How Embracing Diversity and Inclusion Can Transform Your Business

Last Updated: December 16, 2021

Diverse, inclusive workplaces are the key to long-term success for any company, but creating that cohesion is easier said than done. In this article, career development specialist Shavon Lindley shares some actionable tips for embracing diversity to transform your business

Diversity and Inclusion has been a trending topic in the HR space for the last few years, as advocates and companies take steps to dismantle institutionalized discrimination in the workplace. Endless research supports the need for diversity in business, and the impact that it can have on team morale, innovation and ultimately, the bottom line.

For instance, HR industry analyst Josh Bersin’s researchOpens a new window shows that companies that prioritize diversity and inclusion receive a 2.3x higher cash flow per employee over 3 years. 

McKinseyOpens a new window reports that ethnically diverse companies are 33 percent more likely to outperform non-ethnically diverse, citing the likely ability to better win top talent and thereby improve all aspects of their businesses, leading to better returns. It’s a reasonable assumption to make given that 72 percent of respondents to Deloitte’s 2017 Inclusion pulse survey stated they would leave or may consider leaving an organization for a more inclusive one.

But most of these are either stats you’ve already seen or just common sense (or should be.) We don’t need to rehash the numbers; what we need to do is talk about what it actually means to embrace diversity and inclusion.

Diversity and inclusion is not about becoming BFFs with all of your colleagues. The fact is, human brains are in some ways conditioned to fear and mistrust anything that is different than they are or otherwise foreign to them. Socialization has helped many people retrain their brains to avoid or at least mitigate that response, but some are farther along in that journey than others.

The point is, actually embracing diversity is something you can’t learn in one hour-long seminar; it takes time. To embrace means to accept and support willingly and enthusiastically, which usually requires some of that brain retraining, and that’s not something accomplished quickly on an individual basis, let alone as a whole company. 

In order to create a culture that embraces diversity, we need to first create a culture that understands inclusion. Inclusion is achieved when people feel valued not despite but because of their uniqueness, and developing a feeling takes time. 

The first step to creating a culture of inclusion is to teach people to look for commonality. Our brains naturally feel safe when we start to find commonality with others. When working within diverse groups we are consciously retraining our brains, overriding our base instincts and patterns. It requires constant reinforcement; it doesn’t happen easily and there can be backsliding until a true understanding of inclusion takes hold. But an inclusive culture is where diverse groups best thrive.

So how can you get an entire company to not just abide by policies regarding diversity and inclusion but actually embrace the concept?

First of all, accept that it can be a rough transition. When differing personalities work together in a group, with different backgrounds and perspectives, clashes are to be expected. It takes some time for a diverse group to understand each other’s strengths and work out how to best collaborate, so don’t give up on a group that has some stumbles off the line.

It can also be helpful to communicate that timeframe to your groups, because, if you’re feeling frustrated, then they almost certainly are too. The pressure to produce, the idea that everyone should be doing more, faster, can hang like a black cloud over a diverse group that is trying to coalesce. If you let them know that you’re giving them room to grow, they will feel less like they have to force it in order to churn out work, and the trust and safety can build between them organically.

Additionally, you and your management team should understand the diversity as a strategy, and communicate that understanding to the rest of your team, both in published policies but also in the way that you handle conflict. Underscoring the idea that diversity leads to not just a more productive workplace but a healthier and happier one too, and assuring your team of your commitment to inclusion is a great way to get them all on board, even if it’s gradual.

Also ReadUsing Diversity Leaders to Promote DiversityOpens a new window

In order to encourage everyone to embrace diversity and inclusion, you have to think strategically about how to implement it throughout your organization. That means prioritizing diversity in hiring practices of course but it also means prioritizing it in team compositions, in processes for collaboration and creation, in conflict management and in reviews and reward systems. 

So instead of throwing your next project to a team that may already be in place but lacks diversity, take the time to create a new group comprising individuals of multiple demographics and backgrounds. Deadlines are an unfortunate reality, so that will dictate some of the timeframes your groups must work within but try as often as possible to build in the time needed for the group to come together. It may seem counterproductive at first, but consider it a long-term investment in both the health of your organization and the overall quality of the output.

And again, give that new diverse group time and space to work through the bumps. Reprogramming our lizard brains to develop psychological safety with new people doesn’t happen quickly, and it doesn’t happen easily either. Having diverse groups experience challenges or accomplish tasks together can certainly be messy at first, but bonds are also best forged under pressure. 

Then you can use the same model for creating new groups to handle new projects and initiatives across your organization. The benefits of diversity will have a ripple effect throughout, with regard to morale, creativity and service, and, thereby, your overall success.

Shavon Lindley
Shavon Lindley

Chief Executive Officer, ion Learning

Shavon is an award-winning career development and mentorship strategist specializing in the advancement of diversity and inclusion initiatives in typically male-dominated fields. Shavon founded ion Learning after an exhaustive, unsuccessful search for the right technology platform to deliver and scale her highly successful Women Evolution® and Inclusion 360°™ curriculum into large corporations.
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