Why would Diversity and Inclusion work fail? Because it is not Socially Cohesive.

I have said it in other blogs, and I will say it here again. Having a diverse workforce empowers the financial performance of a business.

So, CEOs, Leaders, Managers and HR Officers, hire the blacks, hire the browns, the women, the gays, the bis, the trans. Hire them all! Watch as the money rolls in, and the business glistens with pride in the eyes of the customer! Experience exponential growth as your company expands internationally, and builds better relationships than ever before, with special thanks to Nadir, your brown, female, pansexual (She was ‘volunteered’ to run an oversees project with a company in the middle east, even though she’s never been there). What’s that? A claim of racism in the workplace? Surely not, as your company is brimming with people of all sorts of backgrounds, so quash that dispute immediately, lest it harms the inevitable growth of your new open-minded, open door, open armed company that hires all!

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If this doesn’t sound ridiculous yet, then I hope you are comfortable having a laugh at our own expense. Even though I made all this up of course, it is a combination, if not a direct example of, very real circumstances that take place in the midst of this popular movement towards a lucrative working environment. It is also a combination, if not a direct example of, the very reasons D&I work is falling well short of its intended goal. Although, it is arguable that the original intention got it right at all.

It’s been an ongoing event, swimming through the stories, research and feedback, collecting all the information together to address why D&I has, in too many cases, fallen short of a supposed target. There are some incredible trainers, facilitators and educators out there, but how can a leader, manager or entire company be confident in their performance with regards to the D&I ethos?

No shit, Sherlock. So long as you like chocolate ice cream, and I like mint chocolate chip, then perhaps it’s time to reframe those “Unconscious Bias Training” days as “Unconscious Bias Education MeetUps”. Bias is a constant, that happens right the way through all levels of consciousness, and so long as we are aware of that then a company has something to work with when it comes to making progress. Since beginning my work, I have heard a number of stories in which discrimination has been called within a business, and the story has concluded, “Turns out it wasn’t discriminatory”. Now I am not saying it was, but actually, unless the person in question did or said something unquestionably discriminatory, then the conclusion wants to at least be, “We cannot know”. Even at a business level, the fears of being seen as discriminatory, are greater than the fears of being discriminatory. Meanwhile, employees are left, either in a place of continuing to ignore possible harmful bias at play, or a place of feeling unprotected against discriminatory behaviour. Silence or inaction plays off to the same impact, so something would need to be done. Leaving instances like this open and unsettled creates an air of friction, which a workplace is definitely best without.

What approaches would you put in place to manage the inevitable bias’ of a team?

If it must be D&I, don’t think “Diversity and Inclusion”, think “Inclusion THEN Diversity”. One of my primary concerns in Diversity and Inclusion is the way it is being interpreted, and the evidence is clear. “Diversity” appears to have unconsciously be ladled with an identity of non-white/male/straight. Diversity is intrinsically tied to URMs which does, but also really does not, make sense. To be facetious, all workplaces are already diverse. Different minds, different experiences, different people, are already populating the workplace. They are not clones of one another. D&I was, of course, introduced as a process of having more URMs in the workplace so there is some forgiveness, but perhaps it was doomed from the beginning by suggesting diversity is just synonymous with “minority group”.

Inclusion also set off an inappropriate tone. To include anyone in anything, you would need to have something present to include them in. In this case, that “something” appears to have been the assumed homogeneous work spaces, wherein a culture of stability, comfort and safety was established, for the identities within. To be inclusive, it would mean that people would automatically want to, and would have to deal with, these environments; the idea that the culture of the workplace will not change, because “diverse people” are simply being included. Yet, to slam the point home, if you host a party for a 6 year old with all the trimmings, and as part of your “Age Inclusion Strategy”, decide to invite a few friends over the age of 25, and change nothing about the party, do you think all the 25 year olds are going to want to stay? Hell, would you expect them to show up?

The culture of the business may need an overhaul. It is possible that it may only take a couple of small changes, but nonetheless it needs to change. It could be a re-evaluation of the Core Values, a restructure of policy, or a re-wording of policy, or monthly casual meetups.

The question is, how would a leader go about creating the best environment, not just for the team they have, but for the team they plan to grow and develop?

Last, but not least, an error made by leaders (or I guess I should call them bosses in this case) and CEOs, is that they feel their employees are the ones who require all the training, all the tools, all the values and attitudes instilled into them. So long as the company Core Values are artfully painted up in a hallway, or embossed into the stationery, then there is always a convenient place to point to when difficulty or challenges rear their ugly head.

“What does it say on your pen, Janice? Yes, it says ‘Integrity’”. Cheers, Steve, thanks for the reminder.

Of course, there are leaders out there who set the tone and the example for their team, demonstrating what is expected within a socially cohesive work culture. These are the leaders who set the example for all leaders.

It is an uphill battle for both employees and employers alike to give mixed messages; hiring Motivational Speakers, Educators, Coaches and Mental Health Experts, into the space to give talks and workshops that empower the employees. Only so that once those people are done for the day, the culture can too easily slip back to BAU, as the employers, left without the information, anchor teams back into old habits, and double down on expectations. If anything, the employees could be left out of the training loop, as CEOs and Leaders hire business coaches to help THEM be better leaders, as opposed to their employees be better workers.

I have, in the past, been asked to “speak to the team” or “speak to the students”, about motivation or my more comprehensive definition of Social Cohesion and the same question comes back, “Will you (the authority figure) be attending?”. In reality, my role states the question, “How can I serve you in the short term, so you can serve them in the long term?”.

How can a leader consistently demonstrate the company’s Core Values and ethos to the team, so that it emanates through the business?

The Social Cohesion approach I have adopted involves a combination of 1 to 1 and group coaching, to bring a collective, open and broader vision to what a company is capable of when considering the performance and aesthetic of a team. How well are your team working together now? What is missing for it to work better? Who is missing for it to adopt a new evolution of operation? What could the company achieve if everyone was truly working at their best?

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As a coach, mentor and advocate for social cohesion, my goal is bring prosperity and growth opportunities to all.

Feel free to follow me on Instagram for daily questions that challenge your own personal journey: @theonlyotherdan

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