because of the debates, uh, that it was anything wrong. So I think in that taught me about the values of care, the values of curiosity, and uh, I think also courage to speak up. Uh, and that's what I used in the book, the three Cs, uh, about care, courage, and curiosity, uh, and also about how to grow up as a good human being, if I can't say that.

SPEAKER_01 3:27

Yeah, you definitely can say that. And the book really explores that human side of what we talk in the corporate world as uh D, E, and I. So diversity, equity, inclusion. Do you want to tell us about your thoughts? Uh you know, and your experience, because you're incredibly experienced, multinationals, loads of experience uh in the corporate world. Tell us about your insights and journey uh through the through the corporate world.

SPEAKER_00 3:58

Right. Okay. So one thing everyone should know about my book is that it is about D E N I deconstructed.

unknown 4:07

Okay.

SPEAKER_00 4:07

Uh, you and I would both know, Joe, that uh many people would mistake DEI as a word or DEI as an action itself, but it's just actually three words put together.

SPEAKER_01 4:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 4:20

But if you deconstruct that in terms of what it means to be diverse, what it means to be equitable, what it means to include. So how I've decided to write the book was to deconstruct it and imagine that we didn't have those words. And would we replace it in terms of how we behave, uh, the actions that we take, and also the things that mean something to us or mean something in terms of the interaction. So I decided to ditch the corporate talk, uh, to ditch trying to teach people something because um I don't have anything that I can teach someone except stories to tell. Uh, so it is story-based, it is about my experience, but also about experience of people that I have interacted with, my colleagues and friends, and their stories, and how that actually comes together in terms of again, how I framed it uh around the three C's and how I framed it around um human-centered leadership. And you don't have to be a leader of a big corporation to show leadership. We show leadership in the way that we show up to our friends, our family, uh, the small groups that we impact. Uh, and I always say this: you just need to think about the impact that you can have for the people around you, the three to five people that you interact with every single day. And that has a ripple effect. Again, the tiny little things, that drop of rice into that water that actually creates that ripple that you would be amazed by because the impact is much more than you can imagine.

SPEAKER_01 6:00

Yeah. And Lynn, tell us about the process of writing. What inspired you to write the book? I I think I'm hearing there's like lots of family themes and lots of values back to your childhood as well. But what inspired you to write the book?

SPEAKER_00 6:17

Well, I grew up as a bookworm. So many school holidays spent away, squirreled away in uh uh the bookstore, the library, but mainly the bookstore, uh, because I love the smell of new books. Yeah, so I I always wanted to come back with books. Um, so grew up as a bookworm, and I enjoy literary works by other people, right? So just um uh anyway, so so that's what I enjoyed. And in my last job as the chief DEI officer for Shell, the past six years before I chose to retire, um, I had done a lot of uh engagements both internally and externally. And I frequently get asked the question Um, have you written a book or are you planning to write a book? So it give me, it gave me some food for thought. Yeah, again, my reference to food, right? Always. So give me some food for thought in terms of why would people ask if I would write a book or if I have written a book? And uh it goes back again to storytelling, the power of storytelling, that um there's something around how people connect to stories. And I have a lot of stories from being in the corporate world for that long. Um, so I thought it would actually be nice to um put them all together, at least from my point of view, the stories that I wanted to share. And I think being in the last role as a chief DI officer, I really felt like I wanted to leave behind a legacy uh of the work that was done, my thoughts, um, the awards that had been won by me and the team, uh, and what it taught me, but hopefully what it can teach others and the value in terms of having a book with some reflections in there. So I think that motivated me to write the book. Uh, and it was actually a really good way for me to process and write things down before I finally took the plunge to retire. So it was uh it was not all selfless. Some of it was for personal reasons as well, right? To get through the process before I decided, okay, it's time to move on to the next bigger thing, which was to take this advocacy to the world stage.

SPEAKER_01 8:39

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 8:39

I had a pretty I had a pretty big stage in Shell just because of the role that I had and the company that I was in. Uh, but I actually felt like I could bring this to a bigger stage um to be able to advocate more freely, more openly, uh, and from Lynn's voice.

