Management involvement: Bumping it up a notch

by Mary Martinéz

We all know that top management commitment is critical to the success of any diversity and inclusion initiative. But what does "commitment" actually looking like? Often, executives don't know exactly how to demonstrate commitment in a way that will make a positive difference. They ask for the numbers, they get the numbers, and they tell the organisation to figure out ways to improve the picture. In many organisations, the missing ingredient is more personal involvement by business leaders.

Our study, The Impact of Senior Leadership Commitment on Diversity and Inclusion, highlighted certain executive activities that are associated with diversity and inclusion success: improving global effectiveness; increasing supplier diversity; ensuring visible assignments for women, racial/ethnic minorities, and non-headquarter nationals; mentoring individuals from these groups; and boosting the scores they give on engagement surveys. But it’s not just what they should be doing that matters, but how.

We need to lead executives from their area of comfort – the numbers – to actually acting in new ways and holding others accountable for doing so. When we work with executives we use the data as a starting point to examine four key areas: employee perceptions, representation, development/advancement, and the marketplace or external stakeholders. This is just the preamble, though, to a discussion that gets underneath the numbers and spurs personal action. We ask leaders to confront questions such as:

• Is there anyone in your inner circle who tells you the real deal about your own behaviour as a role model for inclusion?
• For any given public decision, have you considered how various sub-groups may interpret or experience it? Have you tailored the message accordingly?
• Do you take the time to help new hires and newly promoted people on your staff learn the ropes and be successful in their new roles?
• During talent assessment exercises, do you address diversity explicitly? Do you make sure that assessment criteria is applied fairly to everyone? Do you challenge colleagues who are eager to push forward some candidates, but object to “taking a risk” on others of similar ability and experience?
• Have you challenged your assumptions about what makes a good leader? Do all your subordinates have similar leadership styles?
• What have you done personally to understand and positively impact the XYZ Org brand in the marketplace for talent and business?

By guiding executive teams through this process of organizational and self assessment, we have found that the nature, and credibility, of their involvement in D&I shifts dramatically. Where once they were merely actors—and often in not in the principle roles, they begin to take on responsibility for writing the script.

Mary Martinéz can be reached at +1 202-331-2659, mary.martinez@mercer.com.