Pillar 3: The Power of Proactive Protection
Harness This Tool to Create More Diverse Leaders and an Organization That Causes Less Harm
Early in my consulting career, I observed a disturbing trend with my clients. Organizational leaders, most of whom identified as Generation X, were facing challenges that coincided with the rising numbers of LGBTQ+ employees in their ranks.
As more and more Millennials are coming out as LGBTQ+ in the workplace, many in this generation are also leaving their organizations for more inclusive work environments. This exodus of a specific portion of their workforce has left many Gen X leaders to question whether they have the allyship skills necessary to attract, manage, and support these employees.
During the last two years, this trend has come to a peak as a sizable portion of both Gen Z and Millennials that identify as queer are coming out as non-binary, genderqueer, trans, or other gender non-conforming identities. This has resulted in the same Gen X leaders that were purported to be “fine” with their staff being gay or lesbian struggling to understand the concept of using new pronouns and creating gender-safe bathrooms at work.
This evolution in the workplace, and the overwhelming disconnect between these generations, point to a distinct need for “proactive protection” as part of inclusive leadership.
The need for more inclusive leaders in the workplace remains sizeable, and proactive protection is one of the most impactful ways that we can develop inclusive leadership through action—not buzzwords.
Proactive protection is the practice of being intentional—of being proactive not reactive—in order to prevent harm from occurring. Proactive protection also increases resiliency when harm does occur. For instance, when a leader makes a mistake, and that leader has previously proven themselves to be proactive in protecting marginalized communities, there is less risk of losing employees due to their mess up. Likewise, when leaders invest in other components of proactive protection, such as supplier diversity, they are helping to ensure the economic resiliency in marginalized communities.
Today we’ll discuss two of the several tools instrumental to its successful implementation: inclusive communication and professional development.
Reduce Harm with Proactive Communication
As a leader, clear communication is paramount to sound decision-making. In order for communication, and the decisions that are relayed in those communications, to be truly inclusive, they need more than one perspective—in other words, they need more than one set of eyes.
As Tema Okun explains brilliantly, “when we act with such a sense of constant urgency that there is ‘no time’ for others to offer insight, it becomes a way for white supremacy to show up in our work cultures.”
I’ve encountered this type of communication fumble by leaders before, and the examples below illustrate the harm that is caused by this oversight.
A company I worked with spent a year developing its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, and as a result, it now had established three strong Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) for Black, LatinX, and LGBTQ+ employees and allies. Each of these groups had also developed its own guidebook.
The CEO (we’ll call him Larry) heard feedback that more vocal support from “the top” was needed for these programs. He agreed with his Chief Human Resource Officer (CHRO) to highlight the ERGs, and the impact they’ve had within the organization, in the company’s quarterly newsletter. The CHRO also advised that he solicit feedback from the three group leaders on the wording of the letter before sending it out to the company’s 1,800 employees.
Well, as is typical for most leaders, Larry ended up being short on time to complete the newsletter, and so he had his assistant edit his statements and send it out—without feedback from the ERG leaders. In the newsletter, he thanked the “men and women '' who built the ERG’s from the ground up during the previous year. Well, the leader of the LGBTQ+ ERG is nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns publicly. The letter was a slap in the face to the ERG leader, every gender non-conforming employee, and every employee who was the parent of a gender non-conforming child. By the following year, that ERG leader had left the organization and was working for a different company.
Should we have expected Larry to know the most inclusive language to use all on his own? That’s debatable. Could we have expected him as an inclusive leader to seek feedback from the diverse leaders that his organization had appointed to represent those marginalized communities? Absolutely.
Exclusion is what happens when we don’t make the time to intentionally seek out insight from people who are decidedly different from ourselves. This is the “diversity” part of DEI. Surrounding yourself with diverse team members who have each had their own unique life experiences is a key part of being an inclusive leader. It is also a very much necessary component in order to “proactively protect” people within your organization.
Earlier this year, I stumbled upon another missed opportunity to practice proactive protection right in my own neighborhood.
This image is an example within the community of how seeking diverse input is not only a form of proactive protection, it’s also a perfect illustration of how inclusive leadership increases safety.
In my neighborhood, and many others across the country, at the start of the school year signs similar to this one are placed in front yards.. Most of these signs celebrate a student making the football team or getting ready to graduate. The signs are usually used as a type of fundraiser for the various school booster groups at the school.
One day, I walked past this one, which was distinctly different.
It states the child's full name (now blacked out), so any passersby would then know that a presumably female child goes to that specific high school and lives in that specific home.
This is a safety issue, pure and simple.
I am NOT sharing this image to shame any person or organization, but rather to provide a learning opportunity for all of us. What happened with this sign is illustrative of a lack of proactive communication that led to harm through the violation of privacy and safety for that child and their family. The following scenarios are illustrative of what may have led to this potentially damaging decision:
A solo leader of the organization made the decision to put kids' full names on the signs without asking anyone else on the committee. I call this type of situation "Going Rambo," and early in my career, I was very guilty of this mistake. This method of decision-making is often fueled by a constant sense of urgency that doesn’t allow time to seek input from diverse team members or simply ignorance of the benefits of others’ perspectives.
