There’s no better time than right now to pause and reflect on what you’ve accomplished as an organization, and what still remains ahead of you for the remainder of 2023. At Synergy Consulting, we continuously lean into diversity, equity, and inclusion because we know that keeping DEI centered in organizations is not a nice to have, but a requirement for business success.  Loren Hudson, Senior Vice President, and Chief Diversity Officer at Comcast Cable summed up DEI initiatives best by saying, “when you bring diverse perspectives in the room, magic happens”.  There’s countless data available to support this quote. However, as we have seen in various forms, we are constantly reminded that as far as we’ve come, and as many benefits diversity brings to organizations, we are far from arriving at a place of equality and inclusion.  And as much as it may be tiring to the organization to bring forward yet another DEI initiative, your employees are equally, and even more tired, of seeing little or no support from their organizations.

As leaders within your organization, you have to make the commitment to keep leading thoughtfully and intentionally in your DEI efforts. This means that you look critically at your numbers (e.g., recruitment metrics), your engagement survey data, and your organizational policies to ensure that they are reflecting what you need them to reflect.  It also means that you provide ongoing support in the form of training initiatives and Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) to ensure that employees know and understand your stance as it relates to DEI in your organization.  Finally, it means holding people accountable if they fail to align with and / or impede organizational priorities.

The work of DEI is far from over; we’ve just got started.  The decision that needs to be made by organizations is simple, either move boldly in your DEI efforts or play it safe at the expense of your organization. The choice is simple. One requires minimal effort, and one requires a leader who desires to lead a transformative organization that will lead with intention. If you are the former, it’s time to conduct your midyear check in and make adjustments accordingly.