The Latest Insights from Leading NOW

Five years ago, I read Talent Wins: The New Playbook for Putting People First, a book by corporate governance expert Ram Charam, Dominic Barton of McKinsey & Company and Dennis Carey of Korn Ferry. Immediately, I knew these visionaries were onto something big. They forecasted the need for organizations to deploy talent as a critical function of business, warning CEOs that if they wanted to be successful, they needed to pull the talent initiative into the C-suite. Given where we are today with the war for talent, I'm still amazed at the foresight. CEOs must prioritize people and can no longer leave talent solely in the hands of HR. They need to focus on developing the next generation of leaders if they want their organization to survive, thrive and outperform their competition.

Many organizations that have implemented a hybrid work environment are now faced with the challenges (and reality) of how to navigate it. At the top of the list is keeping employees engaged and connected. The big question is, how do you do that if they’re not physically working together, side by side, every day? It’s not as hard as you may think if you consider there is one thing that all employees have in common — a desire to feel psychologically safe at work, whether working remotely, in person or both.

According to a recent article in CEO World, among the top 3 things that are keeping CEO’s up at night is the strength of their people. But it’s not physical strength that keeps them awake. It’s the strength of their current and future leadership talent that has them concerned.

Having a culture of Inclusion is not only about checking off the boxes for diversity. It’s about diversity of thought, and making sure everyone in the organization feels secure enough to express themselves without fear of retribution. It means creating a psychologically safe workplace where those on teams feel comfortable enough to take risks, express their ideas and concerns, ask questions, and admit mistakes – all without fear of negative consequences. How do you create a psychologically safe workplace and what are the benefits of doing so?

Creating a culture of inclusion takes work. A lot of work. And like most cultural and behavioral shifts, it starts with leaders understanding how their mindsets, actions, reactions and decisions affect how employees perceive them. As leaders striving to be inclusive, the first thing we must ask ourselves is whether those around us feel psychologically safe enough to share their thoughts and ideas without fear of reprisal. Unfortunately, many times, the answer is no.

Is your organization doing enough to help underrepresented talent succeed? Probably not. While most DEI initiatives include communication plans, programs for employees to attend, and reviews of corporate policies, one of the most important elements is frequently overlooked or not addressed at all: The mindsets of leaders within the organization and how they impede inclusion. And while these mindsets may be unintentional–after all, leaders don’t have visibility into the challenges underrepresented talent face every day–this can derail your DEI goals. To take your DEI strategy from passive to powerful, DO THIS, NOT THAT…

In a recent Forbes article, Leading NOW’s CEO, Kelly Primus, addressed the DEI Churn & Burn many organizations are experiencing in their quest to create a more inclusive culture. In the article, Kelly talks about some of the things organizations can do to stop the constant turnover of Chief Diversity Officers who are in the trenches, trying to transform the company’s culture. This got us thinking, and begs the question – Is your DEI strategy passive or POWERFUL? For 2023, we’re kicking off the new year with a monthly blog series titled, DO THIS, NOT THAT. Each month we’ll address common actions that most DEI strategies include (passive), the barriers to inclusion identified by our own research over the last 20 years, and the what, why, and how, to make your DEI strategy more powerful. Let’s start with the most important DEI barrier of all…

There is a disturbing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) trend taking place in organizations of all sizes and across all industries as leaders do everything (or so they think) to create a more inclusive culture. Organizations will appoint a Chief Diversity Officer (CDO) and then expect that one person (or team) to fix everything without providing them the necessary resources, budget or executive support to be successful. And then they'll wonder why, in 12 to 24 months, the CDO quits. At Leading NOW, we’re calling this the “DEI Churn & Burn.”

It’s been a few years since a flurry of CEOs pledged their organizations' commitment to do more in support of DEI. Thousands committed to actions that support a more inclusive workplace for employees, communities and society. Fast-forward to today, and it seems most organizations still haven’t made much progress. Why?

The Great Resignation, the Big Quit, the Talent Shortage—you can call it whatever you want. The reality is that the war for talent is a fierce competition and likely raging in your organization.