by mars21nu | Jan 14, 2022 | Diversity
We have heard a lot about diversity, equity, and inclusion. What is it that we need to know today, learn from yesterday to help us to have success with DE&I initiatives in the future?
Labor predicts that the workforce of the 21st century may be characterized by increased numbers of women, minorities, and intergenerational workers. With the recent challenges created by the COVID 19 pandemic where gender, racial and disability gaps were magnified, there was also a disproportionate impact on health and economic disparities relative to women and people of color (as well as the poor and disabled) which then put the spotlight on the existing social injustice and racial inequities in the US. (Sault, 2020)
In May,2020, the killing of George Floyd inspired companies and organizations globally to support the Black Lives Matter movement and join up to help stop systemic racism. Some organizations and companies used this moment to address disparities in talent selection, retention initiatives, improve benchmarking and begin to cultivate a cultural of inclusivity. (Sault, 2020)
Likewise, many companies are moving toward developing diversity, equity, and inclusion programs. In 2017, a PwC study showed that 87% of CEO’s promote DE&I programs and 80% stated that they were actively developing a pipeline of diverse leaders. (Harris, 2019)
The DE&I emphasis makes sense considering the change in the demographics of society, in the social landscape, and the proven bottom line of a heterogenous workforce. McKenzie’s latest research shows that companies with gender, ethnic and cultural diversity on their executive teams, outperform their peers on profitability.
So, why are there many DE&I programs that are not successful? For example, the share of female CEOs in the Fortune 500 dropped by 25% in 2018 (from 32 to 24.) Another study subset of the Fortune 500 showed that in 2017 75% of CEOs were white men, where Latino/a and black executives remained underrepresented. (Harris, 2019.)
I specifically became interested in researching this area as I informally discussed with DE&I specialists and on the ground managers the challenge presented when comprehensive, by the book strategies were created, yet the organizations they supported often struggled with leadership commitment and action, changing organizational culture, and promoting behaviors that lead to significant diversity, equity and inclusion outcomes that show measurable results across the organization.
What I ponder on is in addition to the DE&I strategic and training tools that are most used to facilitate effective DE&I initiatives, how can executive and inclusion coaching play a role to help companies and organizations demonstrate positive outcomes in this dynamic area?
Before we go deeper into coaching as a strategy to support DE&I, we can consider what is the importance of DE&I in today’s corporate and organizational workforce.
Today, diversity represents a business issue; it is not just a legal, political, or public relations issue.
How organizations deal with diversity, equity and inclusion including its workforce, markets, suppliers have a significant impact on their strategies, productivity, market penetration, customer service, recruitment costs, turnover rate and other day-day business actions (Katz, Miller (1996)
What have we learned?
What we have learned is that for diversity to be realized, the concept of inclusion within an organizational culture is critical to workplace diversity (Katz and Miller, 1996.) Inclusion means making it possible for individuals of different groups to succeed by creating a workplace that values who they are, what they offer, and provides opportunities for them to develop their full potential (Harris, 2019.) Inclusion reflects societal values. And when done well, it creates opportunities for growth, flexibility, and adaptation in the workplace and in the marketplace for the employee and for the organization (Katz and Miller, 1996)
The organizations that focus on inclusion are committed to constant change, continuous improvement and actioning 360 vision to create effective inclusive engagement that gains from the synergy and differences that can be brought together.
The ultimate idea with DE&I strategies that must be reviewed per organization is to create an environment in which everyone feels it is acceptable to take risks and recognizes that there may be times when they are uncomfortable, paving the way for strategies that resonate with members of the workforce and facilitates “buy-in at a deeper level” that results in action and not just compliance. (Harris, 2019)
Diversity without inclusion may produce numbers of employees that are representative but when diversity is coupled with inclusion, there can be a real transformation. The big challenge with DE&I efforts is that it is hard to change ingrained behaviors.
Where does executive coaching play a role?
For me, this is where executive coaching along with traditional DE&I strategies can help to change culture, organizational mindset, identify blind spots and unconscious bias that interferes with otherwise useful approaches around DE&I within organizations.
