2024年度多元、公平与包容趋势与预测

TheLatestDEI

Trends&Predictions

for2024:

InsightsfromTheDiversityMovement’swork

withclientsin2023

By

JamieOusterout

ChiefExperienceOfficer,TheDiversityMovement

AtTheDiversityMovement,aWorkplaceOptionscompany,wehaveworkedwithhundredsoforganizationsinthepastseveralyearstobuildandstrengthenworkplaceculturebyconnectingreal-worldbusinessoutcomestodiversity,equity,andinclusion(DEI)initiatives.Here’saquickbreakdownoftheworkwecompletedwithourclients:

Our

surveys

,administeredthrough

ourproprietary

Analyticstool

,have

capturednearly1milliondatapoints

Facilitatedmorethan300

hoursof

listeningsessions

and

executivecoachingsessions

Ledmorethan400

trainingsessions

Aswedoannually,wewanttosharethetrendsthat

weareseeingandourpredictionsforthecomingyear.

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

OrganizationsarestilladaptingtochangingworkenvironmentsbroughtaboutbyCOVID-19.

LatestTrends

1

Somehigh-profileorganizationsmandatedReturntoOffice(RTO)policies,butmanywere

unsuccessful

andwereskeweredinthemediaasaresult.Amajorityoforganizationsarefindingsuccess–albeititacrossabroadlearningcurve–inahybridworkenvironment.

Thesehybridenvironmentsworkbestwhentheyfocustimeintheofficeonin-person

collaboration,one-on-onemeetings,andteammeetings,ratherthanjustforcing

employeesto“badgein.”Forinitiativesthatrequirehighlevelsofcollaboration,ideation,andproblem-solving,in-personsessionsarebest,whileremotesettingsarebetterfor

creativeandfocusedworklikewriting,designing,andreviewing.Hybridenvironmentsalsoworkbestwhenorganizationstrustandrespectemployeesandallowthemtoadjusttheirworkscheduletoaccommodatefamilyandlifeneeds.

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

2

Thereisnotjustanincreasedawareness,butalsoacommitmenttoemployeementalhealthand

well-being.

Inconversationswithclients,employeewell-beingisthehighestpriorityformanyCEOs.

Savvyseniorleadersunderstandthatthewell-beingfocusisnotonlytherightthingto

do(anditistherightthingtodo),buttheseinitiativeshaveseriousbusinessimplications.

Accordingtothe

WorldHealthOrganization

,approximately12billionworkdaysarelosteachyeargloballyduetodepressionandanxiety,resultinginamassivedecreaseinproductivity–atanestimatedcostof$1trillion.Additionally,accordingto

Gallup

,poormentalhealthleadstoburnoutandemployeeturnover,whichcostsorganizationslostrevenueeverysingleday.

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Layoffsandeconomicuncertaintyremainanissue.

Atthistimelastyear,theUnitedStatesfacedaloomingrecession,predictedbymany

leadingeconomicsexperts.While

thisdidnotcometobe

,theglobaleconomyremains

volatileandpricescontinuetoskyrocket–frommortgagesandgroceriestofuelandmore.Whiletherewasthe“GreatResignation”andafrenzyofhiringandjobhoppingin2021

andinto2022,thishasgenerallycometoaclose.Infact,

layoffssurged98%in2023

,andthoseemployeeswhoremainatorganizationsarebeingchallengedtodomoreworkwithfewerresources.Withhiringslowingdowninmanyindustries,successfulorganizationsareinvestinginretainingtheirtoptalentnowmorethanever.

4

Workplacedemographicscontinuetoevolve.

Aswesharedinlastyear’s

trendswhitepaper,

successfulleaders

understandtheirchangingemployeeandcustomerbase.By

2040

,employeeswhoareWhitewillnolongermakeupthe

majorityoftheworkforce.But,changesarehappeningnow–this

year,

GenerationZwillovertakebabyboomers

andby2025

willcomprisea

quarter(25%)oftheworkforce

.Thesignificance

ofthisshiftforC-suiteleaderscan’tbeunderstated.GenZisthe

mostethnicallydiversegeneration,believesintheimportanceof

diversity,andexpectsmorefromtheirworkplace,especiallyin

termsofinclusiveworkplaceculture,focusonwork-lifeintegration,

andwellness(see

7KeyGenZTrendsfor2024

).

