What’s one DEI Misconception You Have Encountered? Here are 5 Common Misconceptions about DEI

As someone who has spent a great deal of his career working in the field of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, people often refer to my job as “that touchy feely stuff”!!

?#DEI often gets a soft reputation for being no more than "Bias Training" and "Cultural Celebrations".??While these may very well be a part of an overall DEI strategy, those focusing primarily on these instant gratification programs are missing out on the real opportunities in DEI.??So, let’s dive deeper into what #DiversityEquityInclusion truly encompasses.?

?? Resources and Accountability: Throughout my career, I have always worked with companies to instill the importance of integrating DEI into the very fabric of their onboarding, professional development, and performance management systems. We can continue to offer training, but without measuring how it’s being applied and the impact it’s having, we are wasting our time. If you’re bringing the stages of implementing DEI strategy in your organization, make sure it’s not just a program or an initiative but it’s part of the culture and can be seen and felt at all levels of the organization.?

??? Sustainable Infrastructures: DEI work cannot be successful or sustainable if it exists in a silo. We need organizational buy-in and infrastructure to make it happen. This can include prioritizing the creation of DEI goals organization wide, creating DEI council's representative of the business areas to help move those goals forward, and reviewing current policies and protocols for equity in design and application. Try establishing groups of folks throughout the organization to bring focus to the needs of the organization. Don’t rely on the CEO, the senior leadership team, HR, or even a DEI department to dictate these goals. As humans we bring bias into our work and through our lived experiences. You want your people to drive this process.?

??? Empowered Employees: Through the establishment of Employee Resource Groups (I like to call them Affinity Groups), with dedicated budgets we empower groups to not just ignite cultural celebrations but organizational cultural transformations. With a collective voice they can share new solutions and bring rise to challenges that may otherwise go unnoticed. If you want to create an inclusive, equitable space for everyone to show up as their authentic selves…you have to create spaces for non-dominant groups to have equitable opportunities to thrive, to grow, to exist. ERGs are a great way to bring folks together towards a common goal for various communities of people. Don’t exclude others from these groups just because they don’t belong to the community in which the ERG represents. Open it up to anyone who has a passion to advocate for and be an ally with others as well. As long as they are committed to the goals of the group, welcome them with open arms.?

???Cultures that Draw and Retain Talent: So much of the emphasis is on diverse recruitment strategies, and don’t get me wrong that’s absolutely a critical piece to the puzzle, but we cannot invite people in under the false guise of inclusion and expect them to be retained. When organizations focus on building inclusive and psychologically safe cultures, diverse candidates will seek out those organizations and want to stay and grow with them. When I am training folks within an organization about the culture…I am honest. I don’t tell them everything is perfect. I don’t tell them that they’ll one day have the perfect culture with no issues. I even tell them “there will be times when you 100% will not agree with decisions your organization makes. But does the culture provide you a safe space to express that opinion and allow you an opportunity to be the change you want to see?”

??? Productive Discomfort: This one is a tough one, we are not always going to be comfortable in these conversations and strategies, but it’s crucial to assess whether this discomfort is advancing our progress. I have literally been in conversations with folks around DEI concepts and can see them shrink away from the discussion because “what if I say the wrong thing” or “if I disagree then they’ll say I’m a _________" (insert label here).??We need productive discomfort as it encourages us to seek out conflicting opinions and challenge the status quo, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and growth. Change management strategies and conflict resolution are key skills for those leading this work to ease organizations through these roadmaps.

?It’s time to shift our perspective from simply filling quotas to nurturing environments where every individual can thrive. If your organization believes in hiring for “culture fit”….I challenge you to help them rethink that approach. If everyone you hire "fits" the culture, then you’ll only ever be what you are today. I say hire people who will help you stretch that culture, make it stronger, who think differently. So long as they are capable of doing this in an inclusive way that invites others into the work. #InclusionMatters #SustainableChange #WorkplaceCulture #Leadership

??? What’s one DEI misconception you’ve encountered, and how did you address it?