I recently discussed the current state of DEI with consultant Baiba Žiga and Dr. Shelton Goode, CEO and president of Icarus Consulting.

Shelton and I spend some time discussing the motivation behind our new book projects, as well as why we have to keep fighting the fights we’ve been fighting for decades. We also talk about the misrepresentation of DEI as a one-time training, initiative, or project with an end date, and why strong leadership is so important in creating a diverse and inclusive workplace culture. Leaders should be responsible for perpetuating this environment – a responsibility that shouldn’t be outsourced to a separate DEI division or Chief Diversity Officer. Without leader buy-in and the intentional alignment of DEI with company values, no action taken will be authentic or effective. In fact, when companies are quick to implement “initiatives” without knowing why they’re doing it, they often do more harm than good.

Finally, we consider what DEI looks like down the road. Although we don’t know what the next five to ten years hold, I do know that we just need to keep moving forward. There’s been a lot of focus on DEI over the past year and, as life moves closer to a post-pandemic normal, we absolutely cannot revert back to when people weren’t really talking about it all. Even though where we are now is tumultuous, tough and uncomfortable, it’s still a place of change — we just need to keep pushing. Shelton puts it this way: “DEI is a journey — something you need to work at intentionally, every day.”

Want to know more? Listen to the full interview.

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