Discovering Diversity Success: 10 Questions to Ask Yourself

 

By Jessica Alvarez, Chief Management Officer

A few years back, I was yearning for a community to embrace me, a tribe that would understand and respect that I’m not just a few general categories of a person, including female, Latina, mother. I needed a community outside of my corporate life that understands that the indigenous roots in me are not only from the Americas but can be traced back to slave trafficking from Africa to the coasts of the Caribbean, central and south America. My grandmother’s knowledge of the use of roots, herbs, and plant medicine has been passed down the generations through song and story.

In my search for such an embracing community, I found Centro Ashe, now the Wild Ginger Center in Washington D.C., which shares, protects, respects, and promotes the connections between plants, earth, and people. I enrolled in their training program to spark and renew the love and knowledge of plants I had in me.

Yes, it sounds very urban hippy, right? The first day I was amazed to be surrounded by an astonishingly diverse group of people, all coming together to learn and share experiences. Here, I didn’t need the emotional and mental protective walls I habitually built around me.

With my corporate and human capital lens, I tried to analyze the reasons for such “diversity success.” They didn’t use a sophisticated recruiting system with algorithms tweaked to maximize diversity. The curriculum was the same for everyone. The setting was a barn on a small farm. Yet, the diversity success was evident with race, ethnicity, creed, preferences, identities, age, careers, education, and social-economic levels all in one room, ready to learn. Everyone showed up with a smile and open to an embrace. Cell phone connection was awful, the conversation was great, and we all had meals together where we learned about each other’s families, interests, and even dreams. It struck me how different this was from work and school settings. Although there was a lot to learn and do, there was ample room for each person’s personality and voice to shine equally. They organically met the diversity and customer loyalty aspirations of the corporate world.

After months of enjoying the camaraderie, I concluded that the Wild Ginger Center’s secret ingredient for their diversity success is the kindness and respect that runs through its core. Empathy and respect not only for the plants and the earth but for people. Each person that walks into the center is unique, respected, acknowledged, encouraged, and celebrated for showing up as who they are.

By the time the workshops concluded, I had acquired lifelong friends, carpool mates, herb/veggie exchange buddies, but most importantly, I found the tribe I yearned for. I belonged.

Can we translate this success to the corporate world? Yes! Below are my top 10 questions to ask yourself.

1.    Is your mission clear?

2.    What is the human connection to your work (the back story of why we do what we do)?

3.    Are people working with a purpose?

4.    Is everyone’s uniqueness equally celebrated and acknowledged beyond the basic categories?

5.    As employers, are we creating safe spaces for team members to connect beyond transactional tasks?

6.    Does each employee feel encouraged to grow, to say, to be?

7.    Does every employee feel free to show up as who they are (i.e., my big curly hair vs. straightened hair, my ethnic wear vs. pantsuits and heels)?

8.    Is respect and compassion part of your corporate vocabulary?

9.    Is diversity even valuable to your corporate goals?

10. Are you aware of your company’s diversity standing?

I can help you start diversity conversations too. I’m pleased to announce DEI360, an organization’s starting point for Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI). It’s an easy, customizable, online assessment that quickly allows organizational leadership to see how they’re doing from the employee’s perspective. Once an organization takes the assessment,( our team walks through the final report giving clear DEI data, a snapshot of the internal DEI landscape, and actionable next steps. Have questions? Check out our FAQ or contact us directly.

 

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Book Review: The Disordered Cosmos

 

Even today, you won’t hear many perspectives from black, women cosmologists/theoretical physicists. Not surprisingly then, this incredibly personal, emotional, and scientific work, The Disordered Cosmos, might be the most unique and original book you’ve read in years.

Associate Professor Chanda Prescod-Weinstein teaches physics, astronomy, and gender studies at the University of New Hampshire. Her professional recognition includes the 2021 Edward A. Bouchet Award from the America Physical Society.

Though many will label her views and words radical, we urge you to read this partly autobiographical, partly historical, but always withering social critique of America. Even if you don’t completely agree with any of her views, you’ll gain a vital and necessary perspective, one that speaks to almost unbearable pain, yet remains cautiously hopeful.

Over the centuries, through overt and subtle words, advertising, the media, movies, books, leader behaviors, and the like, the colors black and brown have become associated with dirt and negativity, while goodness and cleanliness have attached to the color white.

Oppressors have long used the color of people’s skin to reinforce power and to justify horrific deeds. As a result, people with more generous amounts of melanin identify as black and have created a black culture. They face more challenges and greater odds of dying at the hands of police. Many people with little to no melanin consider those with more melanin less intelligent, and less capable of physical and emotional feelings, even though melanin has no bearing on these things.

