How can you build trust with stakeholders during a diversity and inclusion initiative?

It is also important to break down your D&I vision into simple, practical and tangible chunks that employees can relate to and connect with. For instance, refraining from speaking in languages that some participants don’t speak during meetings or taking pauses to let the message get digested by everyone and checking for questions. When there is understanding and inclusivity, deeper connections and conviction can be forged.

It’s not so much about building trust with key stakeholders… but more about ensuring that each subsystem understands and takes up its leadership role in relation to D&I. We must stop applying (only) an “interpersonal” lens (e.g. it’s all about trust) to these complex adaptive diversity and inclusion challenges. Instead we must apply a systemic lens to see the roles and relatedness between the parts that are keeping the system stuck. It is only when we start to intervene systemically that we will we begin to see significant progress in creating more inclusive workplaces.

Diversity, leaving aside the moral imperative, is only effective if it includes cognitive diversity. The background story and optics of your diversity hires are meaningless if they think like privately educated white men.

Trust will be established when the DEI initiative is part of the overall business strategy with goals and objectives. Everyone knows that what is measured, matters.

Absolutely, a clear vision and well-defined goals are fundamental before launching a Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative. Aligning these objectives with the organization's mission, values, and strategy ensures that the initiative becomes an integral part of the company's overall purpose. For instance, if an organization values inclusivity, the D&I goals might focus on creating a diverse workforce, fostering an inclusive workplace culture, and promoting equal opportunities for all employees. By aligning D&I initiatives with the organizational mission, the efforts are more likely to be embraced, effectively implemented, and contribute meaningfully to the company's success.

Make change happen quickly. Sort your data, agree your metrics, agree your strategy and consult as you do so with your stakeholders so everyone knows what your company is aiming for. Then, get stuff done. Proof points build trust and belief. Trust is often applied and earned retrospectively. So focus on making changes that will make the biggest difference or can be actioned quickly ( ideally they’d be one and the same thing) and get going!

From Common Sense to Common Practice Employees as stakeholders need to be understood not only by “common sense” but through “systematic analysis”. One common approach is to conduct intersectionality analysis among employee demographics in DEI culture survey to explore and identify the perceived inclusion of the different employee groups ((( the outcomes often go beyond existing knowledge ))), and then understand their needs and wants. If the systematic approach can become a common practice, this part of the DEI work should create great impact for the proceeding design, implementation and communication.

They encompass various groups like employees, customers, partners, investors, regulators, and community members, all of whom are either directly affected by or have an influence on the initiative. Employees are central stakeholders, as a diverse and inclusive workplace impacts them directly. Customers and community members are influenced by the organization's D&I practices, affecting their perception and loyalty. Partnerships with diverse suppliers and investors supporting inclusive businesses are pivotal. Regulators set legal frameworks, and their policies influence D&I initiatives. Recognizing and engaging these stakeholders is vital for creating meaningful, sustainable, and impactful D&I programs.

Identifying stakeholders in D&I work is cruicial. Who are those people who have influence and power within the organisation to help your D&I be a success and make progress. Then being able to tailor the right messages to the right people is a key part of the success in D&I work.

🔆Training and Education - Offer training and educational programs to raise awareness and promote understanding of D&I issues among employees and stakeholders. 🔆Foster Inclusive Leadership - Develop leaders who champion D&I by providing them with training and resources. They can serve as role models for the organization. 🔆Measurement and Accountability - Implement metrics to track progress and hold individuals and teams accountable for D&I goals. Regularly report on progress to stakeholders. 🔆Inclusive Policies - Review and update HR policies and practices to ensure they support D&I objectives. Make sure stakeholders are aware of these changes.

Open, constructive conversations are a good start; smaller groups, targeted one-on-ones; creating a safe environment for sharing are critical elements to fostering a culture of accountability and professional growth. Leaders to set the tone & lead by example, recipients (regardless of seniority) must be equally open to listen, adapt & change where applicable. Staff will buy into the need to create the desired inclusive work environment when they see the change in interactions, communications and cross functional work engagements. Starts from the top to effect change across levels.

Foster an environment of psychological safety, invite people to be curious, nothing is off the table in terms of ideas. It’s vital that this stage is viewed as inclusive, collaborative, exploratory.

Involving stakeholders is absolutely necessary; however, don’t put the burden of education & execution of all strategies on the shoulders of the already marginalized community. The systemic disparity in treatment isn't theirs to course correct. It's also exhausting & unjust to expect the people least seen, heard, promoted, & paid to do all the heavy lifting in this space. Expert resources, compensation & proper support staff is necessary to influence real change. Those in a position of power (often the least diverse) should be fully bought in, & willing to do the work LED by a diverse stakeholder steering committee. Recognizing that people with lived experience are equipped to guide is an early signal of commitment to listening & learning.

Normal workplace power dynamics will cloud the space where people need to trust that they can be brave and voice what needs to be heard. Allow people to come into the space as humans, not job titles.

In my experience it's so important to understand your stakeholders point of view, experience and thoughts about D&I work at the outset. Everyone is at a different level of understanding, has different life experiences and will have different views on D&I work. By starting from where they are at you can build understanding and trust with them from the ground up, and move at the right speed for different people in your organisation.

