I was contacted recently by a former client to engage in a conversation about their current D&I situation. TheCS team and I had previously done a significant amount of work with the organisation which included creating an extensive curriculum that was going to be rolled out across the organisation. Unfortunately, the initiative and implementation were cut short when a new leader arrived and changed the strategy!
The irony is that the current conversation regarding the challenges are exactly the ones we were attempting to minimise through our intervention a few years back ago. It was certainly a feeling of deja vu! There are a number of reasons for this but the main one is that in the D&I area there is often a very short-sighted vision towards the work. For example, this translates to “we will do a short workshop, and all will be well” or “we have had the conversation with the staff”. Many organisations overlook that D&I needs to be an ongoing conversation with their employees and not just a one off or perhaps periodically raised. To achieve real change and more importantly maintain it, the D&I conversation must be a continuing one and the vision and values of the organisation must be overt and committed to achieving goals associated with it. Similar to health and fitness, we need to keep our bodies moving to maintain strength, agility and flexibility.
As we come to the end of what has been a very challenging and unpredictable year, I encourage you all to consider the steps you are taking towards continuing and elevating the conversation around D&I in this ‘new normal’.
The CS team and I would like to wish you all a happy and safe festive season and wonderful 2021. We thank you for your support and feedback and look forward to an exciting year ahead in 2021.