Using Innovation Principles To Improve DEIB Outcomes

A fresh approach for leaders to achieve meaningful and impactful change

For many leaders, achieving success in their diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) has been challenging. A Harvard Business Review study featured in March 2023 showed a stark disconnect: while  97% of HR leaders respondents said that they were making great improvements and strides in their DEIB programs, only 37% of employee respondents felt that those efforts improved DEI. Many employee respondents felt that discrimination, lack of equal access to advancement opportunities and a lack of respect continued to persist, even with their employer efforts. While employers may have been putting in more time, effort and resources, it is not producing the outcomes that they’d hope.

Approaching DEIB efforts and initiatives from a unique perspective may help to improve DEIB program outcomes. We’ve seen opportunities where innovation has been applied to areas, mostly in scientific or technical fields, to help solve the world’s most challenging problems. By applying innovation principles - courage, risk-taking, collaboration, trust and leadership - to the realm of DEIB, there is the potential to create meaningful and impactful DEIB programs.

Some guidance for leaders for applying innovation in their DEIB efforts:
 

• Take time for self-reflection: As a leader, it is very important to take a step back and examine your biases and assumptions of others who are not like you. Additionally, it’s important to examine times where, in your DEIB efforts, you operated from a place of fear, indifference, denial or anger (Fixed Attitudes), and when you’ve engaged in activities that, may satisfy an immediate need, yield little to no results (Fixed Practices). Self-reflection is important so that we can pivot and make changes, versus using the same approach, same mindset and getting the same results.

 

• Get everyone onboard: Strong leaders need to be deeply committed to DEI efforts. But, DEIB can be challenging, and not an endeavor to be taken on alone. For DEIB efforts to be successful, everyone in the organization must be committed. DEIB initiatives should not be considered solely the function of a Human Resources department or Diversity office. Ensure that you are getting a steadfast commitment from everyone in your organization.

 

• Try new things and start small: Begin with pilot projects that focus on a specific area (e.g., recruiting, retention or advancement) and audience, rather than investing time and resources on a massive scale. Smaller projects allow leaders to test new and unique approaches. This allows leaders to see what is working well and can be scaled out for a bigger audience, as well as what could be improved to make the project more impactful. 

 

• Have the courage to listen: As hard as it may be to hear critical feedback from employees, it is critically important to the overall success of DEIB programs. Programs that are implemented with the “good intentions” of leadership but with no employee buy-in or feedback are destined to fail and fail fast. Invite opportunities for employees to share their concerns - good and bad - on DEIB practices. Listen to rather than become defensive to criticism and take this valuable information to make necessary changes.

 

• Measurement matters: The saying “what is not defined cannot be measured; what is not measured, cannot be improved” is true in the DEIB space. It is necessary for organizations to clearly define their DEIB strategy, goals and work to be done early and often. It is also important to establish organizational baselines (e.g., in representation, recruitment, retention), and identify key performance indicators and metrics to help evaluate if goals are being met, and if not, where changes are appropriate.

 

• Accountability is required: Taken further, when metrics and goals are not being met, it is important to hold leaders accountable. By not addressing shortcomings or faults within programs and initiatives, it gives the impression - whether valid or not - that DEIB is not valued by the organization. Or perhaps worse, in those cases where employees from historically marginalized groups are harassed or threatened, faulty programs could allow bad behavior to persist, and make employees feel as if they are in a hostile environment.  Leaders must hold everyone in their organization accountable for missed metrics and questionable behavior. By weaving DEIB as part of the employee review process, it informs employees that they are also being assessed on their contributions toward DEI.

 

• Never stop learning: All leaders should regularly invest time to keep learning and growing. Leaders and their teams should continuously educate themselves on different topics within DEIB. They should also be staying up to date on any best practices and developments in the field. 

 

• Avoid looking at DEIB as a checklist: Checklists imply that once a task is complete no further work needs to be done; the task is complete. Any seasoned DEI practitioner will tell you that this isn’t the case. It’s important for leaders to take the approach that DEIB will grow and evolve over time and is likened more to a continuous process improvement cycle than a “one and done” list.

To learn more and to see real-world examples of how companies have used innovation principles in their own DEIB efforts, read Innovating for Diversity: Lessons from Top Companies Achieving Business Success through Inclusivity. 

Susanne Tedrick is a writer and speaker who is dedicated to expanding the professional opportunities of women and people of color within the tech industry. She is the co-author of Innovating for Diversity and author of Women of Color in Tech. She currently serves as a coalition member of NPower’s Command Shift initiative, aimed at increasing the participation of women of color in tech, and formerly served as the chair of CompTIA’s Advancing Tech Talent and Diversity Executive Council.