Executive / Inclusion coaching can be set up to help CEO’s, C-Suite executives, managers, and organizational leaders to recognize deep and ingrained assumptions that impact the culture of organizations. Coaching leaders can help them to devise a clear and unified approach to a culture of inclusion. Coaching provides leaders a safe and confidential space to sort through what may be their own transformation to allow them to lead their organization. Coaching can challenge leaders and diversity practitioners to go beyond “lip service” to recognizing the need to change the culture and behavior that prevents them from seeing the outcomes and business results that they know are needed.
Inclusion coaching looks to encourage senior leaders to be curious and listen to new and courageous conversations about the “how” to change. (Harris, 2019.) Coaches that focus on inclusion should first have a strong foundation in executive coaching that provides the core strategies to engage senior leaders and the DE&I professionals in a comprehensive coaching process that leads to real results and outcomes.
What is consistent as it relates to coaching for diversity and inclusion is the realization that before an organization can expect the new inclusive competencies to be valued and practiced by its general population, its senior executive must be able to model those competencies. Coaching of senior executives is vital to that change effort.
Within the literature that I reviewed, it was important that senior leaders are coached, trained, and aligned with the diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in their organizations. This is stated as an important marker of success.
The other culture change effort that is critical to success, is that leaders have coaches that help them understand the rationale behind their change agent roles:
- Why the culture change is important to the organization?
- Why cultural change is required to leverage diversity? (For example, inclusive norms and values, human resources systems and benefits, and management styles and practices.) (Katz and Miller, 1996)
- The change process is ongoing – not like turning on a light switch.
Informed organizational leaders understand diversity, equity, and inclusion as a business imperative. Diversity alone does not establish a competitive edge. The institution of diversity can create tension, conflict, misunderstanding and frustration within the organization unless there is a focused effort to develop a culture that supports, honors and values individual differences. When employees can visibly see how individual contributions from a diverse and inclusive workforce contributes to overall company success, they obtain an appreciation for DE&I. (Kapila, Hines, Searby, 2016)
What can you do to move forward your organizations DE&I approach?
There are established strategies that have been effective in creating successful DE&I results. Focusing on the organizational culture is key. Creating a diverse, equitable and inclusive culture is the foundation for moving forward a successful DE&I strategy. I love the book by La’Wana Harris entitled, Diversity Beyond Lip Service. This is a no-nonsense, down-to-earth approach to incorporating diversity, equity, and inclusion into your workforce.
What is apparent to me after working with several DE&I professionals is the importance of Senior Management embracing and modeling the behavior change and ultimate inclusion culture that is an integral component of a successful DE&I initiative. “Lip Service” is not enough. A roll-up the sleeves, top-down/ bottom-up approach along with senior leaders adopting a new set of competencies is required to help develop a culture that supports, honors and values individual differences.
Be curious about what more can be done. At the same time, gain insight through internal and external research to benchmark where your organization is not only at the initiation of the DE&I effort, but throughout the DE&I process of transformation.
Consider using coaching as a DE&I tool within your strategic game plan. Coaching senior leaders and DE&I practitioners is not a component of the DE&I strategy within many organizations. Coaches can help support informed leaders as they develop the necessary skills to lead cultural change and facilitate a broad understanding of the connection between an inclusive culture and organizational success.
This is not an easy task as the barriers to inclusion are rooted in the structures, culture and institutional dynamics of the organization and then often co-signed by the wider society. It is a daunting task. For the culture of an organization to be changed, its systems, structures, rewards, norms, and behaviors must also be changed. Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion may require senior leaders and the whole organization to adapt new ways of behaving, managing, interacting, partnering and doing business. (Katz and Miller, 1996.)
What needs to happen to see a more diverse, equitable and inclusive work environment?
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion is an evolving area of focus for many corporations and organizations in today’s world. The everchanging environment including demographics, social landscape and competing business priorities have had an impact on the workforce of the 21st century. As a result, there has been a substantial movement toward companies and non-profit groups working diligently to establish a more diverse, equitable and inclusive organization.
In recent years, there have been successful DE&I programs across the workplace spectrum. Yet, in-spite of these notable efforts, there are still long-standing inequities in the workforce. In many cases, this has been attributed to the lack of a multi-faceted, comprehensive approach to diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives where inclusion has been deemed a most critical area of focus. Those organizations that do inclusion well, who are committed to change and continuous improvement and make DE&I a business imperative most often have created a foundation for business success.
