Expert Forum

This is one of the most common kinds of feedback I get following a corporate workshop or presentation on diversity and inclusion. This feedback speaks to one of the biggest challenges facing this work and also one of our greatest opportunities. While we are increasingly gathering around conference room tables and talking about diversity and inclusion today, we are still not talking about the same thing. Read more

Of the many misperceptions regarding inclusion, the most common might be the idea that inclusion requires you to lower your standards – inclusion somehow means “anything goes.” Not only is there a healthy does of bias baked into this idea, it is the opposite of the truth. Inclusion is hard work, it is not the path of least resistance. Read more

I consistently see organizations with unnecessary barriers slowing their D&I efforts down or blocking them altogether. Want to move forward? Here are six opportunities to consider. I will unpack each of these further in following posts...Read more

I have written here frequently and recently about the importance of getting crystal clear on what inclusion means in your organization. One of the big reasons this is so important is that it makes it much easier to then identify specific behaviors and practices that comprise an inclusive employee experience. Read more

Your conversations about talent are likely too small. Most managers and HR leaders I interact with talk about talent exclusively on the individual level. Everyone is fighting the so-called “war for talent.” And while engaging and retaining talented individuals certainly matters, we do not do work as individuals. Read more

I benefit from a tremendous amount of privilege. I have, throughout my life, received the benefit of the doubt, from people, organizations, and institutions, including when I did not deserve it.

When you are on the advantaged side of things, privilege is a terribly easy thing to not see. Read more

Far too many organizations bite off more than they can chew in trying to make their culture more inclusive. They make some proclamations, bring in some training, and then… hmmm, what do we do now? Is anything changing? What was the objective again? Read more

Most of the few posts I have managed this year have been focused on language. I think that language is one of the most powerful and one of the most overlooked tools at our disposal. A fair amount of the resistance that I meet in the workplace relative to Diversity and Inclusion work is not actually about the work that I do…it is about what someone else thinks I do. Read more

This may bring about a certain amount of psychological pain for some, exhausted by the mere mention of this work. There seems to be some strange underlying belief that this is work that a) need only be discussed one or twice, and b) mentioning it is the same thing as grasping it and/or doing it. Read more

10 years ago, I did quite a bit of “101” stuff. I did a lot of presentations on what diversity and inclusion mean for the workplace of today, and a lot of making the business case. I do very little of that today, and much more regularly am interacting with leaders and organizations that are wanting “…so what do we do?” kinds of messages. Read more

Maybe you have had an experience similar to this…A number of years ago I went to work for an organization that in the interviewing, hiring, and on-boarding process was very focused on, and proud of, its core values. And they were good values. The attention paid to them as I joined the organization made me even more excited about joining the organization. Read more

“There is prejudice in the world, without a doubt, but you are looking in the wrong place Joe! You can’t afford to be judgmental in the talent business. I am a businessman, and bias is just bad for business.”

This is from a conversation that I had recently with the owner of a recruiting firm. Read more

The idea of fact has always appealed to me, maybe you as well. Part of the appeal, for me at least, lies in the fantasy that by presenting you with enough cold, hard facts I will not need to argue or try to convince you of something. Read more

Some of the folks that I get the most resistance from when talking about bias are recruiters and hiring managers. They love to say things like “bigotry is stupid and bad business,” and “I just want to hire the best person for the job,” and “I don’t care about race.” Read more

I consistently see organizations with unnecessary barriers slowing their D&I efforts down or blocking them altogether. Want to move forward? Here are six opportunities to consider. I will unpack each of these further in following posts...Read more

I have written here frequently and recently about the importance of getting crystal clear on what inclusion means in your organization. One of the big reasons this is so important is that it makes it much easier to then identify specific behaviors and practices that comprise an inclusive employee experience. Read more

Your conversations about talent are likely too small. Most managers and HR leaders I interact with talk about talent exclusively on the individual level. Everyone is fighting the so-called “war for talent.” And while engaging and retaining talented individuals certainly matters, we do not do work as individuals. Read more

I benefit from a tremendous amount of privilege. I have, throughout my life, received the benefit of the doubt, from people, organizations, and institutions, including when I did not deserve it.

When you are on the advantaged side of things, privilege is a terribly easy thing to not see. Read more

Far too many organizations bite off more than they can chew in trying to make their culture more inclusive. They make some proclamations, bring in some training, and then… hmmm, what do we do now? Is anything changing? What was the objective again? Read more

Most of the few posts I have managed this year have been focused on language. I think that language is one of the most powerful and one of the most overlooked tools at our disposal. A fair amount of the resistance that I meet in the workplace relative to Diversity and Inclusion work is not actually about the work that I do…it is about what someone else thinks I do. Read more

This may bring about a certain amount of psychological pain for some, exhausted by the mere mention of this work. There seems to be some strange underlying belief that this is work that a) need only be discussed one or twice, and b) mentioning it is the same thing as grasping it and/or doing it. Read more

10 years ago, I did quite a bit of “101” stuff. I did a lot of presentations on what diversity and inclusion mean for the workplace of today, and a lot of making the business case. I do very little of that today, and much more regularly am interacting with leaders and organizations that are wanting “…so what do we do?” kinds of messages. Read more

Maybe you have had an experience similar to this…A number of years ago I went to work for an organization that in the interviewing, hiring, and on-boarding process was very focused on, and proud of, its core values. And they were good values. The attention paid to them as I joined the organization made me even more excited about joining the organization. Read more

As issues of diversity and inclusion are becoming increasingly business critical, there remains a great deal of evidence that 

these are still largely misunderstood issues. On a very basic level, there does not seem to be a good understanding of what diversity is and what its value is for a group, organization or community.  Read more