Scientists have played no small part in creating these fictions. Science and pseudo-experimentation, including eugenics have deliberately supported and championed racism or turned a blind eye.

Of late, however, because of shifting demographics, American leaders have begun to encourage black and brown youth to enter the STEM disciplines (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math). This is for fear of having too few scientists and falling behind competitor nations.

Here are a few key takeaways from the book:

·         All things, including humans of all colors and all gender and sexual preferences, formed from the same stardust.

·         In physics, with its captivating theories, wonderful weirdness, and mysteries, anything is possible.

·         ‘Western’ science ignores the perspectives of marginalized people and often claims credit for their contributions.

·         The author’s experiences, beginning at Harvard, demonstrate that racism in science remains an insidious force.

·         Varying amounts of melanin determine the color of a person’s skin and hair, but race was a construct before the discovery of melanocytes in the 1800s.

·         White supremacists still pervade science, ignoring racial injustices and perpetuating centuries of inequities.

·         Instead of opening doors to the marginalized to do right, white leaders, including scientists, do so mainly for economic, military, or personal gains.

CHCI weaves over a decade of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) expertise into all of our core offerings. If you want to determine your company’s DEI strengths, opportunities for growth, and actionable next steps, check out DEI360, our new online assessment tool. We’d love to help.

 

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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The Hidden Story Behind Your Organization’s DEI Data

 

By Ian Thompson, Data Analyst

Successful Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is more than just checking off boxes about gender and race. It’s about new types of workplace conversations, personal self-awareness, courage to call out micro-aggressions, organizational culture change, increased innovation, and a thorough data-driven DEI approach.

So, what is DEI data? Beyond demographic information such as race, age and gender (which covers Diversity), how do you measure Equity and Inclusion? The E and I data come mostly from surveys and solicited feedback from employees and applicants. One of the outcomes of DEI is to create a more positive work environment for all. Therefore, the primary way to know where to start for E and I data is by collecting data on the current sentiment of your employees.

Consider the following key metrics when collecting DEI data from your employees and other sources:

·         Demographics: All employees by function, level/seniority and tenure by group.

·         Employee satisfaction/engagement: Scores and survey results by group. Includes question set, and any other surveys aimed at employee perceptions.

·         Attrition data for each group, ideally by role, function, and tenure (separated by voluntary and involuntary).

·         Qualitative attrition data: Exit interviews identified by group.

·         Compensation data, including bonuses, rewards, pay increases, etc. by group, including new hires.

·         Recruiting data: Number and percentage hired by group, per job type, role, and level.

·         Numbers and percentages of job applicants by group, by source, and stage of hiring process achieved (e.g., screening to hire).

·         Promotions by group, broken down by level and time to each promotion.

·         Performance scores/evaluations by group and by level/rank, role, tenure in organization and in current role. Include qualitative data surrounding performance reviews.

·         Career Development: Enrollment in programs by group. Nominations to leadership positions. Number of mentoring and coaching programs.

·         Internal and external complaints, such as discrimination, bias, harassment, and the resolution status by group.

Fundamentally, DEI data analysis will expose the demographic gaps in the above areas to identify where to focus. For example, a DEI survey can show that African American employees feel as though not all employees are treated equally when it comes to compensation, career advancement and following rules. Looking at the below figure, we can see that more than half of African American respondents disagree to some extent about many of the Equity statements.

Looking at the statements that start with “Compensation, benefits…” we can see the most egregious disagreement among the African American workforce. 65% of African American respondents disagree with the statement to some degree, while only 25% of the non-African American respondents with Somewhat Disagree to the same question. This comparison can indicate what might be happening. Primarily, it signals that employees perceive leadership holding a bias toward certain demographics. Since most African American respondents feel as though there is equal access to professional development opportunities, the inequities appear to be coming from the supervisor positions. Whether it is predominantly non-African American leadership acting on conscious or unconscious bias toward their employees, action is apparent when it comes to equal compensation and benefits. Remember, identifying this gap does not make it magically go away just because you know it exists; it is merely a conversation starter toward action.

DEI surveys shed light on inequities such as the one above and much more. If your organization is struggling to initiate change in the workplace, now is the time to collect data and use its insights to drive change. Does your organization have any other tools to measure DEI? Share them below. If you are looking for an online DEI assessment, check out DEI360.org.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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Communicating Culture with Positive Reinforcement

 

A lot of big words for a simple theory. Or as Boyd so eloquently puts it in the recent Fast Company article, “People want to be inspired, not lectured. They tend to respond better to humor and gentle reminders than they do to dictates or presumptions of guilt before innocence.” In essence, people don’t respond as well to control as they do to subtle encouragement.

