| In my work with corporate clients, especially in financial services and real estate development, I witness and guide their journey to implement meaningful diversity, equity and inclusion programs and create inclusive cultures in which everyone can feel they belong. I describe this journey in the context of “Seven Stages from Intention to Impact” – from taking the first step of “doing something” all the way to being fully committed to change, even when confronting systemic bias within the organization.
Midway along the journey, however, there is a key juncture: at the start of Stage 4 when pushback emerges from within the organization. Often, it’s shocking to encounter – particularly when one’s close associates suddenly start to question the DEI strategy that the company had previously announced with much fanfare. Stage 4 doesn’t just occur within companies. It’s become endemic in society today, as we’ve seen in pushback such as the Supreme Court’s strike against affirmative action on college campuses that has stoked “anti-woke” attitudes.
This is a call to awareness as well as action. For the DEI journey to be strengthened and continued, we need to educate ourselves on the Seven Stages.
Following is an excerpt from my new book, “From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion,” published by MIT Press, this month, in which I lay out the Seven Stages – what each one means and the impact each one creates.
Stage 1: Feeling Excited Relief – There Is a Way to Solve “the Problem” Everyone gets excited. Pledges are made, committees are formed. CEO action supporting DEI is a great first step. Far too many companies stop here, in this initial stage. When that happens, DEI campaigns can devolve into lip service that elicits eye rolls or are perceived as tone-deaf, causing the company to backpedal.
(BEG BOLD)Stage 2: Learning about “The Problem” (END BOLD)Most companies set up training sessions, book clubs, and education portals. Creating strategy and enabling employee resource groups (ERGs) are great ways to apply learning. A good way to go deeper (as our clients do) is actively working through what we call the “3 L’s” – listening, learning and taking loving action.
Stage 3: Taking Action on Low-Hanging Fruit After training and learning, it’s time to take some action. Most organizations start with the obvious and easy. Specific actions and outcomes include increased communication, diversity hiring commitments and efforts to establish baselines and measure progress. Qualitative metrics are really important here; feelings and stories are data.
Stage 4: Denying There Is Pushback Initial small actions taken thus far are met with pushback. The communications team may start to push back about messaging. Those leading DEI efforts often try to compromise at this point, which will dilute their efforts. They don’t fully realize that the ingrained structures are pushing back – or, as philosopher and author Charles Mills puts it, ignorance is fighting back.
Stage 5: Realizing the Pushback Is Real Much of the pushback encountered can be explained by employees being afraid to take risks, worried they might get in trouble, or, worse yet, concerned they may be rejected by their work “tribe.” “Covering your ass” behaviors show up in subtle (and sometimes not-so-subtle) questions or concerns. Many managers instinctively acquiesce to “concerns” expressed about DEI efforts until they realize that it’s actually the machine pushing back. The key here is to recognize these reactions for what they are: pervasive bias. The problem isn’t what’s being requested; the problem is that this is about dismantling bias. For DEI teams, it is especially hard when the one who is pushing back is a person of color.
Stage 6: Realizing the Pushback Is Bias “I’ve worked with these guys for years, and they have never asked me the questions they asked about the minority-owned business I was suggesting we work with.” This comment came from a white executive who was helping a minority-owned business enterprise increase its clientele. The realization that their pushback was bias really hurt his feelings and reinforced for him how even friendships are not immune. The pain of this realization often keeps people in denial.
Stage 7: Deciding to Move Around and Through the Bias “Write the damn checks,” advises investor Barbara Clarke, who has been a champion angel investor with woman- and minority-owned business enterprises (WMBEs) for years. It’s how she responds to white or male hesitancy in response to a pitch. She refuses to entertain questions asked about WMBEs that male investors did not pose to male entrepreneurs. Taking this step successfully means you don’t have to go back to Stage 1. Ask yourself: Are you committed to the struggle or will you back down to the structural bias that wants to protect itself at all costs and slow down progress? Do you prefer being comfortable now if it affects future profitability, sustainability, and reputation?
By successfully navigating all seven stages, companies will be able to steer through the ongoing work DEI success requires. At a time when Stage 4 pushback is becoming entrenched, each company that stays the course helps create the critical mass to sustain the DEI journey.
Malia Lazu is a lecturer at the MIT Sloan School of Management, CEO of The Lazu Group, former Eastern Massachusetts regional president and chief experience and culture officer at Berkshire Bank and the author of “From Intention to Impact: A Practical Guide to Diversity.”
