Traditional DEI Approaches Must Evolve
Start by building cultures of belonging. This move upends the epidemic of exclusion, costing U.S. businesses $1.05 trillion annually due to employee disengagement, low productivity, & high turnover.
Have you picked up your complimentary copy of the Belonging Practice Guide yet? Before continuing, please download a copy and learn how to build spaces of belonging.
Traditional approaches to diversity, equity, and inclusion must evolve. We can begin by imagining, practicing, and building workplace cultures of belonging.
Making this move helps upend the epidemic of exclusion, which costs U.S. businesses $1.05 trillion due to employee disengagement, low productivity, and high turnover.
This is an annual expense that most businesses do not anticipate.
Tragically, employees are struggling to recover from acts of exclusion, with little support from their leaders, who often lack the skills to help them heal from the harm.
When bearing witness to an act of exclusion, you have a choice:
Will you remain silent out of fear, or will you take a risk to create the space for repair?
Building Belonging Spaces
My firm, Rhodes Perry Consulting, is well-positioned to solve this problem. First in our industry, we’ve developed a multi-faceted approach to building belonging spaces.
We do this in three unique ways:
Somatic Executive Coaching. A fresh approach to leadership coaching using the body’s wisdom, guiding clients to bridge differences by practicing collective care.
Leadership Development Programs. On-demand and custom programs equipping people leaders with the skills to build team safety and trust.
Belonging Culture Audits. Identifies the current and desired work culture and designs strategies to bridge the gap, transforming workplace culture.
While inspirational to many, concepts like "belonging" and “inclusion” also terrify some to the extent that they have weaponized the federal government to ban them.
This reality underscores why there is still much to be learned about what diversity, equity, and inclusion mean as values, strategies, and a field of study.
To fortify this work, we must continually reflect on what we mean by these terms and what others mean when they find themselves up in arms about them.
The following graphic, was inspired by john a. powell’s book Belonging Without Othering. It illustrates three key terms featured in the Belonging Practice Guide:
Exclusion. Denied participation and access to a social group, as evidenced by the outside circles being denied access to the inner navy circle.
Inclusion. Fair access and opportunity equitably enjoyed by all who are included inside the inner navy circle.
Belonging. Valued, empowered, and integral to shaping the institution, or the inner navy circle. All parties can influence the institution to take on a new shape.
Why We Build Belonging Spaces
When we are in the grip of fear, it’s hard to think. It’s hard to imagine new possibilities. And yet, thinking and imagining have never been more critical.
We can begin this imagination journey by considering the role you will need to play to not only build inclusive spaces, but also to commit to building belonging spaces.
An inclusive space ensures that historically marginalized groups have access to what they need within an exclusionary institution to thrive and succeed.
Still, inclusive spaces are not enough as john a. powell shares in his book, Belonging Without Othering:
Equitable inclusion does not reach, or aspire to, the same bar as belonging. Inclusion is when space is made within an exclusionary institution for members of the excluded group. Equitable inclusion occurs when there is a conscious effort to ensure that inclusion is experienced on an equitable basis. But belonging occurs when the members of the group are made to feel as if they belong to the institution, and when members of those groups are empowered and have a say in the organization, design, construction, or reconstruction of that institution.
What form of your critical imagination would be powerful enough to loosen the grip of fear when you bear witness to an act of exclusion at work?
What would it mean to create a form of solidarity and concerned imagining with other workplace leaders that would have the power to commit to building belonging spaces?
Do you see the power of belonging? This is a power where each of your employees can be both shaped by the institution and safe enough to shape it back when needed.
The Sting of Exclusion
Exclusion prevails in most workplaces, taking on many forms such as being left out of important meetings, not being invited to social events, or being underestimated.
The sting of exclusion leads to feelings of being underestimated, disconnected, and stressed, which negatively impact team performance and employee well-being.
Exclusion also impacts brand reputation. The Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Research found:
Business leaders must recognize the common signs of exclusion that, left unchecked, lead to toxic team cultures and poor business results. These signs include:
When you notice some of the common signs of exclusion, commit to taking these actions to create the space to repair:
Practice Building Belonging
Building a culture of belonging is the North Star. Bridging is the practice to get you there. To advance from awkward to skillful practice, you must put in the repetitions.
Research shows that when training is paired with coaching and peer-to-peer conversations, 33% of participants report changing their behavior, compared to just 3% who only listen to training.
That’s the power of practice supported by an experienced coaching team like mine. To get you started, please check out the following complimentary resources:
Belonging Practice Guide. Get the Organizational and People Leader Guide, designed to help you bridge differences and practice collective care.
Imagine Belonging Podcast. Consider listening to this podcast episode to learn more about the power of the Belonging Practice Guide.
Thursday Belonging Practice. Join a complimentary session of the Belonging Practice to experience the power of somatic leadership coaching.
If you’re curious about exploring 1:1 belonging coaching to help you transform the way you lead during times of uncertainty, please schedule a discovery call with me.
Together, let’s upend the epidemic of exclusion by growing our Belonging Movement!