Many people think of organizational culture as a ‘soft’ skill, yet culture is directly related to the execution of your organization’s strategy. What is the ultimate goal within your company? What type of work do you want your employees to create? What type of attitude and atmosphere are you trying to construct? If you know where you want to take your company, then define the behaviors, values and attitudes that you want your employees to emulate as they execute your company’s strategy.

XPLANE’s Culture Map, Courtesy of Dave Gray

For example, one organization I work with values ‘customer service’. Yet customer service can be defined 100 different ways to 100 different people. It’s up to the leadership team to define what customer service actually means in practice in your organization. What’s the behavior and attitude that reflects excellent customer service? Is it a smile upon meeting? Always saying hello first? Do the employees have the authority to do whatever it takes to keep the customer happy, up to a certain dollar amount? These are the type of questions that need to be answered so the team can create the culture that is needed to execute your strategy.

Once your organizational values, behaviors and attitudes are defined, how do you enforce those cultural standards? While the strategy might be compelling, the article mentions using positive reinforcement to increase or maintain a certain type of behavior. Positive reinforcement refers to the behavioral and reinforcement theories developed by B.F. Skinner, in which positive reinforcement is the addition of an appetitive stimulus.

Again, a lot of big words for a simple, effective idea. What does this mean? Provide affirmative incentives. Incentives don’t necessarily need to be tangible, as we’ll discuss in the next post. Intangible are often best. In the case of Burning Man, reinforcement is provided with the use of humor. Humor in unexpected places is a nice surprise and reprieve from what could come across as a dry dictate; it helps employees to want to pay attention.

That’s what it boils down to. To foster a positive, productive, enjoyable culture, with happy employees producing superb results – take care to provide positive feedback where culture has been embraced or in areas you are trying to build up and develop. The result? Employees are inspired to take part and contribute to the organizational culture as they execute their daily tasks.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send us an email, or find us on Twitter.

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How to Onboard Employees Virtually

The COVID-19 quarantine has changed a lot and changed the way we used to do business. Onboarding new employee is just one perfect example. We can no longer welcome a new employee in person at the office due to COVID-19 pandemic. The organizations have to rethink how to create an employee experience virtually. Check out the 3-step process to virtually onboard employees.

Listening: The Do’s and Don’ts and How To Master It

The human mouth plods along at 125 words per minute, while a neuron in the brain can fire about 200 times a second. No wonder our mind wanders when there’s so much time in between the words of a conversation. This is part of the reason we remember only 25 to 50% of what we hear.

Yet listening is an incredibly important skill for everyone—including leaders. Why? If you’re not listening at work, it’s easy to misinterpret a discussion as a decision. You may underestimate the importance of objections and ambivalence. And not listening is a quick way to dissolve trust between leaders and their teams.

From my experience, leaders could use some listening practice. Why don’t they listen? Though Richard Branson once joked that leaders love to hear their own voices, there are two main reasons. For one, in general, people are not taught how to carefully listen. And secondly, society expects leaders and entrepreneurs to have all the answers.

Truly listening to someone is more difficult than it seems and requires practice. Yet practicing takes more than just “keeping it in mind” throughout your day. Let’s look at five levels of listening, the do’s and don’ts of listening, and steps you can take to improve your listening skills.

There are several levels of listening, but here are five I find most important.

Highlight: Five Levels of Listening

1.    Ignoring is something we have all done. Someone is talking to us, but we are exploring things on the Internet, checking text messages, or thinking “what’s for dinner”. We are not actually hearing much of anything. 

2.    Pretend listening occurs when a person acts as if they are listening but is not following the full story of what is being said. They nod and smile but do not actually take in the message. This is a skill that can be finely honed by people who do a lot of inconsequential listening, such as politicians and royalty. We all do pretend listening at times; be careful because it can damage relationships when you get caught.

3.    Selective listening involves listening for particular things and ignoring other things. We hear what we want to hear and sometimes block out details that we are not interested in, or simply don’t want to hear. We listen for what we agree with, and then only remember that. Or we listen only for ways we don’t agree (this is usually as a result of a conflict), which can be quite frustrating when trying to come to an agreement.

4.    Attentive listening is what many of us do most of the time. This is when we listen to the other person with the best intention, yet become distracted by our thoughts of how we will respond. In attentive listening, we dip inside our own heads for a short while, try to determine what the person really means, and formulate questions for the person before we start listening again. If you find that you’re doing this, ‘fess up! Let the other person know that your mind wandered and say, “Could you please repeat that?”

