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.

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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 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.