What has also surfaced in my research is the importance of executive coaching and inclusion coaching to address the underlying organizational structure, policies, values, and culture that are critical to realizing organizational change that are foundational to DE&I programs. Through my own experience in coaching and through the research for this blog, I have learned that the best opportunity to see real results in behavior and organizational change is to include coaching as a critical component of the DE&I strategy focusing on both senior leaders and DE&I professionals responsible for DE&I within their organizations. There is not one way to achieve a diverse, equitable and an inclusive culture. This is an ever-changing landscape. Strong DE&I programs require visible leadership that believe, value and model diversity, equity and inclusion and these leaders require ongoing coaching to help them unlock the skills, behaviors and attitudes that lead to diverse and inclusive organizations and foster real results.
by mars21nu | Jan 14, 2022 | Health and Wellness
Why is Self-Care Important?
We hear so much about self-care today particularly since the COVID 19 pandemic. We have had to navigate work from home, parenting from home, unemployment, COVID related health worries and much more leaving us feeling anxious, stressed, and sometimes depressed. We read and hear from others to take it “down a notch” and take care of ourselves, where some promote different self-care approaches from meditation to salt baths.
Self-care has never been more important. Many people want to integrate self-care into their lives. The common theme that I hear back from my clients is “I cannot find the time.” Self-care becomes something that some do after they do everything else… it is not a priority on their to-do lists. This is understandable with the pressures from responsibilities at work, with family, friends, and others. Often by the end of the day, there is little motivation or energy to focus on ourselves.
The reality is that making time for ourselves, for our self-care is critical for us to perform well in other focus areas of our lives. Dr. Kelsey Patel shares that “self-care is part of the answer to how we can all better cope with daily stressors. People are feeling lonelier and less able to unwind and slow down, which makes them feel more anxious and overwhelmed by even the simplest tasks.” (Everyday Health, May 2021.) To include self-care into our daily lives, we have to have a different mindset. We do have to change what we do and how we think. A positive approach to self-care requires that we integrate self-care into all aspects of our daily lives versus the mindset that we have to separate self-care from the other key areas of our life.
What is Self-Care Anyway?
Many of us have always thought of self-care as being equivalent to being selfish and self-absorbed. We think of expensive spa visits or trips to exotic places that often are not in our budget. Dr. Darling explains that “self-care is just another name for taking care of yourself, which is vital for your health and well-being. More specifically, self-care means identifying and meeting your needs, something that most women struggle with.” (Cleveland Clinic, Health and Wellness Tips, April 2021)
Researchers and several organizations like the World Health Organization define self-care as, “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider.” Interpretation of this statement is that self-care includes everything that you need to stay physically healthy.
A deeper definition suggests that self-care is anything that you can do to take care of yourself and stay physically, mentally, and emotionally well. Research generally concludes that self-care promotes positive health outcomes, fosters resilience, living longer and being better equipped to manage stress. (Everyday Health, May 2021)
Other benefits of self-care outlined in an Oprah Daily article shares that “research suggests that the more we practice self-care activities, the more confident, creative and productive we are.” The article also mentions that self-care means that “we can experience more joy, make better decisions, build stronger relationships and communicate more effectively.” (Oprah Daily, March 2021)
What Should We Consider When Starting Self-Care Practices?
First, there is not a best or correct way to approach your self-care. Self-care is about self-love. What you have to consider is whatever you need to feel relaxed, happy, and joyful. That differs with each of us. For some people that might be an early morning walk, or lighting a scented candle, or doing yoga or reading a book or taking a run or riding your peloton bike or having a glass of wine…. You can ask the question what brings me peace and calm and wellness? What is the Zen that I can integrate into my daily routine that nourishes my spirit and rejuvenates my energy?
As you explore what self-care means to you, here are some things to consider:
You can notice when you feel energized and when you feel exhausted or drained. When do you feel good and when do you feel anxious or overwhelmed? What themes and patterns do you see and what is helping you overcome some of those stresses and what is bringing you joy? These can be the little things in your life that you need or love.