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

5

Technologycontinuestodeveloprapidly,especiallywithArtificialIntelligence(AI).

Ratherthanbeingafraidoftechnology,successfulorganizationsareexploringhowtouseAIasatooltobemoreeffectiveandefficient,aswellastodevelopricherideasandsolutions.Indeed,

Entrepreneur

reports:“EmbracingAIisnolongeranoptionbutanecessityfor

companieslookingtothriveandsucceedinthedigitalage.”However,C-suiteleadersmustproceedstrategically,mixingenthusiasmwithcaution.

CEOsrealizetheyneedtochangetheir

organizationsassoonaspossibleinordertobuild

asustainablefuture.TheyalsoviewAIasakeydriverincreatingtheorganizationofthefuture.Yet,they

arestillhesitantoratleastcautiousbecauseofthe

enormousconsequencesofbothactionandinaction.

DonaldThompson

CEO,TheDiversityMovement

ThereismuchatstakewithAIandstillmuchtobelearned,especiallyasitrelatestobias

withinAI.IattendedMetLife’sTriangleTechXconferenceinthefallof2023wherea

presentersharedthatwhensearchinggenerativeAItoolsforimagesofdoctorsandtheir

patients,theresultswereallWhitedoctorswithWhitepatients.HehadtospecificallysearchforBlackdoctorstoseedifferentresults,andevenwhenhedid,theresultswereonlyof

BlackdoctorswithBlackpatients.Thisdoesnotrepresenttherealityofoursocietyand

showstheveryrealimpactofbiasinthecreationofthesetechnologies.WeneeddiversetalentinvolvedinAIcreationandtrainingtohelpmitigatebias.

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

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Continuedpoliticalshifts,especiallyintheUnitedStates,andayearofelectionsaheadwillcauseincreasedturmoil.

TherecontinuedtobemanySupremeCourtrulingsintheUnitedStatesin2023.Themostsignificantrulingstruckdownaffirmativeactionprogramsincollegesin

June2023

,

effectivelyprohibitingnearlyalluniversitiesinthecountryfromusingraceasaconsiderationinadmissions.Thishasimpactedhighereducation,buthascascadedmorebroadly,leavingorganizationsinothersectorsfearfulthattheywillfacelegalchallengesduetotheirDEI

programming.

Unfortunately,organizationslike

AmericanFirstLegal

areusingchangingpoliticsasaway

tospewnegativerhetoric,suchastheirhotlinethatstates:“Ifyouhavebeenvictimizedby

wokepoliticsintheworkplaceoratschool,ifyouhavebeenillegallydiscriminatedagainstin

theworkplaceorinsearchofacontractorgovernmentbenefitundertheOrwellianguiseof

‘diversity,’‘equity,’‘inclusion,’pleasecontactusTODAY.”Myperspectiveisthatorganizations

thatneverintendedtoinvestfullyinDEIeffortsareusingthistypeofrhetoricasanexcuse

tostopDEIinitiativesaltogether.Thenegativerhetoricdoes,however,poseanopportunity

forsuccessfulorganizationstorethinktheirDEIstrategiestoensuretheyarenotexposingthemselvestorisk.TheDiversityMovementhasalwaysadvocatedforthecreationofadiverseslateofcandidatesforpositions,aswellasinterviewandpromotionprocessesthatmitigate

biasandensurethatthebesttalentisselected.Settingaparticularintentionandfocustohireandpromotediversecandidatesiscritical,andavoidsthelegalriskofimplementingquotas.

