Your inclusion training bombed – So what now?

This is a real situation right here – we have an organisation that has invested in sending all its managers to inclusion and unconscious bias trainings where almost 90% of all people managers have completed both programs.

And yet, there are instances of people managers who despite attending both courses, have demonstrated examples of discriminatory behaviour towards people from underrepresented groups. What makes the situation worse is when these managers not only refused to take accountability for the impact of their behaviour, but also continued to escalate the situation by creating humour around what has happened.

Of course, don’t get me wrong here … give and take, there’ll always be a few bad apples and that shouldn’t mean we should tar the rest of the people managers with the same brush. Nor does it mean that the training has failed entirely.

But what this does tell me that DE&I leaders need to consider a more holistic approach towards building a more inclusive culture. There are THREE areas to consider – Leadership, Inclusion Capability and Sustainability.

LEADERSHIP

1.       Leadership Accountability:

Does your organisation hold leaders accountable for their behaviour and actions? It can be challenging to build an inclusive culture without leadership accountability.

Start first with the executive team communicating expectations for inclusive leadership and corresponding behaviours, emphasise that this is a requisite of all people managers.

Next is revisiting your organization's values, code of conduct and policies related to discrimination. But even that may not be enough. When push comes to shove, action speaks louder than words, and this is an acid test of your organisation’s true appetite to build inclusion.

Leaders who consistently exhibit sustained discriminatory behaviour should face consequences in line with the organization's policies, which may include disciplinary actions or removal from leadership roles.

But on the flip side, engage leaders positively and constructively – get your best leaders to champion the message, let them be the ambassadors in leading the way forward and sharing their best practices! From my observation, if inclusion capabilities and engagement are built into a leader’s performance metrics with clear evaluation guidelines (as part of leadership evaluations and promotions), that’s one of the surest ways to get leaders accountable with inclusion.

2.       Diversity in Leadership:

Is it possible for leadership to be inclusive without being diverse? Hypothetically, yes, but that itself is very hard work to set up and to sustain, simply because the lack of representation severely restricts access to insights into lived experiences. And it’s not just access but also a voice for diverse groups.

Therefore, it’s important to promote and actively work toward increasing diversity in leadership roles. A more diverse leadership team is more likely to prioritize and understand the importance of inclusion. Representation is key to bring new insights into the lived experience of people from underrepresented and underprivileged groups. This in turn will unlock new ways for inclusion of diverse groups and to challenge biases.

Ensure that there are pathways for underrepresented individuals to advance into leadership positions. Be broad, be relentless and be flexible – it’s not just about gender or race, but also about age groups, neuro diversity, people with disability, etc.

INCLUSION CAPABILITY

1.       Inclusive Leadership Model:

If you want to build an inclusive culture, the best investment is to develop a clear model of what you want inclusive leadership to look like in your organization and ensure leaders understand and practice these behaviours. Then promote and reward to sustain these behaviours; incorporate diversity and inclusion goals into leadership performance evaluations and incentives.

2.       Assessment and Feedback:

Assess with the target inclusion behaviours in mind and create a clear link between them and your organisation’s vision, mission, and values. Data is key and should be targeted across all levels from enterprise down to divisions to team level. Leverage on a mix of 360 feedback, enterprise inclusion survey and focus groups/ feedback sessions to gather insights from people about their experiences with discrimination and inclusion within the organization.

Use this feedback to identify specific areas where leaders are falling short and to understand the root causes of the ongoing issues.

3.       Continuous Training and Learning:

This is an opportunity to rethink learning; ask two questions – ONE, what causes people to demonstrate discriminatory behaviour? TWO, what do people need to learn and what’s the best way to help them put it into practice?

It’s important for people to first understand privilege and dominance, then to understand how both (plus lack of curiosity, bias, and ignorance about others) can influence people to believe and behave towards others who are different from them. Another foundational piece is for leaders to understand the business case for inclusive leadership in your organisation.

Consider also that one-time training sessions may not be sufficient to change deeply ingrained biases and behaviours. Provide people with training to build inclusive leadership capabilities and immersive experiences that can broaden their understanding of diverse groups, especially those that they are less familiar with. Create informal learning experiences where people can develop their curiosity of others and find out more about the lived experiences of co-workers representing underrepresented groups, e.g., the challenges they face in life and work.

SUSTAINABILITY

1.       Empowerment & Engagement:

If your organisation is serious about inclusion, then nothing is more powerful than giving a voice to underrepresented groups. Involve them when making key people decisions and policies; seek their feedback on how changes will impact their performance and engagement. This will bring multi-pronged benefits e.g., reducing risks of creating exclusion, increase engagement and ownership via representation.

2.       Culture Change & Communication:

Keep it simple – what do you need your leaders to know AND what you need them to do.

If you have invested time to revisiting mission statements, values, and practices, ensure that these are communicated clearly along with how diversity and inclusion are integral to your organization's identity.

Be transparent about your organization's commitment to inclusion, its progress, and the steps being taken to address issues. Lastly, ensure that leaders role model inclusive behaviour from the top down to emphasise the importance of inclusion.

3.       External Resources:

Inclusion is a journey and it is important to keep the conversation going. Consider bringing in external experts or consultants to broaden people’s understanding of issues around diversity & inclusion, engage an external audit, and to facilitate difficult conversations.