Because I Like Yellow

 

 

I am surprised by how often someone attending a seminar I am facilitating or participating on a webinar I am delivering will say something like:

• “Well if we value everyone’s diversity, we’ll never get anything done.” or
• “Why do the [some specific group of employees] get special treatment? They get whatever they want but I have to work hard for everything I get.
• “I just can’t include everyone’s ideas on every thing. I have a store to run and customers to serve.”

Based on the reactions of other participants to comments like this it quickly becomes clear that many people have the perception that valuing diversity and creating an inclusive work environment requires you to make up different rules for each person.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Valuing diversity means being aware of – and open to – the different experiences and perceptions of others. And being inclusive requires you to make adjustments because of the needs and expectations of others. But neither comes with an expectation that there should be no standard policies or practices that support a productive workplace.

There may be times when exceptions are approved for individuals, or when accommodations are made to allow an individual or group to be effective. But that does not eliminate the need for standard policies and procedures and systems for completing the required work. For example:

• In an organization where employees plan their breaks on a pretty rigid schedule there might be a need to adapt the scheduling process so Muslim employees can use their break time for prayer during their shift. The Muslim employees don’t get any more time than any other employee but their break time changes to allow them to pray at the specific time they need.
• Perhaps you have just interviewed an applicant at a career fair who has glowing credentials. Because she uses a wheelchair you would have to think through what accommodations or adjustments need to be made in the department to ensure both safety and success for this employee.
• What signs, forms or instructions need to be in more than one language? For example, if you have a group of employees who speak a language other than English, translating a step-by-step procedure related to fire drills into more than one language could save lives in the event of a fire or other emergency evacuation. But your organization might not translate all forms and signs into more than one language. Providing information in more than one language is less about being “politically correct” and more about being both productive and respectful.
• Many companies have found they need to completely rewrite their dress code policies in order to employ younger employees with body piercings and tattoos. Sometimes culture changes as groups of employees or customers become more involved with your organization, and that’s when old ways of doing things must also change. This is what inclusion is about.

Of course It is helpful if the values of the organization include the expectation that respect for all is an important part of the culture. But whether it is formalized or not, each manager and supervisor can model respectful behavior at all times and build relationships with all kinds of employees (and customers) for the benefit of the company.

So, if an employee comes to your office and says, “I never liked the color blue so I want you to change the company logo to yellow (because I like yellow and I think it’s prettier).” that would not be a request you would need to consider (in the context of diversity and inclusion).

However, if that same employee came to your office and said, “Because I am colorblind I’m having a real hard time following the monthly report because all the charts and graphs show the variances in different shades of blue. Since I can’t distinguish the subtle differences it would be helpful if each factor used a different color.” Because this affects the employee’s productivity and the team effectiveness, you might redesign the standard colors used in the charts, or accompany each chart with the numerical data the employee could use instead of the colors to track the meaning of the report.

Being inclusive is not about becoming a victim to personality quirks or individual employees who operate with a sense of entitlement. Inclusion is really about respecting and relating to all so you can retain the best employees who are able to their best work.

Four Barriers to Effective Diversity Leadership

I am disappointed that so many companies I’ve talked with lately have internal leaders for their diversity and inclusion initiatives who have passion but lack expertise … and have no budget to receive training or coaching. No wonder they are unable to influence the organization to recognize inclusion as a critical strategic element related directly to increased market share, employee retention, innovation, excellent customer service, safety or quality.

Well Liked and Well Rewarded

A large number of people in these key diversity leadership roles were promoted from within. They have a great understanding of the history, culture and values in their organization. Typically they are well liked by senior leaders and they are rewarded for their pleasing personality or their ability to “get along” within the limitations of the existing system.

How likely is it that this person will recognize the changes needed or take the risk to be viewed as pushing for change? Unless they have extraordinary skills, or receive mentoring about change management and strategic positioning of diversity and inclusion they tend to focus on maintaining the status quo instead of leading the organization to a new and expanded state.

Fighting for Change

Of course, there are some who have been promoted from within because they were viewed as either dissatisfied employees with good ideas … or people so passionate about diversity and inclusion that their ideas needed to be heard. These employees then get locked into the role of agitator and activist and are not provided the skill building they need to be viewed as strategic and productive. The promotion into the diversity leadership role quickly becomes frustrating to them because they believed the organization was ready for a change it was not … and they don’t know how to build alliances and position their arguments in ways that are likely to make the change happen.

Fast Track to Management

There are a group of people in key diversity leadership roles who were perceived by senior leaders to be on the fast track to management and this assignment was viewed as a “developmental” role. It gives the incumbent a promotion into a certain level of management where they can be exposed to leadership process and expectations. However, they often have limited experience in the subject matter and are typically told they don’t really need any expertise because either (a) any one can lead this area or (b) it’s a temporary position they’ll only be in for a couple of years until something else opens up.

The Diversity Expert Who Isn’t

This is another pattern that is troublesome. The organization hires someone who worked in a diversity department in another organization or maybe even someone who was an independent consultant for a few years. This diversity leader knows more about diversity and inclusion than anyone else in the organization and is perceived internally as very smart on this topic. However, their actual knowledge and understanding is very limited to one aspect, or their previous experience was limited to programs that were more affirmative action oriented than inclusion focused.

Often this person has good ideas but they have very limited skills related to moving strategically from idea through implementation. The organization is happy because there are no major problems or conflicts and the diversity leader is happy because they are receiving a steady paycheck. It can feel like a risk to bring in new ideas when everything is going along just fine so they keep doing what they know to do but don’t take any risks. Comfort with what is blocks growth to what could be.

What’s sad about this is that the senior leadership (and sometimes the diversity leader) have no idea what they don’t know. They don’t know what they could be or could have that would contribute to growing their bottom line and improving customer service or employee retention.

The Answer

Gone are the days when an organization hires a consultant and hands over the strategy and implementation of their diversity initiative to that firm. It does still happen occasionally but it’s rare. I actually support companies hiring internal leadership for their diversity and inclusion initiatives because I strongly believe ownership should be within and disbursed throughout the organization.

But the majority of internal diversity leaders I’ve talked to recently are weak on diversity-related knowledge, ill-prepared to develop or lead strategically, are insufficiently funded to make a positive difference in the organization and are afraid to make waves because they know they are not perceived as valuable contributors to the growth and success of the company.

This is what disappoints me.

And the solution is relatively simple and relatively inexpensive. All it takes is a small investment in three things:

1. Be sure internal leaders of diversity and inclusion initiatives have strong skills in strategic planning, conflict resolution and leadership development. Good communication skills and a pleasing personality are not enough to be successful in this role.
2. Be sure internally developed strategic plans are reviewed by, or include input from, experienced professionals who not only have broad knowledge about diversity in the workplace but also interact with other companies from your industry and with companies representing other industries. Fresh ideas and unknown opportunities come from this external input.
3. Be sure the organization invests in the internal diversity leader’s ongoing development and exposure. Going to conferences to build a national network of peers and to learn about the latest trends and changes should be required. Providing internal diversity leaders with a more experienced external coach or mentor is highly recommended. These are not expenses, they are investments in the success of the incumbent who has been charged with providing excellent advice and guidance within your organization.

Of course I’d like to be considered to help develop skills and strategy. But whether my company is hired or not, this external guidance, mentoring and training is critically needed.

Internal diversity and inclusion professionals can be a valuable resource for your organization’s strategic plans related to marketing, recruitment, retention, marketing, innovation and expansion. It begins with a healthy mix of subject matter expertise, skills in strategic planning, leadership development and conflict management, plus the ability to partner with leadership in an effective way.