InadditiontotheSupremeCourtrulings,weareheadedintoayearthat

NPR

iscallinga“mega-electionyear,”withcriticalelectionstakingplaceintheUnitedStates,India,Indonesia,Mexico,SouthAfrica,andothernations.AsNPRreports,“morethan60countriesrepresentingaround

4billionpeoplearegoingtothepolls.Somemediaoutlets,liketheEconomistandtheNewYorker,havedeclareditthebiggestworldwideelectionyearinhistory.”

TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

2024Predictions

Itisclearfromthislistofmacrotrends–especiallythepoliticalarena–thatthestakesforDEIhaveneverbeenhigher.Quitefrankly,manyleadersfeelthatDEIisunderattack.Personally,Iliketorememberthatpeopleonlyattackthingswhentheyareafraidandwhenthey

believetheyarebeingthreatened.DEIisbeingattackedbecauseoureffortsarehavingconsequences.

Withthatinmind,thefollowingpredictionsareforyou:thosewhoaresupporters,thosewhoarenaysayers(or“lateadopters”aswesometimescallthematTDM),andespeciallythosewhoareneutralaboutDEI.Inoursurveys,weoftenseethatmostquestionshavea“neutral”ratherthan“disagree”or“stronglydisagree”response.Wefindthisencouraging–itismucheasiertoturnsomeonewhoisneutralintoasupporter.AsThompsonwiselysays:“Ifyou

canneutralizethenaysayersofDEI,yourchampionscanbecomestronger…andthefolksonthesidelinesaremuchmoreapttojumpintothegame.”

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

1DEIneedstoberebrandedandrepositioned.

Inour2023predictions,wewereferventinurgingthatDEIneededarebrand.Thisyear,Iamnotmerelysuggestingarebrand.Instead,IamadamantthatDEIneedsastronger,robust,

andexpansivecommunicationsandPRstrategy.ThereareseveraltacticsthatIviewasessential.

SharingSuccessStories

InDecember2023,McKinsey&Companyreleased“

DiversityMattersEvenMore,

”thefourthreportinaMcKinseyseriesinvestigatingthebusinesscasefordiversity,following“Why

DiversityMatters”(2015),“DeliveringThroughDiversity”(2018),and“DiversityWins”(2020).Thereportoutlineswhatitcalls“themostcompellingbusinesscaseyet”fordiversity,

notingthatgender,aswellasracialandethnicdiversity,haveincreasedonexecutiveteamsovertheyears.TheMcKinseyresearchersfoundthattheseteamsareoutperformingtheirpeergroupsfinancially.Andyet,Idon’tseemanypeople,includingDEIpractitioners,talkingaboutthiscompellingreportanditsimportantfindings.

Certainly,it’struethatmanyorganizationscurrentlydonothavesignificantgender,racial,orethnicdiversityattheexecutivelevel.Indeed,acommonsentimentweseeinoursurveys

andhearinourlisteningsessions,especiallyfromentry-levelandmid-levelemployees,is

thattheleadershipteamdoesnotreflectthecompany’soveralldiversity.IalsothinkfondlyofGretaGerwig’ssummer2023blockbustermovie,“Barbie”,wherethecharacterofBarbiefindsherselftalkingtoMattel’sexecutiveleadershipteamcomprisedofallmiddle-aged

Whitemenandwonderingwherethewomaninchargeis.Thoughthisisafictionalmovie,

anddiversityatleadershiplevelsisimproving,asawomanleader,Iverymuchidentifiedwiththisscene.Istilloftenfindmyselfmeetingwithexecutivesteamsthatareentirely(oralmostentirely)men.

Yes,thereisclearlystillworktobedone,butpartoftheDEInarrativethatisnot

widelyunderstoodisthatittakestime,commitment,andintentionalfocusoncareer

developmentandsuccessionplanningforwidespreadchangestooccurattheexecutivelevel.InDecember,onelong-termTDMclient,

TruliantFederalCreditUnion

,promoted

aBlackleadertoCFOafteraretirement.This

promotion

wasnotaboutfillingaquota,

butinsteadwasasuccessstorybasedonstrategicsuccessionplanning.ThenewCFO

hadworkedatTruliantforthreedecadesandhadbecomebothcontrollerandseniorvice

presidentduringhistenure.Thispastsummer,thecompanyalso

announced

itsboard

includesmoregenderandraciallydiverseboardmembersthanpreviously,makingitmuchmorereflectiveofitscustomersandemployees.Truliant’scommitmenttoincreasingdiversityatboththeleadershipandboardlevelisimpressiveandanexampleforotherstoemulate.

