It is suddenly popular to try and be fair and decent. As a result, you can throw a rock in any direction and hit DEI initiatives springing up everywhere. Complete with its experts and advocates and the partnering organizations that champion the urgent need to implement and generate equity. But with all this momentum, what have the results of these initiatives proven thus far? They have fallen short of developing lasting and far-reaching effects thus far. They have proven to be broader than deep. Why?
Organizations are rushing to improve their brand and public appeal by the knee-jerk reflex to generate DEI initiatives missing some critical variables that will prevent deep integration. For DEI to work, culture and company motives must change. There needs to be more than a series of new policies and training held by experts to achieve lasting results.
The rose in the desert problem.
When looking at a barren landscape, deeply in need of life and color, a woman decided to plan a beautiful rose in the desert—determined to change the landscape for the better and introduce something appealing in a land devoid of that kind of variety and life. Sadly, her efforts eventually met with failure. So, my question is, was the problem the rose?
If environmental changes were implemented, that flower would have no climate to thrive in. Likewise, the systemic environment of an organization needs to be operated on and fixed. Still, then, all the initiatives, training, and speeches in the world will only have a minimal effect at best. It's an intervention for someone not committed to getting well.
Only when the question is asked and solved of why the environment is not designed to grow and nurture flowers in the first place no lasting impact is possible.
Commentaires