Complex times require complex solutions. We want quick; we want to do something, to say we did something. Training is right there within reach; it’s accessible and sounds good—a balm that functions as a band-aid.
If training worked to solve the underlying ailments of organizations, if it was the key to more inclusive, equitable, and diverse organizational systems, then we would be in a largely different conversation about these issues at work.
We’re not, because it isn’t.
Training can teach people what are the right and wrong things to say in the space of equity, inclusion, and differences, for a day or two, before a potential activation of increased bias or sparking of backlash occurs.
The challenges we face in recasting systemic norms, in co-creating cultures that welcome change, difference, and that practice everyday inclusion as a way of life require more of us, more than awareness and skill-building, more than a 90-minute or even a day-long set of classroom modules. Yes, training can momentarily enlighten us: roughly one in four people say diversity training programs benefit them individually, and the occasional curious soul will go deep and come out changed and do what they can to move the needle in the spheres they influence.
Still, we’re using failed solutions to an old problem and wondering why it still doesn’t work (or makes things worse).
To deeply change the agreements by which we live as an organizational culture and community, to transform how we work, we need shared language, shared experience, a deep and abiding tie to business strategy, and an inside-out approach to systemic renovation.
Shared Language:
We agree to a set of common definitions and ways of talking about the work related to inclusion, equity, our human differences, and the business. Every moment of dialogue about equity, inclusion, and differences must link to our work together, to strengthening our partnerships in service of the common goal and mission we share. When we actively use that language to stay aligned with one another, to learn, test, and grow together as an organizational system, then we create a sustainable link for the inclusion work to live and thrive.
Shared Experience:
Education in action, or Action Learning models of systemic change, combines intensive education and development with business strategy to inexorably connect the work of people, culture, and inclusion with the core mission and strategic priorities of the business. Inclusion, equity, and differences must be rooted to the business or it will fall by the wayside of all of its standalone, programmatic, and transactional predecessors—the reason we are all still in this conversation, and are bound to repeat it until we commit to taking the harder, more complex, and fruitful path.
Without an abiding link to the work, to the mission and our shared business priorities, the work of equity and inclusion is untethered, and, as a result, vulnerable to time, exhaustion, and change of focus. In this way, training can set BIPOC up—people who have taken sometimes great risk to show up and take another chance on “diversity” work that has failed in the past—to be rendered vulnerable and untethered in the absence of a strong and abiding link to the business.
Inside Out Approach:
Top down, or external consultant-led “programs” and “initiatives” don’t work. To change the DNA of how people inside of a system interact with one another, the spark of change, its fuel, must come from inside of the system. The people most impacted by the change, who touch the work closely and know what they need to feel a sense of belonging, must be seen and respected by their leaders and be able to do their best work. Trust people. Listen and design a change strategy around their voices, what they know will and will not work. Let the change grow from the inside out, so that the bar is high for leaders to use their influence to ensure policies and practices support the change.
Think of it—when we are involved in change from the inside out, we fall in love with possibility, with the organizations that have both failed us in moments and fed our families. We give more of our discretionary energy when leaders hold safe the perimeter of the system and encourage us to shape it in ways that drive performance. We are stewards of, passionate about, and forgiving of organizations we help shape from the inside out.
Go complex; go messy; take the harder path. Build shared language and understanding and trust, then follow the leadership of people from the inside out. It will make all the difference in these times.
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Corey Jamison brings more than 30 years of experience partnering with executives and teams around the globe to drive dramatic, sustainable organizational transformation. She has worked with leaders at all levels of some of the largest brands, and offers a level of experience, acumen, partnership and courage that inspires leaders and teams toward the hard work of taking it to the next level.