The Paradox of Diversity and Inclusion

Recently I participated in a conversation with colleagues about the feeling we have that a “paradigm shift”  is happening in organizations. There is a movement from “managing diversity” towards creating inclusive work cultures. Another way of describing it is making the shift from “counting the mix” to “engaging the mix” in working together.  Of course, the bottom line in all this is…well…the bottom line.

Leaders in organizations are now realizing that developing and retaining a diverse group of high performing employees is a business imperative. We work with people from around the globe, whether locally or virtually. What exactly is an inclusive culture? How do we know when we have it or not? What does it look like? Feel like? Sound like?

Culture is about relationships. Certain behaviors translate into positive relationships that respect difference and other behaviors don’t. There is no need to do a fancy experiment or detailed research project to figure this out. We already know it.

👉 Here’s a 2 minute exercise for you to try:

• Take a moment right now to think of someone you trust completely. What is it about that person that allows you to trust him/her? Write down the trusting attributes, behaviors and attitudes of this person.
• Now, what is it about you that allows others to trust you? Write down these attributes, behaviors and attitudes.
• What do you notice? Did you find some similarities between your two lists?  Ah-ha!! WE DO KNOW what generates trust in a relationship. Trust is of course foundational. This short exercise demonstrates that we can be intentional in how we interact with others to create positive, inclusive relationships.

Most organizations these days have identified their values. In a similar fashion to the above exercise, what are the behaviors that define the values? For example, what behaviors define “welcoming” or “innovative”? (Tip: Curiosity is one of my favorites. Being curious is an expansive stance, open to possibility.)

The paradox we still must hold however is that we have to continue to focus on “managing diversity” because we know that what gets measured gets done and at the same time we want to shift from reporting and structures to integrating inclusive positive relationship behaviors into how we work together everyday.

Inclusion is about how we run our businesses and shaping the culture of the work environment. What are some of the ways that your organization has changed to become more inclusive?