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leadustoembracediversityandtreasureourdifferences.Givenourmissiontohavethedeepestpossibleunderstandingofglobaleconomies,weseektofind,retain,andgrowthebesttalentacrossgenderidentity,raceandethnicity,sexualorientation,gainedexperiences,andmore.Unlockingthepowerofthatdiversityrequiresaninclusiveenvironment.Webelievethatwhenpeoplearetrulyincludedonthemission,theythinkmoredeeplyaboutthebestanswers,andpushharderonthetoughestproblems.

RayDalio

Principal,Bridgewater

TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

GoingbacktomypointaboutDEIneedingabetterPRplan,wehaveseencountlessstorieslikethiswithotherclientsthatarejustnotbeingadequatelypromotedandshared.InatimewhenDEIisunderattack,thesetypesofnarrativesmustbesharedwidelyandmoreboldly.EventhoseorganizationswhohavebeenauthenticallydoingworkintheDEIspaceshouldbeurgedtotelltheirstoriesbetter.Sowhyarewefocusedonthenegativeheadlines,theAmericanFirstLegal,andothersimilarorganizationsoftheworld?Becausethey’rethe

loudest,noisiestvoices.Weneedtosharesuccessstoriestohelpustranscendthenoise.

ConnectingDEItoBusinessStrategy

TheDiversityMovementhasthrivedbecauseitfocusesontyingDEItobusinessoutcomesandobjectives.GiventhecriticismofDEI,thisconnectionisevenmorecrucial.AsThompsonexplains:“Whatdoallbusinessleaderscareabout?Theywanttomakemoney,save

money,andreducetheirrisk.”Diversity-ledinitiativesdeliveroneachofthesecomponents.

♦Collaborativeandrespectedemployeesaremoreproductive(unhappy

employeescostU.S.companiesanestimated$1.9trillionin2023,accordingto

Bloomberg

).

♦Better

retention

meanslessturnoverandassociatedcosts.

♦Amorediversemarketingstrategyandmorediverseproductsandservicesattractsmorecustomersand

revenue

(forexample,LGBTQ+individualsholdanestimated$3.9trillioninglobal

purchasingpower

).

♦Cultivatinginclusiveleadersandacultureofbelongingmitigatesdiscriminationandharassmentlawsuits.

RayDalio,aglobalbusinessleaderandprincipalofassetmanagementfirm

Bridgewater,

declaresDEIa“topstrategicpriority.”

Ourvalues—meaningfulworkandmeaningfulrelationships,independentthinking,andcreatinganenvironmentwherethebestideaswin—naturally

9

Fergusonwisely

says

:

TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

(Re)definingDEI

AnothercriticalcomponentofthePRstrategyforDEIisthesimpleactofspellingout

“Diversity,”“Equity,”and“Inclusion”(it’salsoabestpracticeforinclusivelanguagetodefineacronyms).Rightnow,“DEI”asanacronymhasbecomealightningrod.Somepeoplehear“DEI”andimmediatelyassociateitwithnegativity.Theysimplystoplistening.

Yet,diversityisfundamentallyallthewaysthatpeopleareunique—certainlyincluding

genderidentityandracialandethnicdiversity,butalsoencompassingsomuchmore,

suchasdisability(rememberthat25%ofAmericanshaveadisabilityandanyoneofus

candevelopadisabilityatanytime),age,thinkingstyles,maritalstatus,parentalstatus,

experience,andmuchmore.Itisthesevisibleandinvisibletraitsthatmakeuswhoweare.TDMoftenusesanicebergactivitywithexecutivesandteams.Wechallengeindividualstothinkaboutandsharewithoneanotherwhatisvisibleandinvisiblethatmakesthemwhotheyare.Thisexerciseallowsindividualstorealizethatweeachhaveuniqueanddiversebackgrounds.

