From Surface-Level to Substantial Change: DEI Wisdom You Need
The challenge of confronting deep-rooted issues in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) work is a daunting yet necessary task. This work's significance extends beyond professional boundaries, impacting personal lives and societal structures. It's about going past the surface-level understanding and committing to integrative work that can create real systemic change. Practitioners and leaders must be willing to embrace discomfort, remain steadfast in their personal values, and commit to the process for the long haul. The journey involves welcoming feedback, constantly unlearning biases, and recognizing the shared human experience that underscores these challenges. The road may be arduous, but the results are truly transformative.
I recently had an important conversation with my colleague, Nicole Vazquez, on this topic. She shared her insights as a consultant for organizations and as someone who has held leadership roles herself. This article is inspired by our open discussion in a recent episode of the Living Out Loud Discussion Series. I recommend you check it out. To learn four ways you can navigate surface-level approaches in DEI, read on!
Acknowledging Discomfort Necessary for Deep-rooted Change
In life and work, we often come across situations that provoke feelings of discomfort. This is a universal experience, and yet, our typical reactions—ignoring the discomfort, deflecting it, or denying its existence—only hold us back from previously unreachable growth. When it comes to the pressing need for equitable and inclusive change—the kind rooted in empathy, understanding, and sustained action—acknowledging discomfort is far more than beneficial; it's necessary. This feeling compels us to challenge entrenched biases and the systems we preserve (often unintentionally), making us catalysts for authentic transformation. We need to harness that discomfort, not run away from it. With a measured understanding, we can use this to our advantage, to gain momentum, encouraging us to go beyond just enough towards truly meaningful action.
In our discussion, Nicole echoed this sentiment and shared insights from her own journey. She underscored how critical it is to lean into discomfort rather than trying to bypass it. She candidly revealed instances where her deep-dive philosophy met resistance in business settings, with some organizations choosing perceived comfort over the unsettling yet necessary introspection required for deep-rooted change. Nicole highlighted the value of personal integrity in her practice, noting that she'd rather stay true to her values than offer superficial solutions. Nicole's experiences serve as powerful reminders that discomfort isn't always an obstacle to avoid. Instead, it can often be an indicator that you're on the right path, poised for growth.
This acknowledgment, although unfamiliar and challenging, holds great significance for everyone, particularly those working in industries like DEI, social justice, and similar areas that necessitate massive systemic changes. Why? Because the discomfort you experience in these settings is usually a sign of encountering deep-seated beliefs and/or biases—prejudices that require persistent effort to dismantle. If we want to rise to these challenges, it's crucial to face it head-on. On the flip side, avoiding or glossing over these unpleasant truths achieves little and furthers no cause. Acknowledging discomfort isn't a one-off event but a continuous process that equips us to step out of our comfort zones, learn, grow, and become better of ourselves. After all, impactful change begins with acceptance—of others, of the world, and, importantly, of the self.
Nicole Vazquez is a cisgender woman, Afro-Latinx, and queer. She is Spanish-English bilingual, as her Dad identified as Mexican-American and her Mom is a Panamanian immigrant. Nicole is originally from and currently lives in Southern California, after spending most of her childhood and early adulthood in the Midwest, before making it back home to Southern California in 2001.
Through Vazquez Consulting, Nicole assists individuals, programs, and organizations on their journeys in self-exploration and transformation in critically and honestly assessing where they are and how they operate within our racist, patriarchal, cis-heterosexist, ableist, ageist, capitalist world. She approaches all of her work with love, humility and as a learner.
Long-term Commitment Essential for Transformative Work
As we got into our conversation, it became apparent how vital the element of long-term commitment is. This isn't just about emphasizing our practices with sporadic actions or initiatives. No, it's about embracing a deeply ingrained shift in our approaches and attitudes towards the issues we face. Transformative work is consistently challenging, it’s dealing with complex, deeply-rooted societal problems which, honestly, it’s going to be solved quickly. It’s about showing up each day, and being prepared to put in the work, to dig deep, and confront the discomfort that comes with addressing the hard things. It's about making a commitment to understand, to grow, and effect change. By doing so, we'd be setting the stage for truly impactful and sustainable outcomes.
It's all too easy to tread the surface, or resort to conventional methods that satisfy the minimal requirements. But there's only so much that could be achieved. We must find a way to challenge the norm that keeps us on a journey of great depth, not just a quick paddle in the shallows. There's no denying that this approach is intricate. Convincing organizations and employees to root their operations in self-work and transformative change is not always straightforward, especially with pressures and constraints that often emerge. Nonetheless, it's a path that both Nicole and I endorse, letting go of superficial or transactional interactions for more genuine conversations, even if they are difficult.
