Moving the DEI needle

“Our ability to reach unity in diversity will be the beauty and the test of our civilization.”
Mahatma Gandhi

In a recent research report, The Future of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion 2022, based on an HR.com survey in January and February of more than 360 HR professionals, most respondents rated their DEI as ineffective or only somewhat effective.

That’s exactly what we heard from our thought leader partner Kelly Dozois of Ocean Beach Consulting at our weekly internal collaboration Zoom call last week. More than $8 billion/year is being spent on DEI training, she said, yet there is no evidence we’re moving the needle on behavior change. In some cases, there is paralysis from fear or even regression.

We had invited Kelly, creator of the Breaking Thru Bias™ learning experience, and another thought leader, Brent Snow, of Ten Thousand Feet, creator of The Inclusive Leader simulation, to help us understand how both of their solutions are being combined to help organizations raise awareness and take action to elevate the effectiveness of their DEI initiatives.

While changing people’s mindsets is hard, taking action is even harder. Greater awareness is not enough, Kelly stressed. People need to have the courage and influence skills to say and do something when they see bias at play.

At Advantage Performance Group, we’re finding that both Breaking Thru Bias and The Inclusive Leader are helping organizations open the doors to a safe place for discussion and enabling leaders with skills to take action.

Peg Ruppert and Amy Kahn, Advantage partners based in Cincinnati, have created learning journeys for multiple global clients with active implementations of both. Peg explained how the two complement each other:

• Breaking Through Bias helps people look in the mirror and explore ways they can influence bias internally and in the workplace.
• The Inclusive Leader brings a broader perspective to the role of a leader and how they can step into situations that require us to be more inclusive.

Here’s what a client shared with her:

“The recent workshops we had on Breaking Thru Bias and The Inclusive Leader were extremely well done. The Breaking Thru Bias session focused on taking actions – they provided a simple framework on how to identify and take action against our inherent biases. Most of the unconscious bias training I have had has left me with all the insights about my biases but very little direction on what to do to mitigate them. The 2nd session focused on relevant, experiential applications on how to be a more inclusive leader. The scenario-based workshops gave our manufacturing supervisors and team leaders a safe place to discuss their own biases, and specific actions they could take to positively influence change and lead more inclusively.” – Beth Giglio, Chief Human Resources Officer at The Gorilla Glue Company

If you’re looking for a way to start moving your organization’s needle on DEI, let’s talk. We are seeing results for our clients with these two complementary learning experiences that are providing employees with deep capabilities for action.

One great thing for 04.19.22 – Reprise from Dec. 2021 – 13 actions & behaviors to create a more inclusive world