Tonya Moore

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Here are 10 suggested ways to share knowledge: Break communication barriers. Keep archives. Use teams to solve problems. Educate employees on corporate systems. Create plugged-in managers. Share information at regular meetings. Ensure employees understand how they connect to each part of the organization....

Ten Ways to Share Knowledge

In this four-part blog series, thought leaders Rita Bailey, Elaine Biech, and Tonya Wilson offer advice for how to drive diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) initiatives forward at your organization.When you’re getting buy-in for DE&I efforts, it’s similar to any other change management effort.Every individual needs to feel like they are a part of their change. They can buy into it more easily when they know their role and their responsibility. If we have created a compelling vision for what a DE&I effort could be, by creating a sense of urgency and building a business case so everyone can see what the results will be, then employees will be able to identify what their role might be within that effort.Every employee wants to feel as if they’re a part of making the organization the best that it could possibly be. Getting involved in DE&I is no different, so we have to communicate with employees. We have to help them understand why it’s best for them as well as the organization. And we have to allow them to be a part of that change effort so that they can create their own buy-in.There are three specific points to consider when it comes to engaging employees with DE&I. First, we need to make sure that we allow time for everyone—individual employees and leaders—to ask questions and share their perspectives. Second, we must affirm and acknowledge. If someone shares something with you, thank them for doing so and acknowledge that doing so might have been difficult. Third, it’s important to reinforce your organization’s values. Those three things will definitely help to engage employees and keep that engagement moving forward.With DE&I, there is often a split camp between people who think that this is long overdue and are excited to make things happen; people who are on the fence and waiting to see what the DE&I initiative means to them; and people who don’t understand why a DE&I effort is necessary. There are also people within an organization who hear about a DE&I initiative and think “Oh boy, here we go again.” A lot of organizations have started DE&I initiatives that don’t have enough support behind them to be successful. We have to remember that there are people who have put their hearts and souls into a DE&I effort and feel like giving up.It’s important to understand where all these camps of employees are coming from and to start conversations in ways that are going to be meaningful. There are so many creative ways to engage employees in conversations. Some chief diversity officers hold listening tours or start book clubs. Some are hosting lunch & learns. Whoever is leading those conversations must know the level of commitment that the organization has toward DE&I and avoid overcommitting to ideas that haven’t been bought into yet. They also have to ensure that conversations don’t become whine sessions and focus on what people can do to make a difference.Be sure to have data related to issues like recruiting and retention as well as data related to whether people feel safe and included within the organization. That data can help frame the conversations you have with employees on DE&I. Rather than just talking about how people are feeling, you can address the topics that are most relative to the individuals and the organization. That can help you arrive at sustainable, impactful solutions. Otherwise, people might leave thinking that it felt good to talk but not know what will happen as a result of that conversation. Using data as your guide can help you level-set what people’s experiences have been and focus the conversation around solutions.In the change management world, we sometimes say, “take a whiner to lunch,” which means that it’s important to engage with the people who are frustrated by the change process. We need to validate that everyone’s opinion is important. We need to hear from everyone on this topic, including the white male voice. Everyone is a stakeholder.We also have to look at the people who are impacted by DE&I efforts and think about what is a win for them. What is a loss for them? How do we help them? If they are naysayers, what’s the validity in what they’re saying? How can we overcome those obstacles and turn them around? We need to create a lateral structure that allows many people to come to the table so that we're fostering connectivity. And maybe those people can also be part of our change network, as ambassadors who help get buy-in from others.Get more great insight from Rita, Elaine, and Tonya by listening to their DE&I Discussion Series. Recordings from this discussion series, along with associated resources, can be found here.

Getting Buy-In for DE&I Initiatives

By Jan ArzoomanCreating a meaningful women’s leadership program, even for women not on a leadership track, is beneficial to everyone involved—women, men, and the company itself, women’s leadership development experts say. “It’s helpful and really important for companies to invest in the training. As we look at the consumers that we serve for most businesses, having women in leadership is important because over half of our consumers are women,” says Tonya Echols, PCC, CPA, executive coach and leadership consultant at Vigere and an American Management Association (AMA) instructor. “The more women that we are preparing to be leaders, the more that that attracts other people to know that, OK, this is an organization that welcomes women, that supports women to be in higher levels of leadership.”Dedicated Women’s Leadership Training“A focused effort on developing women allows women to take better advantage of the development opportunities,” says Barbara Zung, vice president and chief human resources officer at AMA. “Learning events dedicated solely to women allow them to learn from other women, share best practices, realize they may be struggling with the same issues they themselves are—and all of that in a safe environment, where they are not over-talked by men.”“We know that women are facing unique challenges in the workplace,” says Lauren McNally, director of AMA’s Women’s Leadership Center. As women are promoted to the upper ranks, there tend to be fewer and fewer women around them. “You want women to feel comfortable within the organization,” she says, “so it’s really important that you have the resources there for women and that they have other women to look up to…for everyone to feel they belong.”Extending Development Opportunities to All WomenSome women’s leadership efforts are focused on employees who already show great potential for moving up into leadership roles, Echols says. They tend to do very well at their regular job but need other skills such as executive presence or strategic thinking. Without such training, an employee who’s really good at her job can fail in a leadership role. “You want to find out what is needed for the people that you are trying to prepare for those higher levels of leadership,” she says.That said, there are some basic skills needed, Echols points out, such as relationship building, strategic networking, influencing others, or strategic thinking. For women who aren’t sure they want to be leaders, general leadership development can help them too, both Echols and Zung say. “We don’t want to force anyone into leadership if they don’t want it,” Echols says. “But we want to give them the opportunity to at least start to see if there are things within leadership development that motivate them.”"That’s why women’s initiatives are such a wonderful thing,” adds Zung. “Offering development for all women allows organizations to get to know women who may not have been identified as high-potentials, yet, when getting to know them better, start to shine.”Better Earnings, Lower LiabilityEchols notes that from a purely economic view, more diverse organizations perform better financially, and they have fewer issues around risk management and legal exposure “just because of that additional viewpoint that women bring into the conversation.” She acknowledges that this lower liability may stem from women’s tendency not to take risks as often as men do—but this is one of the items women’s leadership training hopes to improve. Diversity of all kinds, not just gender diversity, is important. “The more diverse that we can be, the better off all the organizations are,” Echols says. “That’s how companies really can thrive.”Find out more about the Women’s Leadership Center at AMA.Jan Arzooman is a proofreader, copyeditor, and writer in American Management Association’s creative services/marketing department.

Tonya Moore

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