DEI: Beyond the Business Case
Featuring PF Associate, Laura Clemesha (she/her)
“Today, if we have no peace, it is because we have forgotten that we belong to each other.” — Mother Teresa
If you’re feeling a little off kilter this week, you’re not alone; I’m right there with you.
In Queensland and New South Wales, we’re grappling with the might of Mother Nature- with rising floodwater claiming homes, isolating people from their loved ones, and preventing access to critical supplies, medical equipment and treatment.
Overseas, the political waters are also tempestuous, with the world holding its breath as we bear witness to the invasion of Ukraine. For many of us, when we feel overwhelmed, upset or are visited by grief, we can tend to feel alone: we can withdraw from the world to go inside ourselves, where we feel safe.
Ironically, though, what we know to be true is that overwhelm, upset and grief are universal human experiences that connect us all. It’s our connection to our loved ones and to our communities that have the greatest potential to lift us up out of the hard places we can find ourselves, and remind us that the clouds will part, the water will clear, and that our world is a devastatingly beautiful place to be.
Yesterday my local café cranked up its emergency generators, opened its doors, and invited the residents of my street in Brisbane (who were cut-off from supplies, flooded in and without electricity; we were lucky compared to many, many others) to come in to charge their phones, to have a warm coffee and a bacon and egg burger, and to just be together. Residents were passing out their extra food and candles to their neighbours — who were previously strangers- on the street and exchanging their news and their phone numbers, while others helped push cars out of the floodwater.
As people rally together to coordinate evacuations, repair and clean-up efforts, I’ve heard the well-worn saying spoken as I’ve walked past pairs yarning, and on grabs from the online news: “Bad times bring out the best in people”. If you were talking to a psychologist, they would call this trend an outburst in ‘prosocial behaviour’, aka voluntary actions that help or benefit others. But what is it about the current situation, or any other time of great need, that sparks this prosocial behaviour?
Social scientists would suggest that it’s the widespread experience of having deep compassion for others that drives us to lend a hand to a stranger who needs a lift. Here at Performance Frontiers, we’re big followers of the research of Dr Brené Brown. She defines compassion as:
“The daily practice of recognising and accepting our shared humanity so that we treat ourselves and others with loving-kindness, and we take action in the face of suffering”.
The magic key that unlocks action in the face of suffering, hardship, and injustice is acknowledging our shared humanity — looking at someone having a hard time and recognising a piece of ourselves in their experience; “I might not be feeling what you’re feeling right now, but I recognise those emotions because I’ve felt that before. I know what that’s like”.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
I’ve been thinking on the power of acknowledging our shared humanity a lot lately. As a passionate Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) practitioner, I’m eternally interested in the driving forces behind companies adopting Diversity KPIs, choosing to invest in an assessment of their Inclusion climate, or investing in unconscious bias training for their employees. One of the drivers that has received a lot of attention in the past decade is “The Business Case.”
It’s not news that diverse companies (diverse in demographics, experiences, thinking style etc) who put in the work to build an inclusive culture on the cornerstone of psychological safety are more productive, creative, have higher employee engagement, less attrition and higher profit than less-diverse companies. Thus, The Business Case for DEI work was born; more diverse, equitable and inclusive environments = higher profit. For practitioners, The Business Case is key in getting buy-in from organisational stakeholders to encourage them to make DEI central to their strategy and commit resources to this work from their operational budgets. It’s an important, valid, and necessary argument. However, I have been noticing over the past few years that another key motivational factor in organisations getting real about DEI work is the acknowledgement of our shared humanity.
In short, organisational leaders seem to be moving away from advocating for The Business Case, and instead are championing DEI work because It’s The Right Thing to Do.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that recent times have also seen an uplift in the adoption of Service Leadership by organisational, political and community leaders.
Service Leadership
At Performance Frontiers, we’re inspired by Service Leadership — the leadership philosophy where the goal of the leader is to serve their employees. Where Traditional Leadership focuses on improving the business position of their organisation, Service Leadership instead asks the question: “What do my people need, and how can I best be of service of them?”
At the very core of Service Leadership is an acknowledgement and an honouring of our shared humanity. The voice of Service Leadership is non-judgemental and says “I might not need what you’re needing right now, but I recognise your situation because I’ve been in a place of struggle when my needs were not met. I know what it’s like, and I will ask you what you need, and take action on your behalf.”
Service Leadership is characterised by starting from a place of empathy, listening deeply, an awareness of self and others, influencing for communal gain, and committing to building a community and fostering a sense of belonging.
Service leaders take action because It’s The Right Thing To Do for their people — not because it’s what best for the company’s bottom line. Inherent to the service leadership philosophy is the belief that if we look after our people, they will look after the company, show up as their best selves, and be willing the make sacrifices when required.
Leaders who take on issues of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion with an open heart and people-focused approach, motivated by a sense of shared humanity, are true Service Leaders. Where do you sit?
I’ll leave you with this sentiment from powerhouse DEI practitioner, Lily Zheng:
“DEI is about social justice, not about profit”
and with this practical suggestion:
Want to know what the members of your diverse team or organisation need from you, as their leader? Ask them. Believe them. And then take action. Because It’s The Right Thing to Do.