Recognize that self-care is not an all of nothing proposition. For example, if I do not have time to take a trip for ten days, then I do not have time for self-care. Or some may think they need to go from not doing anything to becoming a full fitness expert in a short period of time. We can progress to what are daily, incremental steps of self-care while learning as we progress.
What are types of self-care?
Dr. Gill Lopez suggest that self-care is “Anything that puts a smile on your face. Anything that makes you feel cared for, even if it’s you caring for yourself” (Everyday Health, May, 2021.)
Dr. Lopez shares that there are different categories of self-care: (Everyday Health, May 2021.)
- Emotional self-care which may include self-talk, bubble baths, saying “no” to unnecessary stress, setting up a date with a friend or taking a pause from life
- Physical self-care can include prioritizing sleep, or establishing an exercise routine, healthy foods into your diet
- Spiritual self-care may include attending religious services, meditating, performing acts of kindness in your day
Dr. Darling had several recommendations for self-care beginners that may help you get started. (Cleveland Clinic, April 2021)
- Spend time in nature, like gardening or walking barefoot in the grass or sand, a practice called grounding.
- If you’re especially tired, try to go to bed early
- Spend 10 to 15 minutes a day on few simple yoga poses or stretches
- Try an Epsom salts bath
- Use a guided meditation app.
- Read a book in your favorite chair.
- Take a walk around the neighborhood without a goal.
- Do a craft.
- Take a nap.
- Sit on your front porch or deck and just sit there. No phone.
Whatever your self-care routine is, the bottom line is that it should help you find peace, calmness, joy, and self-love. I have found that it is okay to take time for me. I enjoy taking my dog for a long walk, reading a book in my favorite chair, exercising on my peloton, talking to a good friend and giving back to my favorite charity or to my church. In fact, I know that my performance on my job, my connection with my family and friends, my spiritual well-being, and my love for who I am and where I am in my life was directly related to taking time for myself.
I encourage you to prioritize self-care in your life. It is something that you have to make intentional and critical to your physical, mental, and emotional health. What is your self-care approach? What impact has it had on you living your best life ever?
by mars21nu | Jan 14, 2022 | Doing Good
What is CSR? How is CSR a way to “Do Good” in today’s world?
I have had a wonderful experience creating and executing a corporate social responsibility initiative for a global consumer products company where our vision and purpose was to improve the oral health of children and their families around the world. After several decades of concerted effort, this CSR initiative was able to reach over 1 billion children with important oral health messages and for many, provide oral-health services.
So, what is CSR? Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is what businesses do through self-regulation with the goal of social accountability whereby contributing to the well-being of their communities and the society that they affect or depend on. Many company initiatives are set up to positively impact the public, the environment or the economy on a local stage or a global arena. Employees, customers, and investors place a high value on working for or investing in businesses that prioritize CSR.
While many more companies are establishing CSR initiatives, having a socially conscious image is becoming more the norm than the exception. Consumers, employees, and other stakeholders are choosing companies or brands that are effecting social change. Companies look at CSR as an opportunity to show their good corporate citizenship while being conscious of the societal and environmental aspects that may surround the company as they do business. CSR can be beneficial by improving a company’s brand image. Customers or consumers who see evidence of social responsibility respond positively to that company and its products. CSR can also help improve employee morale. Companies that have a clear CSR effort and invest resources into socially responsible behavior tend to have higher sustained morale among its employees.
Research by Cone Communications stated that more than “90% of consumers surveyed shared that they would purchase a product because the company supported an issue that they cared about.” (Business News Daily, July 2021.) Not only are consumers responsive to corporate social responsibility, for top talent, an important factor in choosing where to work is a company’s sustainability strategy. The next generation of employees are interested in what company’s are doing to improve their world including people, planet, and revenue. Company’s who want to succeed in this new world are seriously encouraged to take from profits and give back to the communities they serve.
What are key CSR areas that companies focus their Efforts?
- Environmental: This may include actions that address the environmental footprint that a company may leave. Other examples may include sustainability initiatives that reduce waste or emissions, increase investments in employee working conditions, health care, education, etc. which in turn may increase company productivity, retention or provide a positive reputation.
