Examining Your Effectiveness as a Diversity and Inclusion Provocateur and Practitioner
The Provocateur is Key to Radical Inclusion-Trending Reasons
•A seismic shift in diversity and inclusion from compliance to competitive advantage
•A rapidly changing social context — immediate feedback, quick dispersal of knowledge
•Digital echo — the rise in artificial intelligence and social media’s influence in shaping attitudes, beliefs and behavior
•Increasingly emboldened polarities and ideologies finding their way into the workplace
Leading diversity and inclusion change in provocative times requires agents of change to understand the conversation, the change needed, the context, polarities that need to be managed, and the competencies for effectiveness.
Developing competent and confident Inclusion Provocateurs and inclusive competence is a long-term process. It requires rigor, discipline, standards and consistency.
It is intentional and driven by passion for the change needed!
In many work situations conversations do not exist at the necessary levels to overcome negativity, challenging personal circumstances, and higher levels of push-back and apathy.
While Inclusion Provocateurs have a critical role in mentoring others, to share our stories and participate in conversations that are healthy, life changing and transformative and which provide all with a sense of belonging and confidence.
What is the change?
An inclusive workplace cannot be achieved without rigorous and provocative change.
The inclusion provocateur is the prime catalyst for change.
Sustainable and innovative change is part of intentional, long-term personal leadership commitment.
Margaret Mead once said: “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.”
What is the Context?
Growing ideological, political and religious divides
Increasing use of social media and artificial intelligence
Significantly more diverse communities and stakeholders
Heightened demands for innovative solutions
Highly connected and networked economy
Growing push-back on diversity and inclusion efforts by a vocal minority
Navigating Change in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Work
The Questions: Are we facing D&I problems? Or D&I polarities? Or both?
A problem is something that can have a right — or best — answer; a solution exists. But a polarity is a dilemma that is ongoing, unsolvable and contains seemingly opposing ideas.
Next time you are wrestling with a diversity challenge or conflict, ask: “Is this a problem to solve or a polarity to deal with?”
Identify one or more key D&I polarities that you are facing right now in your business.
Make a “polarity map” to help you spot when you are overdoing one pole to the exclusion of the other.
What are polarities?
We usually think of them in adversarial terms: growth vs. consolidation; short term vs. long term, innovation vs. efficiency, centralization vs. decentralization, change vs. stability.
Polarities aren’t just about business strategy; they show up in choices about diversity, leadership and culture, too. What is the right choice? Empathy or toughness? Keeping control or empowering others? Staying on task or working on the relationship?
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“A polarity is a pair of interdependent opposites — if you focus on one of those to the neglect or exclusion of the other, at some point in time you dip into negative unintended consequences.”
Are you a D&I agent ready to provoke change?
Provocateur– provoke, spark, agitator, agent of change, reformer
To provoke change means perfecting certain behaviors and actions that are essential in polarizing times
Conditioning: Provocateurs much be life-long learners. They understand how continuous learning is as important to the inclusion provocateur as conditioning is to be an athlete — practice, study, repetition, coaching and mentoring to enhance personal effectiveness.
Constructing: Inclusion Provocateurs help construct their change strategies built on leadership buy-in and commitment, adequate financial and people resources to support, and a reasonable framework (including messaging that helps to define the strategy and outcomes desired). Why is this so important? How does leader behavior influence the outcomes desired? How were change strategies constructed in the 1970s?
Choosing: Inclusion Provocateurs work to create shared accountability for success. They must help the organization decide what is the right change strategy and the level of readiness of their leaders. They view their roles as change facilitators, and their leaders as owners of the efforts.
Conquering: Inclusion Provocateurs are change agents. They must understand the context for change, the most pronounced polarities about the change, and how to have courageous conversations about mindsets, ideological differences and dogged resistance.
Creating: Inclusion Provocateurs must create strategies for rising above the growing polarities that are being encountered by progressive change agents. Some of the polarities are rooted in resistance to change, the chaos created by change, and the disruptions and perceived loss it creates for some.
Collaborating: Inclusion Provocateurs understand that sustainable change efforts require the engagement, buy-in and support of a diverse set of stakeholders. They also understand that problem-solving, innovation, and ideas come from diverse input.
Challenging: Inclusion Provocateurs play an important role in challenging the status-quo in behavior, organizational and team dynamics; and regressive institutional systems and practices. This can cause disruption to beliefs, values and mindsets that impede diversity and inclusion efforts.
Self Reflection-Examine your effectiveness as an diversity and inclusion provocateur in each competency area
Objectives– what is your objective in using each competency in change work?
Vital Signs — What are the signs that you are not as effective as you could be in each area?
Gaps to Be Addressed — what are the gaps in performance/outcomes that you would like to tackle as a change agent?
Outcomes– What are the desired outcomes for focusing on the area?
Conversations — What are some life lessons and stories that you would like to share with other change agents?
Managing Polarities in D&I work
Polarities let both sides be right, and the organization wins.”
“Managing polarities can help with unnecessary conflict. Many teams incorrectly identify an issue as either/or and have ‘sides’ as a result.
Are you a D&I agent ready to provoke change? Using the chart below, examine each the following competency areas. Analyze your competency in leadership and organizational development areas. Look at the paired valued related to the polarity in that area (e.g., depth and breath of experience). Assess your competence in navigating the polarity that might impact your change outcomes.
Key Take Aways
Sustainable diversity, equity and inclusion strategies must be grounded in solid business reasons with strong leadership support.
Inclusion Provocateurs must use a range of competencies and skills to facilitate change.
A deep understanding of change management, systems thinking, and relationship management are important competencies.
Provocateurs must be agile learners as the context, ideologies, polarities and other forces impacting change are shifting and evolving.
Technology is making inappropriate behavior and practices more immediately visible to stakeholders and diverse talent.
The Provocateur must be able to help shape rapid responses to diversity issues that can impact brand and reputation.
Excellent Reference Books
Radical Inclusion — Martin Dempsey & Ori Brafman
Warrior of The Light — Paulo Coelho
Tempered Radical — How People Use Difference to Inspire Change at Work, Debra Meyerson, HBR Press 2001
