DEI Dilemmas: How Important is Inclusion and Psychological Safety in Diverse Organizations?

 

DEI (Diversity, Equity and Inclusion) stemming from ESG (Environment, Social and Governance) has become so politicized and controversial that the foundations and benefits of these are in jeopardy.  Inclusive policies, based on core values and actions result in a positive impact on the people, community, the environment in terms of well-being, reputation and profit – for doing the right thing and doing things right.

A quick history – DEI and ESG evolved from the early Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement where social and environmental concerns were aligned with business strategy, which saw a change in the bottom line.

But CSR also has an aspect of doing the right thing for selfish reasons – to build a good reputation, image, increase brand value and attract good people.  This can be perceived as “greenwashing”, which could hurt organizations in the long run.

Cynicism about CSR gave rise to DEI and ESG – to do things right - demanded by the public and investors.  However, ESG and DEI got politicized when governments started mandating it to measure and report as part of the governance process.

There are merits to voluntary DEI policies and processes, especially when inclusion enhances psychological safety for diverse organizations to thrive in.

Doing the Right Thing and Doing Things Right

Most leaders want to do things ‘right’ and do the ‘right’ things for the ‘right’ reasons. Being inclusive in a diverse organization requires anchoring on core values and the culture ‘walked the talk’ by the leaders.

Being inclusive is about capturing the uniqueness of diverse individuals to foster a psychologically safe environment.  Being inclusive values and respects diverse individuals for their talents, skills and abilities to the benefit of the collective - and has a tremendous impact on the bottom line.

In a study published in Harvard Business Review, feeling included and a sense of belonging was linked to a 56% increase in job performance, a 50% drop in turnover risk, and a 75% reduction in sick days. Researchers calculated that for a 10,000-person company, this would result in annual savings of more than $52 million. [i]

A strong business case for ethnic diversity and inclusion according to a McKinsey report - complements psychological safety with a 39 percent increased likelihood of outperformance for those in the top quartile of ethnic representation versus the bottom quartile.[ii]

Caution on Formalizing and Measuring Equity and Inclusivity

Formalizing Equity and Inclusivity into performance management matrices can be challenging - fraught with risks as they are subjective and can demoralize people.

No rules, regulations nor processes can make someone accept or like another person. They happen organically through an inclusive leadership culture to accept new diverse and different people qualified and talented to be there, especially if the organization has been traditionally mono-cultural.

There has to be safe spaces for the status quo to ease into the new diverse realities - for individuals to deal with unconscious biases, fears and prejudices that are natural to any human being - with patience, safety and space for self-reflection.

Inclusion and Psychological Safety

An inclusive and appreciative culture evolves from an anchor on the core values of respect and integrity – lived by the leaders, actioned out by intentional activities and business processes - that help commune people to work and play together in a psychologically safe environment.

According to another McKinsey survey, an overwhelming 89 percent of employee respondents said they believe that psychological safety in the workplace is essential.[iii]

Psychological safety coupled with inclusive policies and actions leads to diverse team members feeling more engaged and motivated - because they feel their contributions matter and able to speak up without fear of retribution.  It leads to better decision-making, as people feel more comfortable voicing their opinions and concerns.  This leads to a more diverse range of perspectives considered.  It fosters a culture of continuous learning and improvement, as diverse team members feel comfortable sharing new ideas or their mistakes and learning from them.

Just because DEI is taking a pummeling in the news cycles – do not throw the ‘baby with the bath water’.  Inquire into its benefits with an open mind and examine the organizational culture and policies as diversity is the norm.

Create safe spaces for open conversations and do surveys to see where people’s minds are at - based on their feelings and needs - to being open to diversity, to be inclusive of others and to be included to have psychological safety - to find common ground - to bring everyone’s full selves to be a part of a high performing organization to enjoy and the celebrate diversity.

