It's Critical to Apply Behavioral Psychology to DEI Work

Having a background in communications and behavioral psychology has helped me to navigate the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion framework within organizations of all sizes. 

That's right! DEI is a lens through which we apply every aspect of our work. DEI is not a separate organizational process or project, but one that is integral to all aspects of the workplace.

Many leaders view DEI as a separate body of work simply because it's new to them. It's important to remember the human brain processes 11 million bits of information every second. But our conscious minds can handle only 40 to 50 bits of information a second.

Understanding your brain categorizes information is critical because it's linked directly to your behavior. 

For example: If you grew up in a household with parents that screamed at you anytime you did something wrong, then you all emulate that. That's what you are familiar with and accustomed to. Now let's say you get older, get into a senior leadership role, you will repeat the very same habits that traumatized you and lead you to cause trauma to a coworker.

Another example is if growing up you weren't exposed to Black people or different cultures and your only connection or interaction with a Black person was a nanny or cleaning support, then your inherited thoughts will revert to that and your focus on the professional population won't be fully inclusive. Let's take the above example a step further. Now you become a senior leader, this population will not be included or valued.

Another example is if you are a man who has only reported to other men in the workplace, then your experience will allow you to think men should be reporting to men not women.

The examples above further perpetuate greater gender/ racial wage gaps and contribute to mistreatment within workplaces.

We must shift behaviors! Change is complex for humans because it requires a person to disrupt a current habit while simultaneously fostering a new set of actions. Learning how to treat setbacks as anticipated moments that require reflection, compassion and problem-solving will likely increase the chances of changing a new, helpful behavior into a habit.

There are 6 stages of change that I follow with leaders in my sessions:

1. Pre-Contemplation: Unaware of the change and no consideration to change. You are in denial and don’t think you need to change. In this phase, there is a deep fear of exploring who you are and the impact and the work that goes into changing. It’s a level of honesty that many human beings don’t want to acknowledge. There is extreme guilt around exploring ourselves.
2. Contemplation: Thinking about change.. An experience or statement sparked your attention that lights a fire within you to explore your behavior more, but you are on the fence because you haven't done this before. You also don't feel directly impacted, even through others do.
3. Preparation: You plan to change. You are researching resources on your own, asking more questions, and even apologizing for the pain or trauma your behavior has caused to someone else. Remember, your silence and inaction on societal topics could be seen as trauma to employees.
4. Action: You committed to action by sharing with people around you. You created a detailed written plan about how you are taking action. You have created a way to measure yourself and hold yourself accountable. You've also selected a few folks to hold you accountable. 
5. Maintenance: You are reassessing and fine-turning your action strategy by measuring your impact. You are self-reflecting on your journey and empowering others around you. You are assessing levels of discomfort and actively working through that. 
6. Relapse: You step back into your old behavior and you are not happy with yourself. You were confronted about your behavior and no longer motivated to continue working towards changing your behavior. When this occurs, you need to begin the cycle again!

In the workplace, it's important to equip all employees with the knowledge and directive to engage in these 6 stages of change and make them aware that the organization will assess these behaviors during the interview stage, or else you won't be able to retain talent in this market. Organizations must build consequences into each stage.