The 3 S’s for Transforming your Workplace culture
"Embracing inclusive leadership and fostering inclusive change requires us to begin by setting intentions. It all starts with developing self-awareness among our leaders and employees."
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Kosa graduated from college with a degree in accounting and was thrilled to be taking on her first, full-time position as an accounting specialist for a large tech company an hour outside of her hometown. As a woman with a robust Native American heritage, she was excited to bring honor to her tribe through integrity and hard work.
Despite her enthusiasm, she was nervous. Mainly because she had been warned about discriminatory practices and the bias that is felt in workplaces where differences are viewed as a weakness instead of a strength. She was determined to find a good fit, conducting extensive research into each company she applied – did this company value diversity, equity, and inclusion? Did past employee reviews provide supportive evidence for an inclusive workplace culture?
From the initial hiring manager phone interview to her face-to-face interview and onboarding process. It was clear that her new employer did not just publish diversity, equity, and inclusion policies, but valued and acted on truly embracing everyone equally. She felt empowered to speak up during conversations. When Kosa spoke, everyone listened intently and gave her thoughtful and encouraging feedback. And what she found truly remarkable was the fact that the company’s leadership did not elevate themselves above the rest of the employees but instead worked in the trenches side-by-side, encouraging and supporting the work in a unique and fresh way.
3 S’s of Transforming your Workplace Culture
What Kosa experienced is the result of transformational organizational management, which is a set of practices, strategies, and principles aimed at inspiring and motivating individuals and teams to achieve higher levels of performance and innovation. At Beyond Inclusion Group, we’ve come to realize that truly transformational organization management finds success through a simple formula:
Setting intentions + Sustainable actions = Shifting workplace culture
We also like to call these the 3 Ss. When each component of this formula is effectively implemented into organizational management, sustainable change can happen within the workplace culture.
Setting Intentions
Embracing inclusive leadership and fostering inclusive change requires us to begin by setting intentions. It all starts with developing self-awareness among our leaders and employees. This crucial first step allows us to develop self-awareness to understand our own biases, assumptions, and beliefs that may hinder inclusivity. By shining a light on these aspects, we can work towards challenging and transforming them.
“It’s this evolving self-knowledge that allows good leaders to be non-judgmental, curious, humble, good listeners, and open to new perspectives. Many leaders tend to overrate their own capacity to foster diversity and inclusion, so it is important for them to reflect objectively on ways that their orientation to inclusion actually shows up in their work and how it is regarded by those they lead.” – Maria Velasco
With self-awareness established, all leaders must agree and commit to organizational DEI goals. All individuals within the organization must be aligned and prepared to contribute wholeheartedly to the efforts required to accomplish these objectives.
Sustainable Actions In Motion
Once intentions are set, the next component of the formula is to put sustainable actions in motion. What steps will be taken as an organization to support its DEI goals? Establishing inclusive practices with measurable steps is key.
Here are a few ideas:
- Make inclusive leadership a core organizational management competency.
- Conduct assessments and training that develop an inclusive leadership mindset.
- Ty executive compensation to progress on DEI goals.
Shifting Organizational Practices
Creating an inclusive workplace culture demands more than just good intentions. It requires us to take sustainable action and put our newfound inclusive mindsets to work.
According to the HBR article, “Are Your Organization’s DEI Efforts Superficial or Structural?” here are a few clues that your workplace culture is shifting:
- You are providing equitable access to career opportunities by moving from a scorecard approach to qualitative measures of advancement
- You are promoting a culture of allyship where everyone is accountable for addressing overt and subtle ways of racism
- You are acknowledging and rewarding behaviors that promote equity across the organization.
Strategic Planning & 3S’s Implementation
Creating and implementing a vision of an inclusive organization is within your reach – you just need the knowledge and expertise of an external consultant to partner with you throughout the process for maximum effectiveness.
At Beyond Inclusion Group, we specialize in helping organizations like yours develop a captivating vision for cultural transformation and create a solid plan to make it happen. Our strategic planning and organizational development methods focus on building upon your strengths to foster more equity and inclusion. Our collective visioning process ensures that everyone’s voice is heard, leading to increased buy-in and engagement.
Learn more about Strategic Consulting with Beyond Inclusion Group.
“Maria provided our program with a comprehensive plan to incorporate EDI into our policies, processes, and community engagement. She carefully worked with our program to establish needs and to provide training specific to those needs. Our staff has learned new ways of looking at health equity, cultural competencies, and implicit biases. Maria is a strong presenter and creates a safe environment for all. I look forward to working with Maria on more projects in the future!”
– Regina Rodriguez Sisneros, Diversity and Inclusiveness Coordinator at Mindsource Brain Injury Network
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