Absolutely, trust is the foundation of any successful relationship, and it's no different in business. Transparency and authenticity are key components of building trust among stakeholders. By openly sharing progress, challenges, successes, and even failures, organizations demonstrate honesty and integrity. Acknowledging shortcomings and discussing the steps taken to address them showcases a commitment to improvement. Regular, transparent communication fosters a sense of partnership, credibility, and mutual respect. Key Takeaway: By sharing both achievements and setbacks openly and honestly, organizations establish credibility with stakeholders.

To build trust while fostering inclusivity, leaders must be honest and acknowledge that everyone has biases. We should manage our biases in the workplace and accept that we will always have them. This is the first step to creating a more inclusive workplace. Talking about our past biaises, [including our victories and failures] is key to show authenticity in our journey to improvement.

These types of conversations require a willingness to be vulnerable (per Brené Brown's definition of vulnerability). Sharing personal experiences is part of keeping it real and showing others that the issues impact all of us. People need to know that we're in this together, even when it's hard and uncomfortable.

Active listening and 'hearing' the messages and feedback is critical. All feedback, both negative and positive leads to learning and growth. Changes made as a result of feedback demonstrate the feedback-loop is working and increases levels of trust.

One thing that goes unmentioned is vulnerability. In today´s organisations, people put on a mask to protect themselves in company politics. This is one of the reasons there is low trust in these kind of organisations. Show stakeholders vulnerability, share a personal story, and connect on a human level. Once they see the person behind the role, it is much easier to connect and generate trust.

This is a great way to make stakeholders feel valued. Praise often, especially in front of other stakeholders. Whenever there is a small win, or a stakeholder agrees on something to which they were resistant in the past, praise them. This positive encouragement works to break defences and get other stakeholders on board as well.

D&I work can be lonely and tough, and you can't do it alone. It's imperative to recognise and celebrate stakeholders who support your work. This shows others in the organisation how they can make a difference too

Appreciation is one of high value in DEI, a trust can be bulid with appreciation, respect, and recognize every contribution. This will build an initiativie culture and more open communication with feedback. Celebrating also important to give a supportive and possitive environment, as engagement an collaborative are part of the celebrate together.

🔆Celebrate Successes - Recognise and celebrate achievements and milestones in your D&I journey. Acknowledge the contributions of individuals and teams. 🔆Transparency - Be transparent about your organisation’s progress, challenges, and setbacks in D&I efforts. Open and honest communication can build trust. 🔆Awards - Internal recognition by leadership on D&I Champions efforts by moving the needle achieving the goals. External recognition by Awarding bodies demonstrate the company lives the Diversity and Inclusion vales.

The opportunity is to embed D&I into a culture so it is "just how we work around here". What are the actions and behaviours that you can embed into your culture so it isn't an initiative, it is what we do?

Open dialog, candid conversations, and transparency will build trust over time. But consistency is key. I think that the biggest challenge with D&I initiatives is to go pass beyond theoretical and ideological conversations, and transform feedback received into action items that move the needle and make an impact.

It is important to carry on with the conversation, not just at one off events or when there are escalations. Embedding values, ways of behaving on a regular basis is something that needs to be reinforced on a regular basis. It does require effort and focus, however, creating new culture changes is quite rewarding in the longer run.

It’s not so much about building trust with key stakeholders… but more about ensuring that each subsystem understands and takes up its leadership role in relation to D&I. We must stop applying (only) an “interpersonal” lens (for example, thinking that it’s all about trust) to these complex adaptive diversity and inclusion challenges. Instead we must apply a systemic lens to see the roles and relatedness between the parts that are keeping the system stuck. It is only when we start to intervene systemically that we will we begin to see significant progress in creating more inclusive workplaces.

How can you build trust on a D&I initiative when the E is missing, and/or there is lack of specificity around equity? In fact, a lack of focus on fairness, could create a strong threat state within our key social domains. Imagine having a touted game-changing D&I initiative, that doesn't specifically cater for possible unfairness in pay practices, advancement opportunities, job selection criteria, and fleible working, that inadvertently exclude and at worst, disadvantage employees. D & I policies could be the same for everyone, but when equity is missing from the mix, those rules might benefit some yet harm others. This in and of itself does not inspire trust. I say DEI all the way.

Example- A multinational corporation implemented a 'Diversity Day' where employees shared their cultural backgrounds, leading to increased understanding and camaraderie among the workforce. Story -There's the story of a small startup that struggled with diversity. By involving employees in the hiring process and creating a diversity task force, they not only diversified their team but also saw a 20% increase in productivity due to a wider range of ideas and perspectives. Insight - Research has shown that companies with diverse management teams have a 19% higher revenue due to innovation. This suggests that diversity is not just a metric to strive for but a competitive advantage.

You need to build trust through psychologically safe ways of being - well before that initiative launches. So think about what you have done already or needs to be done in order to demonstrate the support the initiative has, how a diverse group of people’s opinions have been sought and listened to, and how this is a response that. And by being very clear what your direction and steps are moving forward with the initiative - that it’s not a tokenistic tick box exercise, and short term. It needs to be aligned with your values and core behaviours so that it’s not just the stakeholders who engage but the whole organisation.

Trust is built overtime, patience and agility are important in this process, be willing to accept when something is not working and try something different, don't get too attached to the initiative, keep the vision and goals, the intention in mind and be flexible.