5.    Empathic listening happens when the listener pays very close attention to what is being said, how it is being said, the message that is being portrayed, and what is not being said. Empathic listening takes much more effort than attentive listening, as it requires close concentration. It also requires empathy and understanding. You’re listening for the emotions, watching the body language and listening for needs, goals, preferences, biases, beliefs, values and so on. In other words, you’re listening in surround sound.

How to Be a Better Listener

Listening is actually a little painful. When we talk, we get a rush of chemicals sent to our reward and pleasure centers, so it is a selfish brain activity. There is no reward like that for listening. When you listen, you are halting your natural ways of thinking; it’s like holding your breath. Yet listening is a skill that can be learned, like a fitness test of the brain.

The first step to better listening is to choose to be a better listener and decide that it’s an important skill to you. It takes effort and a strategy and much like any sport, you will want to learn the steps, and then practice, practice, practice.

A Listening Acronym to Keep In Mind

Here is an acronym to help you become a better listener: NALE it.

N         Note what is being said.

A          Ask questions to clarify the story, and refine ambiguous words.

L          Look at what the other person is doing. Are they relaxed, tense, looking             away? This is all part of the communication they are sharing with you.

E          Evaluate what you think is really going on with the person. You are not   a psychologist yet, with a little empathy, you might pick up on some messages that are not being said. This gives you an opportunity to ask more questions. Stay in a curious state and you will learn so much more in less time.

Listening Do’s and Don’ts

To improve your listening, DO:

• Be 100% present. This means turning off all electronics, and keeping your eyes on the person.
• Be content to listen and to stay in the conversation until they feel like they are fully heard.
• Ask questions and take notes, including clarifying meanings of words. Many words in the English language have more than one meaning, or can vary drastically (such as the word “soon”).
• Show courtesy in your posture and your tone of voice by leaning into the conversation, and keeping your voice level.
• Allow emotions to flow freely, and acknowledge the emotions with your words.
• Pretend that you will be tested on what you heard and understood, if you are finding it difficult to concentrate.
  
  

To improve your listening, DON’T:

• React emotionally. Stay calm and focused on the other person.
• Offer suggestions or advice. This is a hard one! Yet if you are truly listening, all you’re doing is pulling information out. As soon as you start suggesting solutions, you are no longer listening.
• Talk about yourself. Even if you have had the same experience, don’t tell your story. It takes the attention off the person and back onto you. A simple “I have been there” can do the trick.
• Look at anything but the person. Stay focused on the person’s eyes, facial expressions, and body language.
  
  

Are you good at fully listening to others? Is listening a challenge for you? We’d love to hear your ideas about why listening may be difficult for leaders. Also, if you have experience working on your listening skills, let us know what steps you have taken.

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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How to Prepare for Jobs that Don’t Yet Exist in a Multi-Stage Life

85 per cent of the jobs that will exist in 2030 haven’t even been invented yet, estimates a Dell Technologies report, written by the Institute for the Future (IFTF) and a panel of 20 tech, business and academic experts from around the world.

So how do you prepare someone for a job that doesn’t exist yet? How can we prepare the young people who will be entering the workforce in the next five years? How can we prepare ourselves?

Wave Goodbye to Your Three-Stage Life

Before we talk about preparation, here’s a contributing factor to consider: The three-stage life we’ve been accustomed to is coming to an end. What are the three stages of life? The first stage is education, which can last up to 25 years. The second stage revolves around work and lasts 40 years until we retire. And retirement is the third stage in life, which lasts between 15 and 20 years on average.

Yet life expectancy is increasing and health care is advancing. Over the last 200 years, life expectancy has increased consistently more than two years every decade. This trend indicates that a child born today has more than a 50% chance of living to 105! And they won’t simply stay alive—but can actually live a healthy life in those years.

A lifespan of 100+ years doesn’t fit well into the three straightforward stages of life we are used to. For example, an education gained in your 20s won’t sustain you for 60 years of working. Saving up for a retirement that lasts from age 65 to 105 (40 years!) is unlikely if retirement age remains the same.

Meet the Multi-Stage Life

Instead, people will adopt multi-stage lives. What will that look like? Based on trends we are seeing now, it would include education on a reoccurring cycle to accommodate career shifts based on technology advancements or personal choice. Remaining relevant for 40 years is hard enough—how about 60? And perhaps the stages will vary in focus—one stage for building financial resources, another for focusing on work/life balance, another for flexibility in order to build a family or care for aging loved ones, etc.