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[i] https://thediversitymovement.com/what-is-workplace-belonging-why-is-it-important/

[ii] https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/diversity-matters-even-more-the-case-for-holistic-impact

[iii] https://www.mckinsey.com/~/media/mckinsey/featured%20insights/mckinsey%20explainers/what%20is%20psychological%20safety/what-is-psychological-safety.pdf

It’s 89 Seconds to Midnight in the Dooms Day Clock – A Reflection on an article written in 1984 called “Life after the Day After: Let us Work for Peace”

 The age of renaissance dawned on us in the 19th century with great promise that technology can bring joy and happiness to people and save the world from disasters - but instead we have an interconnected  dysfunctional fractured world of culture wars and real wars - where the Doomsday Clock  https://thebulletin.org/doomsday-clock/ indicates the closest we have been for self annihilation through Nuclear Armageddon.   

The modern-techno-industrial-AI complex is driven by corporations who virtually run this world through its limited liability license enabling the influence of politicians and policy makers - to meet their need for more profit in the modern market society.  

We are now seeing this as zero sum for this earth and its humanity in a world that took centuries since the 11^th century Magna-Carta - to evolve as the democracies we are.

I would not have imagined when I wrote the article Life After Day After in 1984 in the Lanka Review that forty years later – we are in a worse place today with the existential threat of annihilating ourselves from a nuclear disaster.   

The politics of the world seem to have regressed to a level of depravity where violence and war is the way to deal with our predicaments.

The left-brained egotistical posturing of the unhinged few with low emotional intelligence in power - in their zero-sum game is surreal to watch in a combination of amusement and fear.  

Neuroscientist Iain McGilchrist speaks particularly of humanity’s existential crisis driven by left-hemisphere-dominated thinking to state - “We are in danger of destroying ourselves because we have forgotten who we are” in his book - The Master and His Emissary. 

I cannot watch silently seeing the disconnection from reality and wisdom that underpins the geopolitical, technological and environmental threats the Doomsday Clock symbolizes as I write this - reflecting on my 1984 article.  

This is my way of speaking out about things that matter – as the brave Martin Luther King Jr did which cost him his life. 

I am not that brave nor do I have the inkling nor the will to take on the current powerful head on – but I can continue to speak and write in my own way – not to add fuel to the fires that burn out of control – but to find subtle ways to help people to step back – take a deep breath, say observe and exhale to gain the space to put things in perspective – move away from fear to – douse the fires to have conversations of accountability with those with diverse and opposing views – to find our common humanity in this ideologically polarized world.   

Our common humanity arises out of love, kindness, empathy and altruism as we would not be here today if not for compromise and collaboration in vulnerability and trust - to work together to build the civilization we have.   

We have just lost our way - enamored by the glamour of technology and profits in a narcissistic way - forgetting that we have so much power within us - when we focus on our breath to realize our power in our oneness with nature - in fact we are sacred nature - so let us find our nobility, fearlessness and spiritual grounding - truth, beauty and goodness - in that to increase that number from 89 seconds.     

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LIFE AFTER THE DAY AFTER

LET US WORK FOR PEACE
Lalith Gunaratne

It took me several days and nights before I could get over the sense of frustration and hopelessness that overwhelmed me after I saw the television movie The Day After.

I had this inescapable feeling that, wittingly or unwittingly, I had committed my destiny into the hands of some super-power who might decide to end it at a mere push of a button.

As the days rolled by, the initial shock of the movie was wearing off. This is only human. But, there is a need for us to be aware of the possibility of a doomsday, so our actions will gear towards encouraging a solution.

There has never been a greater time than now for the super-powers to come to the conference table, even if it is merely to rid the fears of the masses world over who share the same frustration and helplessness I felt after seeing The Day After. But, the future appears to be bleak. Giants in the Nuclear Game the USA and the Soviet Union seem to be locked in their position, that "might is right."

Sadly, the Geneva talks seem to be failing with the Soviet Union walking away in protest over deployment of new nuclear weaponry in Europe. Further, Prime Minister Trudeau's peace plan seems to be receiving half-hearted response from the two major super-powers and other nuclear nations.

This is the reason, solutions both immediate and long term must be sought, if we are to avert a nuclear war.

This is also the reason that any efforts such as that of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau and numerous peace groups throughout the world are worthy of our support and admiration.

Lalith Gunaratne is an editor o
f the Canada Sri Lanka Association Newsletter - 1984

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“The money required to provide adequate food, water, education, health and housing for everyone in the world has been estimated at $17 billion a year. It is a huge sum of money ...about as much as the world spends on arms every two weeks.” - Global Day of Action on Military Spending