It’s almost as if all the honorees of this year’s Business of Pride Awards read my recent column about local leaders who lead with authenticity, and answered the call. They are fully and truly themselves at work and strive to lead with that intention — also so that others may feel equally welcome.
The sheer conviction to do that is remarkable. To take that risk, to come out as you fully are around those with whom your career is inextricably linked, well, that’s a moment you never forget. Former Washington Business Journal Editor-in-Chief Doug Fruehling recently recounted in a column his own paralysis when, over breakfast, a local architect asked the simple staple of small talk: “Are you married?” No big deal, right? Well, not for a gay person struggling with coming out 20 years ago in the business world, the very world he covered as an editor. For him, it was a question fraught with peril, both personal and professional.
My own such incident is equally seared in my memory. More…
Read the full story from the Washington Business Journal.
