“Talking with you about this feels like there's more shoulders coming next to each other saying, alright, we can carry this together. Let's do this.” - Salmaan Sana
Salmaan Sana is a curious, open person who loves connection. He is multifaceted, multitalented, and multidimensional.
Working as a facilitator, consultant, and trainer, he has been called a ‘process artist’ who spots and analyzes the culture in an organization. He looks at how to go from the culture that is there now to where you want to go, bringing in interventions and methodologies to get a team or organization to be more connected and grow a sense of belonging that is broadly felt.
He’s also busy being a proud father of an almost-one-year-old, board member of the TEDxAmsterdam Impact Program, creator of an online DEI course, speaker, and moderator for events. Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging are core themes for him, as well as storytelling.
“I have a fascination with what it means to tell your story.” - Salmaan Sana
Challenges and frustration are things Salmaan draws positive energy from, turning them into constructive forces of motivation and new awareness. Noticing that there must be something bigger happening here because it wouldn’t bother you if it weren’t important.
“With the DEI fatigue that is happening, we need a different perspective, we need to look at this topic in a different way. And it's valuable that you are converting frustration into change so we can tackle that in a different way.” - Vivian Acquah
Salmaan is all about the long game, about the reason he’s doing this work, more than the operational cause and effect of daily tasks and interventions as a consultant. To him, what’s key about his work is his mission: What am I trying to create? What am I trying to bring into the world?
“I care, and I care deeply” - Salmaan Sana
The beauty Salmaan sees in the work being done around DEI is that everyone does it in their own way. That's amazing because it shows that there's enough to do for everyone working on it when it’s done from a place of integrity.
What he sees is that, beyond working on policy change in areas like HR and Finance, there are more perceptive questions and conversations to work on that lead to more impactful actions and awareness. More subtle, almost invisible things to pick up on that can change the way people interact with each other, as they listen to each other’s real human stories. This is why Salmaan cares about facilitating new ways in which people can connect and create more inclusion.
Talking about his daughter makes him emotional, as he realizes when looking at her that he wishes for her not to go through the struggles that he experienced himself. That really hits him, as he deeply wants to create a world where she will not experience any of the same.
At the same time he makes the effort to be self-aware about his own biases and write about his own learnings. This is him constantly keeping himself sharp as he recognizes how his own programming has to be relearned as well. That’s where consciousness and awareness come from: we are not bias-free, we are all biased through having been raised in this world.
The work won’t be done within our generation. That’s why Salmaan is happy that his partner keeps him sharp, energized, and motivated, and he deeply appreciates the beautiful friendships that he has around him.
“The thing is that we don't know in a few generations from now, what we planted today can become a tree later. We only see the ground or the really tiny sapling coming up. But the act of planting is essential in that tree being there.” - Marjolijn Vlug
Salmaan has recently launched an online DEI course to share his knowledge and experience more widely, which enables him to contribute to the bigger, broader movement for people who believe in this topic.
What’s next for Salmaan, we ask him. He is aware that he’s growing in the way he connects with where people are when he starts working with them. And he’s aware that making small steps is also progress. Even if the penny drops weeks, months, or years later.
“To start where somebody else is, is my learning. Because if I try to start from where I think they should be, I'm going to be disappointed every time.
But if I start from where they are, then we can get to a whole new space together.” - Salmaan Sana
And he wants to hear more stories. He wants our stories to be told.
“The more stories everyone hears, the more insights we get.“ - Salmaan Sana
So do share your story with us in the comment section below, under our social post, or in a direct message. We appreciate you.
These are the wise words that came up in this episode from their original sources:
“The one who plants trees, knowing that he will never sit in their shade, has at least started to understand the meaning of life.” ― Rabindranath Tagore
“This is the true joy in life, being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one. Being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances, complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.
I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community and as long as I live, it is my privilege to do for it what I can.
I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work, the more I live. I cherish life for its own sake. Life is no brief candle to me. It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations.” - George Bernard Shaw
About Salmaan Sana
Salmaan Sana, executive consultant on Culture, People and Collaboration, is a multifaceted speaker and moderator, facilitator and connector. He helps companies build a more profound sense of belonging, and to connect and build more cohesion. He has created masterclasses and online courses. In addition, Salmaan is a member of the board of TEDxAmsterdam and the advisory board of Treesistance,
Connect with Salmaan via
Resources & references in this episode:
Tristan Lavender, Neurodiversity Writer, Speaker & Global ERG Lead at Philips) on LinkedIn
The 100-dollar race, a Youtube video - with a nuanced perspective on this from Salmaan in the interview
Jeff Goldblum reciting George Bernard Shaw’s quote above
From Challenge to Creation: Salmaan Sana’s DEI story