How would you feel if your employer asked you to reveal a personal secret not just to colleagues you work closely with, but to everyone in the company?
That's what happened to Grant Minish in 2004 when his boss asked him to come out publicly to all of TD Bank's employees across Canada. The company planned to send out a memo identifying Minish as the leader of the company's new lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) initiative, which involved supporting employees as well as becoming the “bank of choice” for the LGBT community.
“At the time I worked in human resources, so I used to travel to all different places,” Minish said. “I was quite concerned about what could happen to me from a career perspective because I really did see a lot of people around the country in the company.”
Minish, now 50, had always taken pains to hide his identity at work. He recalled an incident in the early 1990s when a beau sent him flowers at work.
“Everyone wanted to know who the flowers were from, and so I made up a girl's name,” he said.
In the end, Minish agreed to his boss' request. Knowing the initiative was coming from the CEO and was supported by senior executives was important. But more than that, it was time.
“I thought, you know, the reality of this is it needs to happen,” Minish said. “I would never say I was ever an activist, but I was at a point in my life where I thought, ‘This is important to do.'”
Minish was surprised not only by the support he received from his colleagues, but also by the difference bringing his “whole self to work” made to his career. He said the experience led to new career opportunities, such as becoming a branch manager and, more recently, the bank's first LGBT market leader.
“When you're at work and people are talking about ‘What did you do last night?' or ‘What are you planning for the weekend?' and either you're evading the questions, you're lying, you're making up stories – it's kind of crazy, and it's stressful,” he said.
“What happens is that you're never really fully engaged.”
