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Embedding Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in the Workplace: A Journey from Superficiality to Genuine Transformation
The State of Black Residents: The Role of Place in Achieving Racial Equity in the US and Canada
What Brands Can Do to Reach More Diverse Customers Through Inclusive Marketing
The modern marketer understands the value of diversity and inclusion. As the consumer base they serve becomes more diverse, companies are paying more attention to the inclusive tone of their communications. Now more than ever, firms' advertisements and other branding content showcase various people and perspectives.
Diversity and Inclusion: The Leaders Dilemma
Amy Hirschi @amyhirschi Diversity and Inclusion: The Leaders Dilemma
As the business advantages of diversity and inclusion have become generally understood, and even as throngs of companies appear to embrace the directive to increase their workforces' diversity from the front lines to the C-suite, tangible progress continues to disappoint.
The truth is, diversity inclusion is not only an organization's most significant challenge; it is also an organization's biggest opportunity. If we think about this, the financial success that we will all achieve, in the sense of fairness and decency among all of the people in our workplaces and communities, will be nothing short of astounding.
Register for 9 New Ways to Build Diversity, Inclusion & Sensitivity Training For Your Organization
In this new series, we take on a single issue that leaders need to be aware of and leave you with three crucial ideas for you and your organization.
We know from the studies that creating an inclusive workplace is suitable for people, it is equally useful for companies. Yet, in too many places, diversity efforts fail to produce results, and we see the status quo continuing to stand firm. At Woods Kovalova Group, we've learned that while progress has been sluggish, there is a reason for hope and evidence that points to a fairer way.
For over a decade, businesses have been at diversity inclusion in one form or another. I think people's hearts are in the right places. We're learning the core cause of what's driving a lack of progress in many cases. That's what we are just beginning to understand.
So, executives and frontline workers have to think differently about how to draw diversity to the forefront.
Years ago, organizations often went with targets. They were admirable. What we're learning is that one of the critical root causes is understanding where individuals come from, understanding what their experiences are, understanding emphatically what are the challenges our different underrepresented minorities face
Learning to have difficult conversations is vital. This helps us to figure out then a way to scale that behavior. One of our clients had its first daylong discussions on race recently. A robust decision that was driven by the top management and that came as a result of several racially charged incidents that had taken place.
As a consultant, I advised them to give permission and set up a structure to have those conversations across the country to all of their employees. Throughout the following year, we outperformed the previous year's efforts from the top down. By steering it from the top down, we gave permission. We started to develop a culture.
Driving culture from the top of one company was only half of the story. Along with several other CEOs, we launched our Diversity & Inclusion Action Initiative to encourage a collective approach to boosting diversity. This has led those leaders have held more and more sessions with their employees to let people speak up.
From his perspective, we learned what it's like to be a person of color at that firm. He shared that he feels safe in a suit and tie, but when he's going to play a pick game of basketball, and he leaves work in his shorts and cutoff T-shirt, he feels the eyes of those staring, and he feels like people are thinking they feel unsafe, and that makes him feel uncomfortable.
We discovered what it's like to be a working mother balancing various facets of life, balancing children, and work. When we discover such things, we become more empathetic. A white male revealed his nervousness of saying the wrong things can feel as though he is damned if he does and damned if he does not. They're not sure how they can help. They don't want to be presumptuous.
By getting those feelings out was how we began to make the right progress.
If you have any questions about our Diversity & Inclusion programs for your organization please let us know.
About Jim Woods
Jim Woods, President
Jim Woods has been a global diversity and inclusion expert since 1998. He advocates linking strategic interventions to bottom-line business results. He is a D&I innovator and respected thought leader, having written numerous leadership books and contributed to many publications on the subject of strategic diversity and inclusion and leadership solutions. As President and CEO of Woods Kovalova Group, he has had the privilege of working with clients that include Whirlpool, the U.S. Army, Homeland Security, Deseret Bank, Seimens, and myriad organizations and individuals everywhere.
