by Robyn Pollack

As we commemorate Juneteenth today, the importance of DEI and creating  Cultures of Inclusion and Equity is especially top of mind for all of us at LOUTEL.

Three Things Leaders Need to Know About Culture

In the summer of 2020, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) suddenly became the hottest topic for organizations across the country. Catapulted to the top of every company’s list of priorities by the egregious murder of George Floyd, DEI was all the rage. Nearly every organization jumped on the DEI bandwagon and people who had never done the work before were suddenly certificate-bearing experts capitalizing on the upswing. Now, in 2023, in the midst of talk of potential recession and financial uncertainty, layoffs in the tech sector, and the next election cycle, the proliferation of recent articles about the “death of DEI” is difficult to ignore.  

But for those of us who have been doing this work for many years, the sentiment that DEI is dead underscores a critical disconnect that leaders have been suffering from for equally as long. That disconnect is the fundamental misunderstanding that DEI is somehow an add-on or sits outside of organizational culture. There needs to be a recognition that DEI is synonymous with culture itself. Tolling the death knell for DEI is essentially saying that company culture is dead too.

The term “corporate culture” started to gain popularity in the 1980s, although it was first introduced by Dr. Elliott Jaques in his book The Changing Culture of a Factory. (Jaques, 1951). The term was coined by management experts in an effort to describe the values, beliefs, attitudes, and most importantly, the behaviors, which are the unique characteristics or personality traits of a particular organization. In simpler terms, culture defines how people behave toward one another and determines how someone feels when they walk through the (proverbial or actual) doors every day. The concept of corporate culture is understood to be a critical factor in how successful an organization is in all facets – operations, financial performance, client service, community standing, and employee experience.

At LOUTEL, we take a holistic, data-driven approach to culture/DEI. As a result, we sometimes hear clients say, “but where are the DEI solutions?” when we make strategic recommendations about improving communication, infusing equity into employee life-cycle processes like talent acquisition and talent management, and creating mechanisms that build environments of psychological safety. 

For many, DEI solutions are code for one-off bias trainings, lunch and learns, and cultural lunch celebrations. And while these default DEI activities are fine, they will do little to create real change in any organization. What many leaders fail to understand is that solutions that improve communication, employee voice, trust, psychological safety, belonging, inclusion, and respect are the hallmarks of DEI because they address the fundamental behaviors that create culture. In our engagements, we find that not everyone experiences culture the same way, and that one of the key factors impacting how an individual experiences culture is the diverse identities they hold. While some people may feel great walking through the doors of your organization, the goal is for all people to have that experience, and often times those with diverse identities do not. If an organization is addressing how all people behave and experience culture – and not just some people – it is addressing DEI. The question is not “is DEI dead”, but instead how can an organization, and more specifically its leaders, create and ensure a culture where everyone behaves in a way that fosters inclusion, belonging, and fair treatment.

There are three critical answers to that question:

1. Communication. C-Suite teams need to actively, consistently, and authentically communicate the importance of culture. All. The. Time. From town halls to department meetings to one-on-ones to addressing polarizing, uncomfortable issues that happen in the world. How does your leadership communicate in these different situations and what messages are they sending? Do your organizational values communicate the importance of respect, acceptance, diversity? It is essential that leaders cascade the message to their direct reports and throughout the organization that a culture of inclusion matters and is part of business strategy execution. If the C-Suite does not meaningfully communicate, no one will.
2. Commitment (model the behaviors). As leaders of an organization, it is up to the C-Suite to set the standard for the behaviors that the organization values. In a recent client engagement for a small pharma company, we were conducting inclusion training for new employees. The CHRO came to the meeting at the beginning to welcome everyone. It was a virtual training and we were encouraging people to turn their cameras on to build connection. Not only did the CHRO not turn her camera on, but as soon as she finished speaking, she left the meeting. If the C-Suite does not embrace and demonstrate the importance of an inclusive culture through their own behavior, why should anyone else?
3. Accountability. This has to be one of the most important factors in creating a culture that values people. Some human resources leaders call it ownership. Culture is everyone’s responsibility – not just the C-Suite, CHRO, or Chief Diversity Officer – it is a top-down, bottom-up endeavor that requires everyone to behave appropriately. When leadership does not support embedding the behaviors that support a healthy culture of equity and belonging into every facet of the organization – talent management, promotion, compensation – at all levels, culture/DEI becomes just a series of disconnected, check-the-box activities.

Culture has a significant impact on how a company operates, executes, and follows through on its commitments. How that organizational culture supports those with diverse identities is paramount, because that behavior is inextricably tied to the capability and capacity of an organization to achieve its business goals, including demonstrating a focus on employees and customers. Internally, a strong organizational culture drives employee engagement and productivity, builds innovation to navigate business challenges, reduces harassment and discrimination complaints, and even contributes to ensuring safe working conditions and workplaces. Externally, commitment to culture is tied to organizational financial performance, sustainability, and competitive advantage. To reap these benefits, though, it is critical to invest time, money, and resources.

Those who say “DEI is dead” are missing the mark. DEI is not separate from culture, it is culture. Communicate and demonstrate a commitment to culture by investing in it and holding each person in your organization accountable to inclusive behaviors. Accelerate the ability of your organization to succeed and thrive through intentionally ensuring DEI is indistinguishably embedded into organizational culture. 

The cost of letting culture lapse during this time – or any time – is just too great.