During the time between the death of George Floyd and the murder trial of Derek Chauvin, I participated in a senior management meeting to discuss how we could support the company’s policy of zero tolerance of employee discrimination. Suddenly, a couple of managers wanted to point out that “Not all cops are bad.”
Interesting. True statement. We were talking about workplace discrimination, and it was essential for us to recognize that not all cops are bad.
And what just happened?
Perhaps this is a nod to the fact that life is complicated. We are all individuals and team members and have families, friends, acquaintances, history, and culture; we are more than just employees. For those who want to keep firm boundaries between work and home life, diversity discussions will challenge those boundaries by touching our bias consciousness.
The statement that “Not all cops are bad” reveals an iceberg of emotions associated with establishing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) policies. Company presidents making public statements of support saying this company will not tolerate discrimination and committing to improving employee diversity numbers are practical actions. But, such activities only address the measurable DEI issues. Visible acts of discrimination may decrease, and diversity numbers may improve, but equity and inclusion will probably remain unaddressed. If the president wants to make lasting change, the company will need to support the entire organization to work below the waterline.
Backlash. Eric Anicich et al., in their Harvard Business Review (HBR) article, “Design Physical and Digital Spaces to Foster Inclusion,” identify a data review of 829 firms implementing diversity policies. The authors shared that diversity efforts “that attempt to control managers’ behavior (e.g., mandated diversity training, grievance systems, etc.) result in more rather than less bias and, as a result, tend to produce the opposite of their intended results.” An additional point made is that racial bias is difficult to change because we have segregated environments. Therefore, we need to find ways to encourage engagements.
In another HBR article, “You’ve Built a Racially Diverse Team. But Have You Built an Inclusive Culture?”, Jill Perry-Smith illustrates how we respond to differences may increase racial inequality. By failing to acknowledge our differences “exacerbates the downside of difference and mutes the upsides.” One strategy to improving team dynamics is to commit to having difficult conversations. And that is truly easier said than done.
Difficult Conversations. So, how did your team DEI discussion go? Was everyone willing to speak up? Were there any discoveries? Did you make any changes? Diversity, equity, and inclusion conversations are difficult. We may wonder how my manager will respond to my inquiries and statements. How will my relationships change if I admit I am uncomfortable? Am I ready for conflict? Am I prepared for change?
In addition, our environment conditions our awareness and conversations. Fred Kofman said, “In fact, we don’t talk about what we see; we see only what we can talk about.” If we want to get to the underlying emotions around DEI topics, a safe space is needed. As we move forward, that “safe space” needs to become a “growing space”; we begin by acknowledging and then transition to an environment of change.
Team Coach. Engaging a team coach to kick-start DEI conversations is an excellent way to begin the discovery process. Coaches are practitioners in nonjudgmental communication who can also serve as a mediator and mentor, a trusted individual to share in an uncomfortable, emotional conversation.
A team coach will work with team leaders to identify challenges and support personal development with individuals one-on-one. But what sets team coaching apart from leadership and executive coaching is the one-on-many coaching within the team environment. For it is within the team space where the members begin learning to learn as a team.
When a team develops a dedication to the success of all team members, great things will happen.