There is no question that diversity and inclusion is an imperative in organizational development and performance. In addition, its potential for economic, social and community impact is moving increasingly from behind the stage to front and center.
Depending on the organization or community, this potential for impact is transitioning across the maturity index from active tokenism, to tactical decisions, operational integration, strategic alignment, and cultural DNA, reflected through unity in diversity. Each stage entails unique qualities, attributes, and expressions.
Ultimately, the level of maturity depends on the extent to which the organization is purpose driven. Success in D&I/E&J requires clarity of purpose, unity in direction and agile resilience. The journey entails imagining the future, designing how it can be realized, and ensuring a sustained focus.
The organization can use best practices to determine the level of maturity in D&I/E&J, but should look beyond best-practices to next-practices in order to accelerate the advance from a lower order to a higher order of D&I/E&J.
Disruption is hard. D&I/E&J is hard. Recognizing and dealing with implicit bias is hard. But change is coming, by deliberate action or by surrendering to sheer momentum. The fundamental work of leadership is to create the environment, conditions and enablers necessary for the organization to advance, even leapfrog, to the highest order of maturity, unity in diversity.
Outcomes based on this approach will yield more loyal customers, more committed employees, and owners as champions. The measured goal should be to disrupt the variables thoughtfully and purposefully to foster diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity. Then create the environment necessary for unity -- not uniformity -- to emerge from the diversity.
Combining operational executive practitioners with an ecosystem of expertise, NueBridge is uniquely positioned to partner with organizations to accelerate this journey, reducing time to results and improving results over time.