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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How Great Leaders Approach Diversity

 

By Allan Schweyer, Senior Executive Consultant

Over the past 30+ years, I’ve observed that great leaders help each employee, manager, and colleague identify known and hidden biases that might lead to acts of discrimination, microaggression, or exclusion. The best leaders exhibit honesty and courage by going beyond rote training modules to educate everyone in the historic fact of systemic racism; not to shame the majority but to build perspective and empathy.

This remains rare, however. So how do leaders and organizations do it?

You’ve probably seen it firsthand: leadership sets the climate of transparency and vulnerability in the organization (or lack thereof). Diversity flows naturally from proactive and non-discriminatory hiring practices driven by leadership that understands the business advantages of a representative workforce. Inclusion follows where CEOs, chief people officers (CPOs), and other executives lead through courage, truth, and example.

At its core, this has everything to do with prioritizing mental health. No company can claim a commitment to employee wellness until people can deal with their stresses or worries openly and find help. Of course, wellness extends to inclusion and belonging. Until historically excluded minorities, whether based on race and ethnicity or sexual and gender preference, can express themselves, dress, and share their ideas and perspectives openly – within social and business norms – creativity and innovation will suffer. More importantly, workplace belonging and wellness cannot emerge until everyone enjoys psychological safety and can bring all of their constructive thoughts, ideas, humor, and perspectives to work.

When it comes to execution, effective leaders and organizations first make their commitment known and set strategic goals around diversity (as above, this should include implications for the culture and employee engagement). Then, as an organization matures and progresses, it integrates consideration of diversity factors into every important decision and every aspect of the business – from eliminating biases in hiring, celebrating ethnic holidays, offering training where appropriate, to checking the culture itself for systemic biases. Ultimately, leaders make a public commitment to change, including openness in sharing data around hiring, pay, promotions, and minority representation in senior positions.

Diversity and Inclusion Confer Competitive Advantage

In the digital era we inhabit, literally everything organizations achieve depends on people. Everyone competes for the same talent, every successful leader understands they must compensate competitively, invest in employees’ learning and development, and provide the resources workers need to do their jobs effectively. Most know and believe in the overwhelming evidence that employee engagement drives higher productivity, better business outcomes, and lower attrition. Thus, failure to engage, include, and leverage the full talents of the workplace represents not only a moral lapse – it invites disaster. It exposes unfitness for executive office.

Great leaders know they won’t always get it right, but they work with other experts, listen to their employees, keep learning, and set the intention to create a vibrant, healthy workplace and culture that embraces diversity. This requires tremendous courage and empathy but results in stronger, more innovative, and resilient organizations more capable of attracting and keeping top talent.

If we can help you on your journey, visit DEI360.org.

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

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Three Ways to Develop Trust at Work

 

Emmanuelle looks around the room at the sales team. She’s new at the company and still learning about the relationship dynamics between her coworkers. Tensions are running high as it was just announced that the team didn’t make their sales goal for the second month in a row. Not that she’s surprised.

This past month, the marketing assistant was asked to create a pitch deck from scratch for a potential client in Canada—a large hospitality brand. Emmanuelle found out later that he’d never created a pitch deck before yet wouldn’t ask anyone for help. The marketing manager knew that he wasn’t very experienced yet was too focused on meeting her personal goals to offer guidance.

The major blow came when the marketing assistant waited until the day before the account director was flying to Canada to meet the client, to hand over a few poorly organized slides that covered only a fraction of the information needed. Not to mention that the hyper-analytical language he used that wasn’t appropriate for a luxury hotel brand.

The poor account director had to pull an all-nighter to get the deck done himself, before pitching with red eyes on zero sleep. The result? That client is no longer a potential.

Why is This Team So Dysfunctional?

Emmanuelle has been racking her brain trying to figure out how to navigate this new playing field. What’s going on with this team? Why is it so dysfunctional?

Just because the necessity of teamwork has been preached to us since childhood doesn’t mean we’re inherently good at it—or even like it for that matter. Working with other people can be challenging, even more so in the workplace when stakes are high. So now that we’re off the little league field, what can we, as working adults, do to have a positive and winning team? According to Patrick Lencioni, there are five core areas where dysfunction can be seen in teams: lack of trust, fear of conflict, avoidance of commitment, lack of accountability and not results-focused.

