6 Lessons About Embedding EDI in Organisations from Running My First Ever 10km Race ??
I signed up to run my first 10km race (the Worcester City 10K) as a personal challenge, and yes, thankfully I completed it. As the saying goes, ‘If a tree falls in the woods, and no one is around to hear it, does it make a sound?’ The same goes for fitness challenges and workouts; if you don’t post about them on social media, then did they really happen??
I have been working in EDI (Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion) for over 11 years now, and I’m always looking to expand my knowledge in this space. I often take learnings from unusual places, and here are 6 lessons about embedding EDI in organisations that I took from running my first ever 10km race.
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??? 1. Getting to the Start Line is an Achievement in Itself
There were several points in the lead-up to the race where I didn’t think that I would even make it to the start line. I reminded myself that the real failure was not showing up, and whether I set a world record (highly unlikely) or pulled a muscle in the first 5 minutes, I just had to take part.
How this relates to embedding EDI: Organisations often delay addressing EDI because of a range of things. They don’t know where to start, don’t have a budget, have other priorities, or they try to craft the ‘perfect’ strategy and action plan before they do anything.
Just one in six (17 per cent) HR Directors and CEOs said their business had introduced or invested in an EDI strategy in the past year, according to research published by People Management.
Beginning your EDI journey doesn’t have to be complicated, small steps can have a big impact.
Start now, and get better later.
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??? 2. The Start Line Isn’t What You Expect
If you have ever taken part in a race then you will already know this, but the start was very different from how I had imagined it. In my mind, everyone lines up, the starting pistol goes off, and away everyone goes. In reality, from where I started (conservatively in the back half of the thousands of runners) it was a few minutes of slowly wading forward towards the start line before I actually got off running. Thankfully this is mitigated against by the use of chip timing, which clocks when you start and finish the race, rather than timing everyone from the same point.
?How this relates to embedding EDI: Organisations need to be proactive in ensuring there are equal opportunities in the workplace. This can include a wide range of things, but in the context of recruitment, here are a few examples of ways to create a more level playing field (I’ll cover these and much more in future blogs):
I’ve included a link to a video in the footnotes which illustrates the impact of privilege on equal opportunities (also in the context of a race).
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?? 3. Biases Need to Be Continually Challenged
If I were to ask a group of people who they think would run 10km faster:
I would expect the majority of people to say the first one… Well, both are true, and there were all kinds of different people ahead and behind me at the finish line who I might not have expected.
I realised quite early on that I had to check my biases while running, as I noticed myself speeding up to overtake people who I thought I should be running faster than, based just on how they looked. Did I think about how many years they had been running, how much training they had done, or what their goal finish time was? No, I was making snap judgements based on limited visual information and reacting based on ego. Many of these people then overtook me later on, serving me a slice of humble pie on their way past.
How this relates to embedding EDI: I have taken part in, written, and facilitated countless training courses around bias, and it’s something that I actively try to be conscious of, but on this occasion, I was caught off guard. In a work context, EDI and bias are always top of mind, and I aim to live by these values, but on this occasion, I was only thinking about my end goal (we are all human).
Bias training is essential for organisations, but it’s not a silver bullet. Organisations can mitigate biases creeping into processes by building prompts and tools to support people to acknowledge and challenge their own and other people’s biases.
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?? 4. Supporters Make it Easier and Hold You Accountable
As this was my first race, I had never run in front of a crowd before, and I loved it. From the people cheering, to the kids giving out high fives, and the man holding the ‘You Can F***ing Do It’ sign (which really helped at the hill near the end), they made the sense of occasion and really helped me keep going and get over the finish line.
With all of those supporters around, there was no hiding place, no opportunity to take a shortcut (apparently this is a growing issue on Strava), and if I ever felt like I needed to stop, I knew there would be lots of people looking at me and encouraging me to get going again. They made it easier and held me accountable just by turning up.
How this relates to embedding EDI: Gaining stakeholder buy-in is critical when embedding EDI in organisations. No individual or team can embed an inclusive culture or process without the buy-in from stakeholders. Having supportive stakeholders in the right places enables organisations to overcome barriers.
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?? 5. Tracking Progress Matters
I was just aiming to complete the race (hopefully without stopping), but I was never going to set a world record or win the event (or even come anywhere near close). Even so, I was continually looking at my watch all the way to check my time and the distance I had covered, looking to see whether I needed to adjust what I was doing in order to make sure I could carry on and get over the finish line.
As I crossed the finish line, I was more concerned about stopping my watch to get an accurate time than I was smiling for the cameras. Straightaway I got my phone out to see a more detailed breakdown of how I’d done (I love data after all). Only then, when I’d achieved my objective and reviewed my progress, did I take my celebratory selfie.
How this relates to embedding EDI: While having an EDI Strategy or plan in place is important, organisations often neglect to measure the impact of this, resulting in investment in ‘flag waving’ vanity projects which have little to no impact.
Those organisations smiling for the cameras at the finish line are often either those who are leading the way (the race winners), or those more concerned about looking to be doing the right thing.
Only 23% of HR Executives believe their EDI initiatives are highly effective.
Organisations are increasingly using employee surveys, demographic data, and audits (like EA Inclusion’s Return on Inclusion Audit or Metimur) to track progress, ensuring that EDI efforts deliver impact.
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?? 6. The Finish Line Isn’t the End
I had a range of emotions as I crossed the finish line; pride, a sense of achievement, relief, etc. It was a great feeling, but I don’t think I’d even collected my finishers medal when my mind started to wonder… ‘What’s next…’
How this relates to embedding EDI: EDI is never-ending and constantly evolving, both within individual organisations and wider society. Organisations need to continually address this, while looking and planning ahead for what comes next.
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Share Your Thoughts
Have you taken any lessons around EDI from unexpected places? I’d love to hear them.
Please reach out if you’d like to discuss embedding EDI (or being a beginner runner) further, I’d love to connect.
I’m going to be posting a series of specific tips around making your recruitment process more inclusive over the next few weeks, so if you’d like me to share those with you directly as they are released, please email me at [email protected] and I’ll send them straight to your inbox.
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Footnotes
Sales Enablement Lead at Faria Education Group | One Man Team, Equipping Sales and Customer Teams to Sell Smarter & Close Faster | Former Seller, Committed to Sales Excellence
5 个月Great post Ben and congratulations on completing it. Are you still bowling or given that up?
Operations Director (DEI & Culture Change Consultancy) at EA Inclusion
5 个月What unexpected places have you taken EDI lessons from? Drop a comment below – I’d love to hear them.