• AUTHENTICITY requires leaders to be intentional about modeling behaviors they want their teams to show, Bailey says. That means not only identifying and owning their own biases but being able to demonstrate how they are addressing those issues.“ You have to first have the awareness, and then demonstrate curiosity, openness and willingness to value differences. Seeking out diversity of thought, diversity of background, diversity of opinion, in every aspect of your work. That’s not always seen as favorable in many organizations, but that diversity will challenge the norms and improve inclusivity,” she says. • ACCOUNTABILITY: individuals must be held accountable for making inclusion a priority, she says. “Especially at the leadership level, you can use your influence, exposure and power to make sure you’re regularly including others in decision making, goal setting, defining strategy, execution, projects, innovation,” she says. Accountability also requires owning up to and quickly and publicly taking action to correct missteps. Addressing and fixing issues forms a positive feedback loop that can improve inclusivity by tying those missteps back to awareness. “This is an ongoing process that has to constantly keep evolving and improving,” Bailey says.
3
Underestimating the power of processes and policies
For initiatives to have an impact, there must be processes, policies and infrastructure in place to support them. Leadership needs to take responsibility for making sure the working environment is safe and welcoming for everyone, but also to take immediate and decisive action when there’s evidence that this is not the case, says Bob Miller, vice president of Booz Allen Hamilton. “One of our values as a company is ‘unflinching courage,’ which means you have to step in decisively so that every employee feels protected, supported and covered,” he says.
4
Being ‘colorblind’
“Colorblindness”—a practice in which racial identity is avoided—used to be an acceptable approach not Continued on next page SEPTEMBER 2020
13