Brian McNaught's Gay & Transgender Issues in the Workplace Blog

Next June, I suspect there will be considerable interest in the release of The A-Team, a film version of the popular television program from the mid-1980s about a group of Special Forces men, each with his own skill, who work together to solve problems. We see the same format in today’s most popular television programs such as NCIS, The Mentalist, CSI, Bones, and Law and Order. Teams are pulled together based upon the unique contributions of each member. They succeed because they value each other’s gifts.

If you were in the corporate role of Col. John "Hannibal" Smith, the A-Team leader whose favorite line was, "I love it when a plan comes together", would you add to the team a gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender person because they had unique skills acquired from their life experiences? Do gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender people imagine themselves as perfect choices for the A-Team, or do they feel they belong in the B-Team? Read more…

Attending a large conference can initially exacerbate one’s inherent sense of isolation and loneliness, even one the focus of which is your wellbeing. The first day that I spent at the Out and Equal Conference in Orlando last week was like that for me, despite my many years working in the field of workplace equality for gay and transgender people.

But like our experiences at a new school, when we connect with friends, old and new, the awkward feeling of being unknown disappears, as it did for me when I started running into familiar faces and hanging out with my buddies Bob Witeck, Wes Combs, and Todd Sears. Read more…