A consistent theme in EDI work is over-reliance on the lived experience of those with minoritized characteristics, expecting their experiences to hold solutions for every issue an organisation faces. But here’s the thing.
“They” did not create systemic bias. So why do so many organisations place the burden of change on minoritized people?
One reason is many leaders do not have a rounded understanding of the domains of expertise needed to achieve progress on EDI. Here are the six most important.
Domain 1: Data analysis
Understanding what the data is telling you, what the gaps are, what the correlations are between different data points. All of this is core to developing a practical plan that will create sustained change. Simply looking at a spreadsheet of diversity data of some staff survey results won’t do it.
It is as important to understand what the data is NOT telling you as it is to understand what the data IS telling you.
This is where the lived experience of minoritized people is so crucial. How do they experience your organisation? What barriers are they facing in being recruited and progressing? Which of those barriers are to do with systems and which are to do with the mindset and behaviours of people in your organisation? How do the experiences of minoritized people in your organisation differ from people who represent the majority of the society? Why do experiences differ?
Domain 2: How bias “works”
Ineffective unconscious bias training has created a false sense of understanding of how bias plays out in organisations. To create real progress changemakers need a deeper understanding of the bias in their own thinking and actions, how systemic bias shows up in their organisation and what to do to uncover and shift actions and behaviours influenced by these biases.
It is hard to eradicate bias – personal or systemic – but if you can uncover it, you can adopt systems and actions to counteract its impact.
Domain 3: Organisational change
At its heart, genuine progress on EDI goes beyond systems and processes. It is about behaviour and culture change. Therefore, expertise on culture and behaviour change is central to sustainable progress on EDI.
Reading about this in books is one thing. Actual experience of creating and driving change in the messiness of the real world is what you need.
Domain 4: Inclusive leadership
Most leaders feel they are being inclusive , however, they are likely to be scratching the surface of what being a genuinely inclusive leader involves. For one thing, most leaders don’t understand what inclusive practice is, and have never had the opportunity to develop the competencies that lead to genuine inclusivity.
There is nothing fluffy or cuddly about inclusive leadership. It is about:
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Enabling everyone to bring challenge and ideas to your team. Everyone. Not just those who usually speak up.
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Holding a team together when there are strongly held differences of view.
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How you make decisions, how you innovate, how you maximise performance.
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How the leader receives and responds to challenge.
And so much more…
Domain 5: Knowing how to plan
Some of you will be reading this and thinking “doh!”. But…
Much EDI planning involves getting a group of enthusiasts into a room to brainstorm ideas, writing these down and thinking you have a plan. Not only do those actions fail to relate to each other in a coherent way they rarely relate to a planned journey of change.
That’s why organisations need high level expertise to create action plans that lead somewhere. Failing to achieve your EDI action plan results in more than some missed targets on paper. It could result in distrust, presenteeism (as staff lose hope), loss of staff, failure to recruit great talent, reputational damage, loss of income. I am sure you could add to this list.
Domain 6: Knowing the difference between foundational and catalytic actions
My newsletter last week debunked EDI tips that are regularly trotted out, but do not work.
Underpinning that newsletter was a very important issue. That people do not know what actions lead to change, and what actions are foundational “need to haves” to set yourself up to take the actions that will move you forward. So people often stop at the foundational things and then wonder why little progress is made.
No organisation has limitless resources to devote to EDI or any other change programme. So, isn’t it important to make sure you are focusing on actions that will give you the “biggest bang for your buck”?
There are only two ways of ensuring you have these six domains of expertise. Grow them inhouse or buy them in. There are no shortcuts. Sorry!
If you want some help working out what steps will really move you forward on EDI, reach out on [email protected].