Equityisadmittedlymoredifficulttoexplain.Growingup,Iwasalwaystaughttotreat

everyonethesame,totreateveryoneequally.However,wecannotallbetreatedthesame,becausewearealldifferentandunique.Forexample,individualsofdifferentheights,

experiencelevels,andabilitiescannotallusethesamebicycle.Thebicycleneedstobe

adjustedoraccommodationsneedtobemadeforeachindividual.Thisisthecasewith

equityandtheworkplace—weallneedslightadjustmentsoraccommodationssowecandoourverybestwork.

Inclusioniscreatinganenvironmentwhereeachindividualcanbetheirauthenticselfandbringtheirbestworkandideastothetable.Whenthishappens,everyonebenefits.And,“inclusion”meansallpeople—eventhosewedisagreewith.Indeed,ourco-founderJackie

Peoplewhoworkininclusiveworkplacesreportgreaterfeelingsofbelongingandwell-being,

engagement,andjobsatisfaction.Whencompaniespromotebelonging,everyonehasaroletoplayintheorganization’ssuccess.Belongingisalsosomethingthateveryonecangetbehind.

JackieFerguson

Co-Founder,TheDiversityMovement

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Afteryouexplaintheseterms,especiallyfocusingoninclusionandbelonging,cansomeonereallyclaimtheydisagree?Certainly,somemaydisagree,butittypicallyismoredifficult.

Focusingonthebenefitsofinclusionandbelongingforallisonewaytofindcommonground.

FindingCommonGround

DEI’sPRstrategyfurtherforgescommongroundbysparkingrealandvulnerable

conversations,especiallyattheleadershiplevel.

Inhismanyconversationswithexecutives,Thompson

findstheeasiestwaytofindagreementandcommon

groundistoaskquestionslike:“Shouldourbuildingbesetupinsuchawaysosomeonewhousesawheelchaircanworkhere?Shouldmenandwomenwhodothe

samejobreceivethesamepay?”Whentheexecutivessay“yes”or“ofcourse,thatmakessense,”Thompsonreplies:“Thenyoudon’thaveaproblemwithdiversity,equity,andinclusion;youhaveaproblemwiththewayit’sbeenexplainedtoyou.”

Ratherthanchastisingexecutivesandothersfornot“buyinginto”DEI,weneedtoslowdownandlistentotheirconcerns.Sometimes,DEIpractitionersoverlookthiscriticalstep.Remember,inclusionisabouthearingallperspectivesandvoices,eventhosewedisagreewith.IhavespokenwithexecutiveswhotrulyhavepositiveintentionsandcareaboutDEI,buttheyalsojusthavealotontheirminds.

Oneexecutiveexplained,“Ireallywanttousethecorrectpronounsformyemployees—

andmykids’friends—Ijustcan’tkeepupwithallofthechanges.HowcanIdothis?”My

responsetothisexecutiveandtootherswhoareaskingsimilarquestionsistolookatthe

SixRulesofInclusiveLanguagefrom

TheInclusiveLanguageHandbook,

oneofwhichisaskifyouaren’tsure.Approachconversationswithhumilityandvulnerability.

Certainly,Iamnotsayingtoputtheburdenontheotherperson(agoodleaderalsodoestheirownhomeworkandreading),butitisokaytosay:“I’mreallytryingtobebetterwithmyinclusivelanguage.Canyouletmeknowwhatpronounsyouuse?”AfterIsharedthisperspective,theexecutivefeltencouraged,ratherthanfrustratedorexasperated.