Leaders Need to Embrace Feedback for Growth
In a world that is constantly evolving, there's often a rush to keep up, to adapt, and to progress. This haste can sometimes lead to a surface-level understanding and implementation of critical concepts, like DEI. Meaningful change doesn't happen overnight; it requires patient dedication, deep understanding, and introspection. For an organization to entirely embrace DEI, they need to do more than just acknowledging its importance – they must commit to it. This commitment involves continuous learning, openness to feedback, facing uncomfortable truths, and taking action on things that are learned to bring about a significant change.
Feedback becomes the main catalyst for growth – even more so for people in positions of power. Leaders receiving feedback might experience an instinctive defensiveness, but Nicole asserts that it's vital to lean into these moments and view criticism as a platform for improvement. These reactions are not flaws but human responses to being challenged. It's important to remember that feedback isn't something to fear, but it's a way of illuminating unseen areas or reaffirming what's already known to be true. Leaders who respond positively to feedback, who seek it out even, demonstrate a willingness to grow. It’s an indicator of great leadership.
Helpful Tip: Listen to our guided meditation on disrupting your shame spiral to help you better respond in these situations.
This key takeaway should not be undermined in its importance for DEI practitioners. The willingness to listen to feedback and to grow from it is an essential step in achieving true change related to diversity, equity, and inclusion in any environment. It's about understanding the people you're trying to include, hearing their perspectives, and learning from their experiences. A DEI initiative should never be a box-checking exercise or a passing trend. If DEI practitioners take away one essential idea, it should be this: Facing uncomfortable truths about ourselves and our biases is also part of the process and what we can model for those we lead.
Unlearning Biases: An Ongoing Journey of Self-work
When we embark on a journey of self-discovery and growth, we often encounter the need to confront and unlearn deeply ingrained biases. At this point, it’s a concept that’s become more common in workplaces, but people still struggle to know how to do anything about it. This process is largely ongoing and requires conscious effort, introspection, and endurance. It encompasses the ability to acknowledge that our perceptions and judgements may be flawed due to socialization and past experiences. They often exist in contradiction to values we hold close to us. There are many ways you can identify and do something about your biases.
I highly recommend checking out Bias-Conscious Leadership: A Framework for Leading with Action and Accountability. It’s full of tools that make your efforts much more practical. You may also want to download our FREE 30-day Bias-Challenge as a starting point.
In talking with Nicole, she repeatedly emphasized the need to confront our biases and undertake a journey of personal growth and self-improvement. We both shared honestly about our experiences with leaders that were resistant to feedback and open conversation, as well as the difficulties that come from challenging preconceived notions. It’s an interesting experience to witness it over and over again. I still recall my most memorable situation with a CEO who refused to believe staff feedback was real, even after double and triple checking. This underscores the importance of being open to external input and the necessity of introspection in the process of unlearning biases, even as you are in the moment of doing DEI strategic work. I venture to say, it’s even more important in those moments!. These types of examples serve to remind us that meaningful change stems from within and involves a consistent effort to question, learn, and grow.
In terms of its relevance and significance, the process of unlearning biases and the associated self-work is critical for effective leadership and meaningful interpersonal relationships. As we educate ourselves and understand the perspectives of others, we not only enrich our own lives, but also contribute to a more inclusive and safe environment. This self-work, like peeling layers off an onion, may induce tears but ultimately leads to a depth of understanding that catalyzes healing and growth. Inherent in this process is the realization that our societal conditioning may have instilled unfair biases in us, but it's never too late to unlearn them.
Staying on the surface is a safe route to go. It’s comfortable there. It allows us to hide, even from ourselves. We can seem like we are making progress, but our progress is revealed when we end up in the moments of depth. I’m telling you… it always reveals the work you’ve been doing. If you find yourself wondering how you can take your learning to a deeper level and want support in doing so, hit Living Unapologetically up. We have experts who can be your guide on your journey. While the road is long and sometimes arduous, it is our dedication and persistence that will make it worthwhile. Keep going and keep growing.
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Charmaine is a Relational DEI expert who sits at the intersection of thinking, feeling, and doing. She is an author, facilitator, skill builder, safe-space holder, family member, partner, and friend. And in all of those, her DEI lens is in constant use. Charmaine uses a social justice lens to help clients explore their individual and organizational needs amidst the backdrop of power, privilege, and oppression. You can access her book (Bias-Conscious Leadership), guided meditations, free tips sheets & guides, and blog posts on her website, www.livingunapologetically.com.
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