SPEAKER_01 8:57

Yes. Oh, that's wonderful. Lynn, would you write again, whether it's fiction, nonfiction? Like, is did you enjoy the process of writing?

SPEAKER_00 9:08

I'm not sure if enjoy is the right word. Joe, labor of love. You yeah, you love writing as well, right? Yeah, labor of love is the right term to use. So I remember uh once I decided to write the book, I half regretted that because I spent all of my weekends and all the late nights. It was in between work and in between a very busy life.

SPEAKER_01 9:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:34

Uh so it felt like a lot, but then it was also very gratifying.

SPEAKER_01 9:39

Sure.

SPEAKER_00 9:39

Yeah. So so the love part and the labor part kind of interchangeable. It's a balance. And yeah, yeah. I I I think in the end it's good because it is about discipline.

SPEAKER_01 9:51

Yes.

SPEAKER_00 9:51

And if it's something that you care about, and it was a topic that I cared deeply about, even today, I care deeply about this topic.

SPEAKER_01 10:00

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 10:00

And I really felt like um, in some ways, I I did feel a responsibility as well to write it. Yeah, but I also felt a great sense of pride and a great sense of um I um there's a word that I'm searching for, but uh a great sense of integration about bringing things together. So it clarified things for me even more um on what goes behind, and I write about that in the book as well. And I write about this in the book. Um, I don't go into theories, but I also explain how I ended up doing certain things and um what theories it uh originated from, just to give people a point of view in terms of where I came from. Yes. Um, so deeply gratifying. So, to your question, would I write another book? I think yes. Okay. Uh, but I'm not sure when. I think I will feel it when the time is right. Because it was the same thing with tiny rice grains. Yeah. Uh, but I can assure you and the audience that it will the title again would be something to do with food.

SPEAKER_01 11:16

Oh, I can't wait. Well, when you do, no pressure, but when you do write the next book, I would love you know you to come back and share because I've actually really enjoyed this conversation. It's been fun. Thank you, Joel.

SPEAKER_00 11:30

And I hope you get the book and enjoy reading the book.

SPEAKER_01 11:34

Yeah, and look, here's here's the here's the shout out. Anyone who's in a HR function, anyone who's in a leadership role, anyone who really cares about their employees needs to read this book.

SPEAKER_00 11:47

Yes. Well, uh, let me also add to that, uh, it would be anyone. Yeah. Good.

SPEAKER_01 11:54

Anyone, because you do it through storytelling. That's wonderful.

SPEAKER_00 11:58

Exactly. So anyone, uh, except for people who really do not believe in this cause or really do not believe in inclusion and does not want to be persuaded, then I'll say don't bother reading the book. Right, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 12:10

And look, what if if we're watching anywhere in the world, we're watching this interview and we're curious about the book, we're curious about you. Are you on any socials? Is there any ways we can get curious about? I can put some links in where the book can be obtained. But are you on LinkedIn or Instagram? Is there anywhere that we can learn a little bit more?

SPEAKER_00 12:32

Yes, of course. So please connect with me on LinkedIn. I welcome um contributions, questions, challenges. So um LinkedIn is Lynn R. Lee. So our my middle name is Renee, so Lin R Lee for LinkedIn. And then uh you can find me on Instagram, and the handle is Tiny Rice Greens.

SPEAKER_01 12:55

Ah, well, look, I'll put those links in to make it easy for anyone who wants to connect on LinkedIn and or uh uh Instagram. Lin, that has been a delight to hear about the book and and especially to chat to you today. All the best. Thank you, Joe.

SPEAKER_00 13:10

And can I add one more thing before we say goodbye? Please add, please add. So for anyone who wants to get the book, you can also search Penguin Southeast Asia. So it's Penguin S E A. Uh, it is linked to Amazon where you can get the book. But if you're based in Singapore, it's in all major bookstores. And if you happen to be at any airport in any of the terminals uh in Singapore as you're transiting somewhere, then it's also found at the airport bookstore. Uh mainly all of Amazon. And if it's out of stock, please let me know on LinkedIn and we'll make sure that we get the books to you.

SPEAKER_01 13:49

We can get the book to them, can't we, Lynn? All the very best. Thanks so much. Thank you, Joe. Cheers.