In Emmanuelle’s case, her team has a major trust deficit. Teams that don’t have trust don’t function well. Let’s take a look at the importance of trust, what teams with and without trust look like, and how we can start building trust in our own teams starting today.

Great Teams Have Trust

Here are some facts about teams and trust:

·         Interaction associates & human capital institute study shows high performing organizations have higher levels of trust than low performing organizations

So the studies tell us high performing teams have trust, but what exactly does a team with trust look like versus a team without trust?

Teams with and Without Trust: What They Look Like

Teams that don’t have trust:

·         Conceal weaknesses and mistakes from each other

·         Hesitate to ask for help or feedback

·         Jump to conclusions about other’s intentions

·         Don’t offer help outside of their own areas of responsibility

·         Fail to recognize and tap into one another’s skills

Teams that have trust:

·         Admit weaknesses and mistakes, ask for help

·         Give one another the benefit of the doubt

·         Take risks in offering feedback and assistance

·         Accept questions and input about their work

·         Appreciate and tap into one another’s skills

·         Offer and accept apologies

·         Look forward to opportunities to work as a group

From $200 a Week to a $30 Billion Valuation: What Airbnb Can Teach Us About Trust

A great example of how trust can benefit a team can be seen in the now uber successful Airbnb. In 2009, Airbnb was close to going bust with only $200/week in revenue. Searching for answers outside of data, they noticed a pattern – the listing photos were bad. Without any data to back it up, the co-founders decided to travel to NYC, rent a pro camera & take pictures of listings. Revenue doubled within a week.

Without trust, the founders wouldn’t have been willing to try out an idea that had no data to back it up. In fact, they probably wouldn’t have shared that idea if they didn’t trust each other. And this idea prevented them from throwing in the towel. Now with the company valued at $30 billion, their trust was worth its weight in gold.

Now that the founders of Airbnb have seen the great benefit of trusting new ideas, and allowing for vulnerability, new hires are asked on day one to come up with new features to try out. They appreciate and tap into their employees’ skills and want them feel comfortable making mistakes. They’ve seen first-hand the benefits that can come from this type of team.

Sound Familiar?

If you’re reflecting on your team and realizing it might be lacking in trust—don’t run for the hills just yet. Trust isn’t a “you have it or you don’t” thing—it’s something that takes effort and awareness. If you find yourself in a team suffering from lack of trust, try these three tips. You can start using these tips as soon as today to help get your team on track!

Three Tips for Developing Trust at Work

1. Be Honest

·         Tell the truth

·         Be honest when sharing information, even if it it’s to your disadvantage

·         Use truthful nonverbal communication

·         Experts say more than half communication is nonverbal

·         Look people in the eye, use open body language

2. Communicate Openly

·         Talk to your team members in an honest, meaningful way

·         Listen deeply for what’s being said, and not being said

·         If you have important or relevant information, share it immediately with the team

·         Meet face to face regularly

3. Meet face to face regularly

·         Share personal stories

·         Ask questions (sensitively) about colleague’s family, hobbies, where they’ve lived, etc.

·         Don’t underestimate casual social activities after work

So let’s get back to Emmanuelle’s team—the team that for two months straight hasn’t reached their sales goals.

If the marketing assistant had trusted his manager, he would have asked for help with the pitch deck, knowing that he wouldn’t be reproached. He wouldn’t have hidden the fact that he didn’t know what he was doing. And if his manager trusted the team, she wouldn’t be only focusing on her goals, while ignoring the goals of the team. She would have made it a priority to check in with the assistant, knowing his inexperience warrants a little extra attention, for the benefit of everyone involved.

Imagine how this situation would have turned out if the team had trust—the deck would have been completed well and on time, the account director wouldn’t have had to drop his responsibilities to stay up all night and fix a deck. Instead, he would have been well rested and prepared to land a new client. And you know what? They may have a large luxury hotel brand on their roster—if only they had trusted each other.

Do you have trust at work? Yes or no, how can you tell? Let’s talk about it.

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

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