The implications of multi-staged lives are vast. Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott put it wonderfully: “These multi-stage lives require a proficiency in managing transitions and reflexivity – imagining possible selves, thinking about the future, reskilling and building new and diverse networks. At its best, it offers people an opportunity to explore who they are and arrive at a way of living that is nearer to their personal values.”

I agree. A multi-stage life requires flexibility, a drive for continuous learning, and the emotional intelligence to transition into ever-changing and diverse work relationships. And I propose that these are the very skills needed to prepare our employees, our youth, and us for jobs that don’t exist yet.

Preparing For the Unknown Future of Work: Four Essential Skills

Let’s take a closer look.

1.     EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE (EQ)

A person with a high EQ is curious about people they don’t know, aware of their strengths and weaknesses, skilled in active listening, and aware of their own emotional states, enabling them to respond rather than react. This is a skill that can provide balance, insight, and flexibility when facing responsibility shifts, career changes, and life stages. It doesn’t matter what job you’re in—if you have emotional intelligence, you can navigate interpersonal relationships successfully, leading to productivity, collaboration, and an increased ability to face change.

In order for leaders to prepare for an ever-evolving working world, they must be skilled in constantly creating, organizing and dismantling teams. That requires a high EQ because it’s so relational. Also, they can help prepare workers for the future by implementing EQ training and displaying emotional intelligence themselves.

2.     COMMITMENT TO LIFELONG LEARNING

We’ve all witnessed how quickly technology has changed the fabric of our world. The increasing global pace of growth only adds to that rapid-fire change. In order to keep pace, people must be constantly learning. Whether this happens in the form of MOOCs or peer-to-peer information exchange is irrelevant. What matters is a commitment to learning—how else can someone transition smoothly into a role they’ve never even heard of yet? We must seek this learning out ourselves—yet it’s also imperative leaders make it a priority to offer personal development opportunities for employees. We can all work together to ignite and maintain the cycle of learning.

3.     ABILITY TO THRIVE IN DIVERSITY

In the future, what we consider minorities will be the majority of consumers, clients, employees, and leaders. This requires that the leaders of the future understand their diverse employees and consumers, and make sure their employees do too. Whatever the job, the teams will be more diverse than ever. And if you’re unable to learn from and embrace the benefits of a diverse team, you’re not going to succeed in any role.

4.     A NIMBLE APPROACH

We’ve established that change is happening at a rapid pace. If you’re unable to respond quickly, you may lose your place at the table, and severely limit other opportunities. Yet if you can leverage constant change, you will thrive. As Chris Heiler said, “Survival of the fittest? Today–and tomorrow–it’s survival of the nimblest.”

What does being nimble look like? Is it a skill you can develop? Yes, you can practice being nimble, just like you can practice EQ. Here’s what to do: Focus on building self-reliance, facing fear, being decisive yet flexible, and regularly seek out new skills. Also, work on managing your own bias, so that you can walk into new situations with the ability to see possibility rather than blockades.

With our new workforce functioning as more of an ecosystem than a pyramid, leaders of the future need to be nimble as well. Their ability to pivot, pull teams together quickly, and exhibit out-of-the-box thinking will influence their success in a decentralized structure that is constantly evolving.

The Cherry on Top: Purpose

The last thing Gratton and Scott said rings true as well: A multi-stage life will enable people to live closer to their personal values. This is perhaps the most exciting outcome of a longer lifespan, and aligns with one of the goals of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the workforce. AI has the potential to enable workers to focus on work that is more aligned with their values rather than monotonous tasks.

Don’t Forget Our Youth

This movement towards purpose with multi-stage lives and the assistance of AI also applies to our youth. Social Impact Entrepreneur Peter E. Raymond explains, “As automation will continue to reduce the need for human jobs there is an opportunity to prepare our kids for the challenges that will keep them empowered and give them purpose. These challenges will create new markets and economies we have not yet imagined.” And new education platforms preparing youth for this impending reality are already in the works.

In closing I’d like to point out that while fear of change is expected (and neurological!), there is a lot of positives in line for the future. Instead of seeing yourself in a position of impending irrelevance, see yourself as empowered to build key skills that will prepare you to succeed not matter where, or how many times, your career pivots. Start practicing your emotional intelligence today, work on being nimble, dive into the benefits of diverse teams, and regularly ignite your brain with new skills and knowledge. Before you know it, you’ll be in the middle of a drastically different workscape—and you’ll be thriving.

What did we miss? What is another essential skill to prepare for jobs that don’t yet exist? Let’s crowd source the answer:

Let’s share experiences. Leave a comment below, send me an email, or find me on Twitter.

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