131. Why It's Time To Get Clear On What You Expect From Your DEI Work
Operating Through the Lens of Your Values Is a Must
Creating a brand that’s rooted in your values and the impact you want to make in the world is a must, and using DEI as the basis for the way that you do all things is absolutely necessary.
But are you clear on your expectations for the outcomes of this work?
Erica asks two key questions to help you get clear on your goals and your timeline for integrating DEI into your business.
In this article:
Why DEI has to inform the decisions and processes of your whole brand
How to get clear on the outcomes you want and expect from your efforts
Why discomfort is necessary to the process
Keep the dialogue going: Concepts are better explored in community. Actions are more lasting when taken alongside other imperfect allies. Connect with a cohort of entrepreneurs and changemakers at the intersection of values and visibility.
Join us at pauseontheplay.com/community
This article is based on a Pause On The Play podcast episode called Why It's Time To Get Clear On What You Expect From Your DEI Work
Diversity, equity and inclusion work is not a way that you do one thing. It’s not a single tactic. It has to be in the way you do all things.
If that’s not how you’ve been operating, it takes time to make those shifts, to be processing things and making decisions in that framework.
Often, when there is a push to do DEI, it’s followed by an immediate desire to pump the brakes when it isn’t clear what exactly is going to happen, how it’s going to happen, and how quickly you’ll see results.
Immediate results are just not how this works.
There is absolutely a return on investment in doing this work, but it isn’t as simple as do this, immediately get that.
Placing the expectation of quick results on yourself and your team isn’t fair or realistic. And it can create a cycle of self-doubt and pressure about the work you are doing. Is it enough? Is it too much? Does no one actually want to see this from me? Should I even be doing this? Do I even make an impact?
Spoiler alert: You should be and you will make an impact.
But is important to ask yourself,
What do you expect as the outcome of your DEI work?
Making an impact might be your primary motivation.
Or you might want to increase your profits so you can support causes in your community, pay your employees better or offer better benefits.
You might want to create a more diverse environment so you have more inclusive insights and opinions when it comes to your decision-making process.
There are a lot of motivations and outcomes, but you have to be clear on what you expect and want to happen. Otherwise, you’re likely to get frustrated and feel like it’s not working when you’re in the messy middle of it.
This is not going to happen overnight.
Like any other major change in how your business operates, you can’t make these shifts and expect to get results right away.
But if you’re clear on the outcome you’re working toward, you can begin to give yourself realistic timelines and some space and grace to get there.
How fast do you expect this to happen?
Why do you feel urgency?
You didn’t get here overnight, so why would you expect change to happen overnight?
And if it does change overnight, it’s not going to be trusted. Overnight change will be perceived as performative and inauthentic. There have to be actions over time to build trust.
And that will be uncomfortable. But you have to learn to sit with that discomfort and ask what it is that this discomfort is trying to tell you.
When you try to rush through the discomfort with urgency, that's about absolving your own feelings and making it feel easier.
This work isn’t easy. It has not been set up systematically for generations to be easy. To dismantle it, to shift the mindsets, to reconsider the normals, to understand that people live lives that are different from ours every single day–that disconnect was created on purpose.
If that feels uncomfortable, it should. Sitting with your discomfort can help you be more aware of when it shows up and maybe be just a little bit more equipped to not let it override your efforts.
Keep The Dialogue Going
Concepts are better explored in community. Actions are more lasting when taken alongside other imperfect allies. Connect with a cohort of entrepreneurs and changemakers at the intersection of values and visibility.
Join us at pauseontheplay.com/community
Resources:
Pause on the Play Ep 84: The ROI on DEI: A Tell All