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

ConnectingDEItoWell-being

Asdiscussedearlier,manyleadershavedeclaredthatemployeewell-beingistheirtop

priority,andthedatamakeacompellingcaseforsupportingwell-being.DEIisintrinsicallyconnectedtoemployeewell-being–whenemployeesfeelincludedandtheyfeelthattheybelong,theyareabletoshowupfearlesslyasthemselvesatwork,ultimatelycontributingpositivelytowell-being.Recently,TheDiversityMovementwasacquiredbyWorkplace

Options(WPO),theworld’slargestindependentproviderofholisticwell-beingsolutions.Throughcustomizedprogramsandacomprehensiveglobalnetworkofcredentialed

providersandprofessionals,WPOsupportsindividualstobecomehealthier,happier,andmoreproductive,bothpersonallyandprofessionally.Trustedby56percentofFortune500

companies,WPOdelivershigh-qualitycaredigitallyandin-persontomorethan79million

peopleacross116,000organizationsinmorethan200countriesandterritories.ThemoveshowstheimportanceandpoweroflinkingDEItowell-being.

WPOandTDMarealignedinourvisiontomakeatransformativedifferencethrough

innovation,technology,andahuman-centricapproachtoholistichealth.

AlanKing

PresidentandCEO,WPO

ItiscleartogloballeaderslikeKingandoutstanding

organizations,like

BAYADAHomeHealthCare

,oneof

TDM’slong-standingclients,thatlinkingDEItowell-beinglogicallymakessense,anditmakesgoodbusinesssense.BAYADAHomeHealthCarerecentlywonNewsweek’s

BestPlacestoWorkforDiversityforthesecondyear

inarow,demonstratingitscommitmenttodiversity-led

programmingandthebenefittoitscustomersandpeople.

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

TellingPersonalStories

OneofthemostimportanttenetsofagoodPRstrategyistoknowyouraudienceandtellagoodstory,andthesestoriesaremostmeaningfulwhentheyarepersonal.Justaswearealldiverse,weallhavecompellingstoriestotell.

In2023,Ihadtheopportunitytogiveapresentationoninclusiveleadershiptoalarge

audienceofbusinessleaders.Iknewmanyaudiencemembershadmisconceptions

aboutDEI(basedonnumerouseyerollsIreceived).Iwasalsotoldthatthetopicwasa

“conversationender”whenIsaidIwouldbespeakingaboutthebusinessbenefitsof

inclusion.Duringmypresentation,Ishareddataandfacts,butalsoinjectedafewpersonalstoriestoillustratespecificpointsaboutinclusion,includingmyownexperiencesofbeingexcludedasawomanentrepreneurandsuccessstoriesaboutmy75-year-oldfather,whowasabusinessexecutiveformanyyearsandledwithinclusion.Afterthesession,severalpeoplesharedhowtheyappreciatedmypresentation,especiallythepersonalstories.Themostmeaningfulwasanindividualwhostartedtheconversationbydeclaring:“I’manultraconservative.”Iadmittedlypaused,notsurewheretheconversationwouldgo.But,he

continued,“IneverheardDEIexplainedinthisway.Ionlyeverreadthenegativerhetoric.IthoughtIwasanopen-mindedperson,butyourpresentationmademerealizethatperhapsI’mnotasopen-mindedasIthought.Thankyou.”

Iencourageyoutothinkaboutthestoriesyoucantell,aswellasthosethataremeaningfulforyouremployees,customers,clients,andcommunities.Itjustmayhelpyoufindcommon

groundandchangesomeone’sviewofDEI.

BuildTrustandInclusionthrough

PowerfulStorytelling

Apowerfulstorycanbuildbridgesandbreakthroughpreconceivedideas.

Ourexperiencedspeakers

canengageaudiencesonarangeoftopics

fromthebusinesscaseforDEItoinclusivelanguage,privilege,unconsciousbias,andmore.Wanttopolishyourownpowerfulstory?Wecanhelpwithhands-ontrainingand

publicspeakingworkshops

.

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TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

2

Inclusiveleadershipiscriticalforexecutivesina

changingworld.

