Talking Diversity: Lessons from an Expert

Recently, I was fortunate to sit down with CVS Health’s Chief Diversity Officer and Vice President, Workforce Strategies, David Casey, to discuss the challenges and opportunities we face in our journey toward diversity and inclusivity. David is a true visionary on a very important and hot-button topic, and I feel that some of the lessons and takeaways from our conversation could be useful to other leaders looking to raise their diversity game.

Q: At a recent meeting, you discussed the importance of asking the right questions about our processes and strategies to ensure we're prioritizing diverse perspectives. Could you recap why you feel it's important to ask "tough" questions, and what you'd say the most important questions are? 

A: I’ve heard it said that the smartest people in the room are not the ones who believe they have all the answers, but those who ask the kind of questions that unveil the answers. When I come up with a new approach, idea or initiative, I try to find people I know will “poke holes in it” and challenge me on all the reasons it shouldn’t or won’t work. That always helps me get to a stronger outcome. As it relates to the company’s approach to strategic diversity management, the same holds true. Colleagues may not have all the answers, but by asking the right (and often tough) questions, we can get to better outcomes across our strategic objectives. Effective questions are:

1. Do we have all of the people around the table we should have? And if not, what’s our plan to get them here?

2. Can our colleagues comfortably be their authentic selves and bring 100% of who they are to work every day? If not, what are we going to do to remedy that?

3. Do all of our colleagues have equitable access to growth and development here? If not, how do we remove those barriers?

4. Are we meeting the needs of all of those who depend on us? Are there people we could be serving, but currently are not? These questions can apply to customers, members, patients, clients, communities, investors, etc.  

Regardless of title or position in any given company, all colleagues can and should be asking these questions of themselves, their teams and their leaders.

Q: What topics are too often avoided in business settings when it comes to diversity and inclusion? Why do you think we shy away from the difficult or controversial conversations? 

A: Issues that have historically been deemed as too personal and not work-related, such as race/ethnicity, religion, politics and gender, tend to be the most difficult ones to discuss at work. Companies are beginning to realize that these topics should no longer be off limits, because they often have a direct impact on enterprise objectives and because so much of our lives are spent at work. To think that at no point throughout the course of our daily interactions will these topics come up would be na?ve and disingenuous.

Q: What does diversity really mean to you? What would a truly diverse company look and feel like? 

A: Throughout the course of my career, I have used a definition of diversity that was authored by the late Dr. R. Roosevelt Thomas, Jr. I had the privilege of being mentored by Dr. Thomas, who some have called the founding father of corporate diversity management. This definition is – any collective mixture of differences, similarities and their related tensions and complexities. Aligned to this definition is a set of principles and practices that equip and empower us to address any decision that deals with more than one variable that may be impacted by differences and similarities.

A truly diverse company to me would be one that has a workforce that reflects the people it serves, has an environment where its employees feel like they are authentically cared for, is focused on growing and developing talent from all walks of life and remains relevant to an ever-changing marketplace.

Q: What brands are embracing and operationalizing diversity really well? What can we learn from them?

A: I don’t know that any brand gets it right 100% of the time. Given how complex human beings are, that’s not a realistic aspiration. However, one brand I feel that gets it right most of the time is Nike. They seem to understand that they have an incredibly diverse customer base. You can see that diversity visually in their campaigns and you can hear it in their messaging. They seem to know that some of their messaging won’t sit well all the time with all audiences, but quite frankly, that is the reality of a pluralistic society. I have seen some of their critics say they pander to the cause of the day, but from my perspective, it feels like an authentic attempt to connect to the breadth and depth of their customer base, which is critical to remaining relevant.

One thing I think that is vitally important, especially for consumer-facing brands, is to know that making a mistake along the way is inevitable. There will always be dissenting opinions, reactions and perceptions of the message. Enduring brands mitigate those mistakes up front by responding and engaging their audiences in a transparent and honest way, and making specific adjustments to ensure the mistake doesn’t happen again. First-time mistakes are errors, repeated mistakes are intentions. Today’s consumer is savvy enough to distinguish between the two.

Q. Why is multicultural thinking critical in health care?

A: Culture is commonly defined, in its broadest sense, as encompassing a person's learned beliefs, thoughts, and behaviors, their values, customs, and traditions, their communication style, their views on relationships, and the different ways they interact with others. Culture is shaped by many things, including race, ethnicity, nationality, heritage, socioeconomic status, education, and other factors. And these factors all play a role in how health care is thought about, accessed and delivered. The past several decades have ushered in rapidly shifting demographics, both in the United States and abroad. If we are to truly and effectively deliver on our purpose of helping people on their path to better health, we must be seen by our customers, patients and members as relevant and culturally competent.

Q. How can marketers successfully embrace this mindset?

A: Marketers are the stewards of the brand. And the brand is, at its essence, a promise. When a person or company makes a promise to someone, it is the ultimate sign of respect. That respect, in turn, reassures the people we serve that they can trust us to deliver on the most intimate need we all have, our health. But we can only do so if we speak to people how they want, expect and need in their voice and on their terms. It’s a matter of building upon the Golden Rule with the Platinum Rule. The Golden Rule says that we should treat people how we would like to be treated. Well, not everyone wants to be treated like you do. The Platinum Rule says that we should treat people like they want to be treated. In that regard, I issue a classic and timely Stephen Covey challenge to marketers – seek first to understand, then to be understood.

Q: Is there anything else you'd like to share that you feel might be helpful? Can you direct us to any additional resources (websites, books, etc.) that might expand our thinking around diversity? 

A: Yes! There are several resources I would suggest:

• DiversityInc.com – We have an enterprise wide subscription for our colleagues to access topical diversity issues and best practices.
• Profiles in Diversity Journal – editorial/thought leader content and best practices
• “We Can’t Talk About That At Work” by Mary-Frances Winters – a very insightful, yet practical guide for having productive conversations about often polarizing topics.
• “Radical Inclusion” by Retired General Martin Dempsey and Ari Brafman – offers insights for 21st century leaders on how to mitigate the risks of getting caught up into echo chambers and how to best empower current and future talent.

I’d love your feedback. How are you driving diversity and inclusion across your team and organization?