Hello everyone!
The last couple of weeks have got me thinking about how the DEI space needs to evolve to be more effective and to drive more change.
Here's 3 suggestions I wanted to share with you all:
1) From awareness raising to skills-building
The last 10 years have been characterised by raising awareness of marginalised groups in the workplace. This has been a necessary stage as so many of us were in 'unconscious incompetence' regarding the additional barriers in the way of success for these groups. Whilst this job is far from complete, I see the urgency now being in skills-building. Currently, we risk polarisation, desensitisation and a whole lot of noise as different groups struggle to get their voices heard.
I would argue that the role of DEI professionals is to now hold the space for the polarities, to learn systemic skills that allow all the voices to be heard and to lean into the uncertainty and the ambiguity that brings. In essence, I'm arguing for a move into inclusive leadership. We must create safer and braver spaces for ALL to be valued, build collaborative relationships between different groups, share power and avoid binary thinking.
2) DEI and MH need to come together.
In general, work is good for our mental health. I found myself in the unusual position of agreeing with Rishi Sunak when he said that younger people with mild mental health issues should be encouraged back to work. My underlying reasons may differ from his - I believe at work we can feel like we belong, we can find purpose and find healthy and meaningful relationships with others.
Our recent exploration into how identity impacts mental health showed us just how different mental health outcomes are for different identity groups. One can only conclude that our macro and micro experiences of belonging significantly impact our mental health. The primary aim of mental health teams and DEI in organisations should be the same - to create a culture of belonging where everybody can contribute.
3) Leading from hurt to leading from heart
This is not just a catchy little slogan. I noticed quite early on in my coaching and facilitation work that people are often drawn to trying to solve the personal difficulties that they have faced in the world. I met women who had challenging birth situations and became midwives or key players in the positive birth movement. I met women who had experienced baby loss who have gone on to write beautiful books and create safe spaces for women wanting to share their experiences. The understandable pain that people feel after these sort of challenges leads to amazing dedication to drive change through activism and supporting others.
At the same time, there can be a cost if this pain is not processed - when we have issues that are still activating for us (i.e. they provoke an emotional response), that hurt is easily projected onto others around us. This is why coaches and therapists have supervision. We notice when we're activated (or triggered) in a session and commit to healing. In the training room, I've seen how unhelpful it can be to have a triggered facilitator at the front of the room. Our DEI teams need support so that they can lead from heart rather than hurt. Often we need to work through these issues with a helping professional before putting ourselves out there to support others on that topic.
How about you? How are you and your organisations approaching and evolving in the DEI space?
Rox x