- Philanthropy: Businesses donate money, services or products to social causes and non-profit organizations. This can range from medical services to food and products donations as a community, national or global outreach. Both large and small businesses can have an impact no matter how small.
- Ethical labor practices: Ethical labor practices are important for companies for their business in the US, and most critical for those who work globally where policies and practices may be inequitable and labor laws may differ from those in the US.
- Volunteering: Businesses have set up opportunities for employees and key stakeholders to work together volunteering their services to help others. By doing good collaborating with community-based organizations, health services groups and more, companies do demonstrate their values and commitment to make a difference for those who are most vulnerable or in most need.
What can companies and others do to have a successful CSR initiative?
The first step is to create a CSR strategy that aligns with the company’s purpose, identity, brand, and values. Too often businesses set up multiple CSR programs that are poorly coordinated and the impact is diluted. It is important to reduce aspects of the initiative that do not address the social issues that are most relevant to the company’s purpose and values. An example of such is where a food operations group might want to work with a local food pantry for food donations instead of setting up a blood donation program for employees.
Gauging the success of the CSR initiative requires understanding the output or outcome that is expected from the initiative. A philanthropic program most likely will not provide increased revenue for the business. Instead, the success of a philanthropic program can be measured by nonfinancial output such as employee hours spent, educational benefits from donations, i.e., volume of materials provided to children, improvement of school performance, etc. Partnering with other stakeholders, such as non-profit groups who are most familiar with their own social needs, can help companies better measure the social impact within a philanthropic space.
The success of environmental CSR initiatives is often aligned with the company’s business goals and targets. This might include an analysis of energy and waste reduction; improvement of air or water quality programs and reduction of carbon emissions can impact their top or bottom line. These details are often shared in corporate sustainability reports with annual targets for environmental improvements supported through a business effort.
Tracking the success of CSR programs is a critical component of managing these programs whether the outcome is robust or gradual making minimal strides toward the goals of the initiatives. This enables judgement as to whether the business investment has produced the desired societal gains.
What is your company’s purpose? How can CSR play a role in helping you or your company make a difference in your community, in your world?
It is important to understand your company’s purpose and values to best define the societal focus that your business wants to pursue. It is also important to reflect the business operation and motivation of the people who staff, run, and govern the company. A manufacturing company may want to reduce its environmental impact whereas a financial services institution may do better by focusing on supporting financial literacy and inclusion. Likewise, doing business in a country that may lack provisions of food and water may strategically align best with a CSR program that provides philanthropic funding to support clean water or farming to reduce food insufficiencies and produce revenue for local farmers.
Understanding what your company’s purpose is helps to best know whether you want to have a shared value CSR initiative or to create more value for society through the efforts of your corporation. One thing is in common either way that the CSR strategy is aligned with the companies’ business purpose, the values of the company, engagement with important stakeholders and the needs of the communities in which the company operate.
Some actions that I found helpful as I established a long-standing CSR initiative were:
1) Involve your employees in the decision-making and execution of the initiative.
2) Utilize internal teams to lead the program in their regions. Passionate employees bring engagement and excitement to the effort while bringing clarity and assurance to your team.
3) Communicate to your consumers, customers, and investors the purpose, intent, and progress of your CSR initiative. This excites existing and future consumers, customers, and employees about the CSR effort, bringing a positive image and reputation.
4) Establish Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) that demonstrate the success and social impact over time.
5) Make the CSR initiative a win-win for everyone – the company, the consumer, the customer and the community.
Businesses today are seeing the value of CSR initiatives whether philanthropic, environmental, and societal focused. Today, CSR initiatives are often integrated with business priorities and work hard to help position the company favorably with key stakeholders and investors. A properly implemented CSR initiative can bring so many advantages to the company and to the community they target including enhanced access to capital and markets, increased sales and profits, operational cost savings, improved productivity and quality, efficient human resource base, improved brand image and reputation, enhanced customer loyalty, better decision making and risk management approaches.
I had an exciting opportunity to work for a company that made their CSR initiative a business priority helping billions of families globally while creating a shared value for the company, the many stakeholders and employees that made it happen. What do you want to see happen at your company as it relates to corporate social responsibility? What can you do to help your company or organization “do well while doing good?”
