Diversity – “Do or Do Not.”

Diversity is an area that many leaders find difficult to accomplish within their organization. One of the main reasons…they do not understand what diversity is all about. Diversity is more than gender and race, although it is usually the main visual focus. Diversity in the workplace is about bringing people from various backgrounds (i.e., race, gender, age, ethic group, physical abilities, cognitive abilities, and the list goes on) together to create, support, and achieve organizational goals and strategies. Let’s keep it simple, diversity in the workplace is about viewing differences as organizational strengths.

If you want to increase diversity in your organization, you need a plan. You cannot wake up one day and decide, “we need more diversity” without a plan. Here are a few tips on creating a more diverse organization:

1. “Do or do not. There is no try.” Yoda, The Empire Strikes Back – This is one of the most popular (and my favorite) quotes from Yoda. When it comes to creating a diversity plan, either go all in or do not even start. Diversity in your organization is too important, “trying” to incorporate diversity will not cover it. Either you want more diversity in your organization or you do not.

The plan should outline the diversity challenges in the organization. A detailed and honest assessment of the diversity challenges needs to be conducted. Do not sugar coat it. What is the problem?

The plan should include feedback from team members and not just leadership. Team members know and can see the challenges that leadership may not acknowledge.

The plan should include measurable milestones. How can you work a plan with no measurements?

A summary of the plan should be posted and updated often on the company intranet. Every member of the organization needs to see the vision and mission of a more diverse organization.

1. Does the face of your organization look diverse? What do I mean? If someone were to Google your organization, what images will they see stating that you are a diverse organization or that you are looking to increase your diversity? In many cases, the images are more important than the information. Anyone can research the politically correct wording to post on their website, but how many organizations are willing to include pictures of their current team(s) to show their diversity within the organization or the lack of diversity in the organization.

When I am researching an organization, the first thing I do is review the leadership information. I want to see how diverse the organization is at the top. I even look to see if there are diverse stock images. You would be surprised at how many organizations do not even have diverse stock images.

1. Stop recruiting for diversity at predominately Caucasian schools. There are over 100 Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the United States, make it a priority to contact these schools and establish relationships. You would be surprised; your next CEO may be attending (or graduated from) a HBCU.

2. If you are going to continue to recruit at predominately Caucasian schools, search through the student clubs and organizations for opportunities to speak with students outside of the more “popular and traditional” clubs and organizations. For example, you should be contacting clubs and organizations that focus on women in leadership, tech, etc. For people of color, contact organizations such as the Asian Student Union, African American Student Union (also known as the Black Student Union), Latin American Student Union, Native American Student Union, etc. (I think you get the point.) You must also look at clubs and organizations that focus on various social issues such as identity and sexuality, and people with disabilities.

The list goes on and on. It takes just a little time and research.

1. When you send someone to represent your organization, do not automatically send someone who looks like the audience. For example, if you are invited to speak at a Women in Technology meeting, do not automatically send a woman. Why? If your organization is predominately men, send a man to speak and discuss the topic at hand. Women already know that there is a need for gender diversity, it is time for men to show that they understand that there is a need and are working towards changing things.

I know, some of you are probably up in arms about my saying send a man. I would say…get over it. It is time to start addressing the elephant in the room for many of the speaking engagements that are happening around the country. Diversity is needed.

1. Create a mentoring program and in-house diversity program to support team members. There needs to be a high-ranking leadership member in each of the programs. No, the same person should not be over each program. No, human resources (HR) should not be over the program. Why? These programs should not be about checking an ADA, EEOC and Affirmative Action box. There should be strong support and buy-in from the executive leadership team. (HR should have a generalist or other member on each team to answer any HR related questions; however, they should not be running the programs.)

These tips are just a starting point to get you thinking about your organization and diversity. Next time, we will look at inclusion. It is not enough to have a diverse organization, you must also have an inclusive one.

#diversityampinclusion #leadership #teamdevelopment