DEI Must Thrive

This article is too harmful not to discuss.?

I recognize that many perceive Elon Musk as an industry leader. He’s been at the helm of innovation across several industries, driving convenience and access in payments, forcing conversations about sustainability, and moving us away from fossil fuels. He creates trends that other business leaders follow. And he has been trending today - although not for innovation that improves the human experience, but instead for urging the complete regression of our society.?

Leaders committed to equity and inclusion are better leaders. They create spaces where employees feel engaged and heard. Feeling heard increases confidence and allows people to take risks and share ideas that can drive innovation and, ultimately, business growth. If you don’t have inclusive environments, there are undoubtedly hidden gems that you might not be able to reveal because your talent doesn’t feel comfortable speaking or invested enough to present those ideas.?

When people feel more comfortable, greater belonging, and more heard, they will enjoy work more. When the opposite happens, people disengage and/or leave (which carries significant costs for employers).? Retention is also necessary because people get better at processes they repeat, which drives businesses forward, creating substantial savings for businesses while improving workplace culture.

Now that I’ve restated the obvious business case for DEI (we are still doing this in 2023….), here is the human case: we spend 90,000 hours at work on average in the course of our lifetimes. That is 1/3 of our whole entire lives. Shouldn’t we have a deep desire to keep making work experiences better for everyone? Shouldn’t we want to improve everyone’s life? Well, and here’s the business case again: the cost of not doing it can leave us vulnerable to a whole generation tapping out of the workforce like we are seeing in China, where young people (approx 46.5% of them) are unemployed largely by choice / “letting it rot ” due to their unhappiness with work culture. When people feel a lack of opportunity or that they are provided a fair chance of advancement, they become disenfranchised and ultimately tap out. This poses a great threat to the economy. We can’t be shortsighted when it comes to workplace culture, and what DEI does for organizations is build better ones.?

Somehow, DEI has gotten a poor connotation in some circles. Tragic events during the pandemic drove a more intense focus on it and made people who were unhappy with those shifts believe DEI is just a? Black and white issue. That’s limited thinking. I recently led a manager training focused on training managers to be consciously inclusive of their team members. One might brand it as “diversity training.” Essentially, we were just offering solid management skills, which yes included an emphasis on equity and inclusion. One attendee remarked, “I can use this with all the populations I lead, not just the people of color,” and I said, “Exactly! Managers who are intentional about being inclusive to each team member are just better managers for everyone.” DEI, when done well, as I’ve seen with so many organizations that C-Suite Coach works with, improves work culture, creates more engaged employees, and gives people, through more fulfilling work opportunities, better lives.?

If DEI dies as Elon Musk suggests, we will also kill any progress we’ve made in improving work culture. We’ve seen him achieve that at Twitter; unfortunately, other leaders followed suit. We will see more and more articles about why everyone is unhappy at work and quiet quitting if we don’t keep an intentional commitment to driving better workplace cultures. My urge to anyone reading is not to shy away from DEI efforts but to double down on them and keep us progressing & innovating as a society. DEI should not die, but maybe it needs a rebrand because what it’s really about is making work better for everyone and furthering the growth of the business in a holistic and sustainable way.