He has taught fifth-grade math and science along with teaching human resources and leadership on the university level. Mr. Woods holds a bachelors’ degree in business administration and leadership. Including a masters of science in organizational development and human resources.
He delights crowds as a speaker and is an accomplished children’s book author. Mr. Woods landed his second Fortune 1000 client while homeless living in his car.
How Leaders Can Avoid Hunkering Down In A Crisis
Organizations can't simply erect a wall against leadership apathy, employee disengagement, intensifying competition, untethered customers, and political instability. The current crisis which some businesses will get through, with the help of adaptive employees, leaders, and customers, merely sets the time for a sustained or yet perpetual crisis of unfamiliar and formidable challenges.
How a Common Sense of Purpose Drives Inclusion
In this post, you will learn how a shared sense of purpose can create a culture of belonging towards a cohesive organization of inclusion. In an age that has become renowned for rewarding profit-making over all else, workers are justifiably skeptical when their leaders speak about values. The more mission statements circulate, the more suspicious they turn out to be. However, because a vigorous environment necessitates individuals to behave autonomously, often without explicit instructions or rules, a profound sense of shared purpose and values is more important than ever
What Can Women Do To Be Seen As Better Leaders?
How Managers Can Be Proactive About Inclusion
All managers should proactively ask employees to discuss how they feel race has influenced their experience within the company, rather than wait for a crisis to arise before confronting these issues. Proactive discussions let managers direct the dialogue in constructive approaches and avoid future conflicts from soaring out of control.
Some pertinent questions to ask employees may include:
The 5 Ways Leaders Lose Employee Trust
In the case of far too many leaders, it can be uncomfortable to challenge employees to dream big dreams and go where “no one has gone before.” Successful leaders know they have to forge new ground that “we’ve never done this before, but I’m going to lead you there.”
In this new remote world, we’re more dependent on others to step forward. It's important to recognize the various behaviors that can disengage and alienate allies.
This Is How Leaders Lead Better
Being a leader during the pandemic crisis isn't easy. It requires great leadership skills. As an alternative to hoping for a "return to normal," now is the time to push for reinvention. Take these bold actions to reimagine the future. Read This is how leaders lead better to improve the way you transform your organization.
How does a non-inclusive leader look?
Non-inclusive leaders are depicted as having talent blindness. This means they are incapable of recognizing employees’ unique strengths. Frequently, these leaders treat employees uniformly despite how hard they work or whether they need further training and do not appear to value the contributions of their employees.
Disrupting Unconscious Bias At Work
Most organizations want diverse bias-free teams but managers despite good intentions can’t or won’t have salient discussions on race. This blog post gives ideas They want men and women of all races from diverse races and backgrounds. In practice, this is hard to create. That kind of melting pot is nearly impossible. Even if you can create a diverse team, you might struggle to manage the group where everyone feels valued and respected.
How To Discuss Racial Discrimination At Work
Respect for the person(s) you are engaging with. Race, racism, and the racial inequity it breeds are topics of discussion that can polarize a space very quickly. Our research of over 20 years highlights how changing a few aspects of diversity training might relieve the pessimism despite the external hoopla of short-sighted executives.
Why Discussing Racial Inequality Is Difficult And Why You Should Do So Regardless
This Is How Diverse Leaders Innovate
In this blog, “This Is How Diverse Leaders Innovate,” we discuss how flawed diversity and inclusion are and what to do about it. Despite having a diverse team in position, businesses can take advantage of the varying viewpoints of leaders only if they have an appropriate inclusive footing. A study considered the presence of factors allowing diversity to grow and help their diverse management team reconfigure the organization’s improvement efforts.
Diversity Should Not Match Your Customer Base
Diversity and inclusion are still perceived as an end to a means. Despite laudatory websites and sales pitches by long-winded ceo’s, managers who could care less, and hr people who are still trying to explain their existence in the face of change the fallback procedure isn’t heart but time-worn treatise by white and black people clinging to safety. Not reimagination.