Part of practicing respect at work is being willing to invest time in each other for the purpose of increasing our awareness. By getting a better sense of what’s similar in our experiences and what’s unique, we eventually figure out what’s important to each other as well. This “court awareness” dramatically increases both our predictability around each other and our efficiency at getting work done.
The unfortunate trend that has become overly apparent to me is that diversity has really just become a numbers game. Organizations are spending their resources trying to diversify their candidate pool, hire more diverse candidates, and do more in the underserved communities. My question is: what comes after “diversity”?
Today’s executives are being asked to communicate their organization’s diversity and inclusion strategy to more diverse audiences and in a variety of cultural settings. The key to success is to properly brief your executive beforehand and ensure that they are comfortable with the content, see the business relevance of diversity and inclusion and feel that they can deliver a powerful and motivational message.
Breaking a concept as broad as diversity and inclusion up into digestible activities and finding something that can be relevant to an entire global workforce are keys to building and sustaining a successful diversity and inclusion initiative. The “Do One Thing for Diversity and Inclusion” campaign is an excellent way to achieve this.
The trend toward increased diversity in the American workforce isn’t good or bad, it’s just the way it is and the way it will be in the future. What will allow organizations to engage their diverse workforces and thrive amidst this demographic shift is simple. RESPECT.
The more you can leave your pre-conceived ideas and perceptions behind and open yourself up to new ways of thinking and doing things, the greater the rewards will be.
Obtaining executive sponsorship is a key component to kicking off any diversity and inclusion strategy. To be successful you need to show that your initiative is taken seriously and has the support from the top levels of the organization. The following are tips to ensure executive support for your next diversity and inclusion initiative.
Fernando A. Serpa will put his nearly 20 years’ experience in Diversity and Inclusion strategy, education, outreach and training to work for Legacy Business Cultures where he will lead the Diversity and Inclusion Practice.
Best of the Respectful Workplace blog: Diversity & Inclusion.
Legacy Business Cultures’ managing partner Paul Meshanko will be at Ohio State’s Diversity, Race & Learning Conference on Tuesday, May 1, 2012. This exciting national event will take place at the Fawcett Conference Center in Columbus, Ohio and will bring together some of the top minds in the fields of inclusion and diversity. Meshanko [...]