WhilewehavewitnessedbacklashandattacksonDEI,anareawherewehavenotseen

negativityisininclusiveleadership,continuouslearning,andcoachingacrossalllevelsof

theorganization,especiallyattheexecutiveandpeople-managerlevels.Additionally,we

knowthat

leadersarewhatshapeculturethemost

.Thesefactsandthecontinuinginterestintheseareasledustodevelopourgroundbreakinginclusiveleadershipassessment,

TDM

Leaderview™

.

WithLeaderView,leadershipteamsidentify,build,andsustainsevencoreinclusive

leadershipcompetenciesneededtonavigatechange,cultivateworkplacebelonging

andwell-being,enhanceproductivity,andspurinnovation.TDMLeaderViewexamines

teamstrengthsandgapsacrossthesesevencorecompetencies.Identifyingtheseareas

enablesteamstobecometightlyintegratedandhigh-performing.Withpersonalizedlearningjourneysbackedbyouraward-winningcontentandavisualdashboardtotrackprogress,

LeaderViewprovidestoolsandinsightstoestablishculturallycompetentteamsatscale.

including2024.

BossandMitsubishi

Hugo

Wehaveseensuccesswithseveralexecutiveteams,

Chemical,andlookforwardtoexponentialgrowthin

InclusiveLeadershipDrivesPowerful,

CohesiveTeams

Employeeengagementhingesoneffectiveleadership,whetherit’sfrom

theexecutiveteamorpeoplemanagers.Jointheranksofforward-thinkingorganizationsandseehow

TDMLeaderView

andour

InclusiveLeadership

coaching

canhelpyoudeveloptheskillstoharnessthetransformative

powerofcohesiveteams.

3

DEI-basedgroupsandorganizationscommittedtoongoinglearningwillpaveapathforward.

Inadditiontoleadershipteamsandpeoplemanagers,wepredictacontinuedreinvigorationofEmployeeResourceGroups(ERGs)andDEICouncils/Committees.Manyofthese

employee-ledgroupsformedin2020(thoughtheyhaveexistedatsomeorganizationsfordecades),andwhilesomeofourclientshavedoneagreatjobofcontinuingtoevolvethesegroups,othershavefallenflat.

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Withtherightsupport,yourERGmembers,Councilmembers,andDEI

leaderscandriverevenue,attractcustomers,andboostrecruitingand

retention.TDMLibraryhasthehow-toguidancetohelpthemmove

businessstrategiesforward,andTheDiversityLeader’sIntensiveprovidesthetoolstodriveresults.

TheLatestDEITrends&Predictionsfor2024

AmajorpitfallweseewiththesegroupsisthatthemembersdonotunderstandDEIbroadlyandonlyhaveamyopicviewofDEIbasedontheirown,personalexperience.Asnoted

above,personalstoriesarecriticaltoDEI’sPRstrategy,buttheyareNOTtheonlyfactor.Incontrast,whenwehaveworkedwiththesegroupsandhelpedthemunderstandthebroaderdefinitionofdiversityandhowmultipleERGsandgroupswithintheorganizationneedto

worktogether,wehaveseenthemhavegreatsuccess.

Additionally,weoftenseedysfunctionandgroupsthatactasabreedinggroundfor

discontentratherthanpositiveactivity.Absolutely,ERGsinparticularshouldbesafe

spacesforindividualstoshareandprocesstogether,butthemostsuccessfulERGsareactually“BRGs,”orBusinessResourceGroups,thathaveameasurableimpactonthebusiness—eitherthroughrecruiting,retention,orcustomeracquisitionandrevenue

generatingefforts.

AnotherchallengewehearaboutfromtheseDEIgroupsisthattheirleadershipteamdoesnotcareaboutthemordoesnotinvestenoughinthegroups.However,oncewehelpthemunderstandhowtospeakthelanguageoftheexecutiveandhighlightthebusinessvalueofwhattheyaredoing,thesegroupsareabletomakegreatprogress.

Finally,theseemployeegroupscanalsosometimesbestagnantbecausethey