Long thread: It is very well known in the D&I community of strategists and practitioners that inclusion HAS to be integrated into the very foundation of your organization in order for change to happen. This can't just be a facelift --
Everything from how the board functions, how the members are treated, the policies and procedures...all of it has to be reviewed, scrutinized and changed to fit the values of RWA's new inclusive culture. This doesn't happen overnight, but it's how you make systemic changes.
And yes, having just one individual to manage the whole process is simply not scalable. Our org is too big, with far too much diversity debt. Sure, you can bring in a consultant to help build a strategy and action plan for the year, helping set up the advisory committee,
communication plan, and guiding principles, but the BOARD and everyone (including staff) at the top need to participate in building all of this too. It is everyone's responsibility and this is ongoing work. It's an all-in approach. Primary business objective.
There's not one DEI leader I've met that has done all the initial work and said, "Welp, my work is done here. All good!" It doesn't work that way--this is for the long haul and you gotta hit some milestones to keep up trust and momentum for your members trusting you.
All the board needs to be educated and do the work on their own biases and set an example as being an inclusive leader. My colleague, @FleshmanKaren , does executive coaching and anti-racist discussions through her Racy Conversations program. Tell her I sent ya. She's fantastic.
Jessica Brown also has a great book on how to be an inclusive leader and it's helped me greatly. I encourage all leaders to give it a read. amazon.com/How-Be-Inclusi…
Basically, IMO, if these things below aren't happening, RWA is FAILING at their committment of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
1. Did we build a mission statement to define why we as an org recognize inclusion as an important foundation of our trade organization?
1. Did we build a mission statement to define why we as an org recognize inclusion as an important foundation of our trade organization?
You can say it all you want in your memos and Twitter, but until it is in writing integrated with our org's mission statement, it's just "aspirational." Define it. Make it real. I'm surprised by how the term "DEI" is thrown around but most don't know what it means. AT. ALL.
2. Stop putting discussions on inclusion in silos! This is the anti-thesis of inclusion! If this is truly a part of RWA's foundational values (as it should be), don't treat it like a side project. All forums should be able to speak on it because it should be in everything we do!
Compartmentalizing talks like these perpetuates the idea that this is something "additional" to our culture. No...it IS the culture. 3. Have you armed your DEI Advisory board with resources a plan, and information to take the reigns after your DEI consultant/expert leaves?
Like I said, this takes a village and the consultant is only here short-term. You need money to hold engagement surveys, help get accommodations in place for events and update policies and procedures so they align with our inclusive culture.
Most DEI leaders will tell you that often they are hired, but set up for failure because the whole DEI initiative is just to "check the box" and say the org "tried" when it fails. Give them what they need to succeed. Our dues pay for it!
Do you have a diversity planning process to identify and prioritize critical issues? If not, you're trying to boil the ocean and most of your tasks will FAIL, because this takes a lot of work and you can't have your committee working on everything at once.
You may actually have to build subcommittees depending on the level of effort on an issue. Build a timeline or roadmap to figure out what issues will be tackled first and when. And then SHARE it, so there's accountability.
If not, you'll FAIL, because members will lose trust that anything is happening. Trust me, some issues take a long time to resolve and if you're silent, we'll assume you're doing nothing. This brings me to #5...
5. Do you have a communication plan? Something that will ensure that internal and external stakeholders and members understand the diversity planning process and its goals, objectives, roadmap, key decisions, and overall impact? If not, you're failing (See previous point above)
6. Are you collecting data and analyzing to see if the changes you're making are moving the needle on loyalty, culture and member retention and growth? If not, how will you know if anything you're doing is making a difference?
If you don't collect feedback from your members as a baseline, how will you know where you stand when you impose changes?
Now, I have no idea if any of these things were being worked on, but these are big items that mean a LOT in a real strategy for creating an inclusive org.
Now, I have no idea if any of these things were being worked on, but these are big items that mean a LOT in a real strategy for creating an inclusive org.
The biggest mistake companies and organizations make is underestimate how much work and time this takes to do this correctly from inside out. The larger, more impactful tasks are often ignored, opting for smaller, visible wins to appease the need.
It's easy to create some changes to badges to make them more inclusive, but ensuring all aspects of governance, events, policies, and procedures are created with inclusive values in mind, isn't a quick feelgood fix. It takes effort and resources, but it's worth it.
You are improving your culture, but the changes are part mindset, part organization. It can be done, but not without the full support of the RWA staff and board. I know a WHOLE community of DEI strategists and practitioners who can potentially help. I offered before & I offer now
But I'll tell you now--they don't work for free and they will tell you like I'm telling you: You better be ready to go all in. No facelift work here. RWA needs to be serious about doing the hard work. No more talk. Do. Earn your members.