The booster committee’s input was requested, however every person on the committee had very similar life experiences that prevented them from seeing these signs as a safety risk. This scenario could be explained as "homogenous groupthink" or the "echo-chamber effect”.
The committee was diverse AND was asked for their input, yet no one felt safe enough to speak up to the person in charge to recommend a different course of action. This illustrates a "lack of psychological safety”.
Have you ever made one of these mistakes? We all have—the question is if we were able to learn from it and prevent it from happening again. Inclusive leaders protect their people through continued learning.
The power of inclusive leadership is that it prevents any of these scenarios from occurring in the first place because it emphasizes the value of:
asking for input
creating diverse workgroups
ensuring that it's safe for everyone to speak their mind
When we make time during projects to actively seek out diverse input, we proactively protect marginalized communities. When leaders intentionally curate diverse teams, getting this feedback is easier and quicker. And when proactive and inclusive communication occurs, it creates a safer environment and reduces the likelihood of causing harm to others.
Protect Marginalized Communities and Increase Resiliency Through Inclusive Professional Development
Most of the companies I work with already have professional development programs in place. Very few of them are inclusive.
These companies make sure to budget a certain amount of money per individual or per team in order to support their professional development. Often these programs are touted as an enticing employee benefit during the recruiting process. Recruiters or leaders may claim “We have a professional development budget that will support you if you want to earn a certification or complete a program to gain additional professional skills.” But here’s how this type of offering typically works out:
When the employee is hired, they are consumed with learning their new job and fitting into the new culture. Maybe a year or more goes by and no one has said anything about professional development. The employee then asks their boss about it during their annual assessment. Their boss doesn’t remember what the exact benefit offering entails, so instead gets on the computer and finds an HR form for the employee to fill out. Meanwhile, their boss comments that they’ve only done this once before when another staff member wanted to learn a new software program. The employee completes and signs the form and the head of HR is supposed to call them to discuss it.
Now, many leaders will look at this typical situation for accessing professional development benefits in the workplace and wonder how it’s not being inclusive. It’s simply a form and a conversation. Shouldn’t all employees be able to complete this process?
The fact of the matter is marginalized groups have been told by society, or teachers, even sometimes their own parents, that it’s always safer to “stay in your lane” and not to reach out because you’ll never know if you’re going to attract unwanted attention. For marginalized individuals, it’s a matter of safety.
One of the impacts this traditional professional development model creates is that a company may indeed have a diverse team of employees—until they reach middle to upper management. I’ve worked with several companies over the years who are proud to show me the range of diversity of their employees, but this is only true for those below senior director level. The leaders of these companies then look at me with wide eyes and say, “We don’t know why we have such a problem with diversity at the top.”
The reason could be because only certain employees, those who were likely not diverse and thus felt safe enough to request your professional development funds, showed the “initiative, drive, and a desire to increase knowledge” via professional development—qualities similar to the criteria used to promote employees from within.
Instead, I challenge leaders to simply ask “What is the IMPACT they want the professional development programs to have on their employees and their organization?” Common answers often include bolstering employee’s skill development, the ability to recruit top talent, and improving employee retention. I also encourage adding to that list that it would be creating a pipeline of diverse talent that can feed the executive circle retiring over the course of the next ten years.
As further evidence of the importance of a diverse and inclusive work culture, a Deloitte study showed that organizations with a strong learning culture are 92 percent more likely to develop novel products and processes, 52 percent more productive, 56 percent more likely to be the first to market with their products and services, and 17 percent more profitable than their peers. Their engagement and retention rates are also 30 to 50 percent higher.
Inclusive leaders can make a huge impact at their organization, one that will benefit the company for the long term, by ensuring the professional development protocol is more equitable. One inclusive leader I worked with made this shift by standardizing the program — every employee was allotted 2 to 5 percent of their salary for yearly professional development. Employees were aware of this standard, and it was communicated that the money was expected to be spent. Additionally, team leaders were expected to discuss and enforce the policy during their employees’ bi-annual performance reviews.
This new protocol changed the professional development of each person at the company from a “will I get any professional development support” to a “how best can I invest in my professional development” situation. Every employee began investing in their own professional development and was confident knowing they would be discussing it with their boss. Ultimately, standardizing the program resulted in an 85 percent increase in employees utilizing the program.
This policy change flipped the script. Instead of individual employees having to jump through hoops to access development opportunities, team leaders were expected to ensure their employees were following through on continued professional development and were expected to routinely evaluate the impact of said development. This practice not only benefited the employee, it also helped to improve the team leader's management skills.
Furthermore, through the implementation of a more inclusive program, professional development also became a point of social governance. Leaders from marginalized communities were able to develop skills that would make them more resilient in times of economic downturn. This is particularly impactful as it has been shown that successful leaders from marginalized communities are more likely to invest back into their communities, to create scholarships, and to otherwise lift those around them.
When an organization uses inclusive communication and is equitable in its disbursement of professional development benefits, it is very likely that they are practicing proactive protection in other areas as well. These tools allow organization leaders to create a more inclusive workplace—one that is diverse, intentional, and actively working to reduce harm.
Proactive Protection is one of the Four Pillars of Inclusive Leadership Skills that makes Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives authentic, successful, and sustainable. Information regarding the trainings can be found here.