“How did you rate Alan on the quality of his work?” said a manager to his supervisor.

“I rated him as ‘meets expectations’ and said he could be more careful. I showed him examples where he could improve.”

“Alan’s mistakes have caused extra work for others, and I know the mistakes negatively impact our service. ‘Does not meet expectations’ would have been more accurate.” 

“Probably so but Alan is a nice guy and I did not want to upset him.” 

In his book, Dare to Lead, Berne Brown reports that senior leaders identified the lack of honest feedback as the greatest barrier to leadership courage.  While some said sugar-coating bad news is due to lack of skills, most identified a culture of stressing “nice and polite” as the major culprit.

Too many avoid clarity because they want to be seen as kind, but allowing contributors to believe they are doing OK when they are not is unkind. Artificial harmony produces hallway gossip, distrust and decreased performance.   

The late Howard Cosell, one of the top sports announcers of his day, often used the phrase “telling it like it is” to report unpopular truths. Courageous leaders tell it like it is.

In the process of selecting an internal candidate for a promotion, a concerned emerged.

“I think we should promote the top candidate in our pool,” a manager commented. “The candidate is experienced, has an outgoing personality and is very passionate about the promotion.”

Another responded, “I’m not confident the candidate is a good fit. I believe Gina would be better in this role.”

“She has not applied and she doesn’t say much.”

“I agree Gina is introverted; but she is very analytical, and her analysis and justifications are always clear and understandable. Her peers trust and respect her.”

Liz Mineo, writing in The Harvard Gazette, quotes a study by Professor David Deming that found candidates who have a strong desire to be in charge are often not good selections. They tend to be overconfident and think they understand people better than they do.

Effective leadership requires the ability to make good decisions and gain the trust of team members.  Degrees, certifications, experience and desire to be in charge do not necessarily predict leadership success. 

Analytical and trusted candidates may not apply for positions because they do not recognize their leadership talents. To increase the odds of selecting good leaders, seek smart, trusted candidates even if they do not apply.  

“For some time, we struggled with how to manage work from home requests,” lamented a vice president.  “We clarified a lot of issues by developing a coherent policy.”

According to surveys, about six in ten employees favor companies that allow remote work. Mat D’Angelo in Business News Daily suggests that remote work policies cover the following:

            1. Eligible positions—Criteria for working remotely may include type of job, performance history, personality, and days the employee is expected to work onsite. 

            2. Required “business hours”—Are remote workers expected to be at their workstations for certain hours during the day?  If so, identify the time. For example, remote workers must be available via phone, chatting or virtual meetings 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. and 2:00 to 4:00 p.m. 

            3. Cybersecurity—If the organization provides devices for working at home, the devices should be used for work only.  If contributors use their personal devices, the policy should stress password, encrypted data and GPS requirements.

            4. Communication technology—The policy should identify the required applications for communication, information sharing and collaboration.

            5. Abuse—The policy should explicitly state that working remotely is a privilege which may be revoked if abused.

(Part 4 of 4 Parts)

Attempts to justify current discrimination based on historical discrimination increases bias and discrimination. This approach results in continuous conflict as groups strive to advance their causes at the expense of other groups.   

Effective organizations focus on eliminating bias in the workplace without sacrificing the rights of other groups.  Examples of fair-to-all practices may include:  

Culture. Create an inclusivity culture where leaders at all levels support equal opportunity  practices.           

Policy. Scrub policies and job descriptions to eliminate demeaning stereotypical phrases.    

Hiring. Make job openings assessable to potential candidates of all backgrounds and origins.   

Surveys. Periodically survey employees to encourage reporting of firsthand experiences of bias with questions such as: (1) Do you feel safe in our workplace? (2) Are you comfortable expressing your opinions? (3) Are contributors with different identities valued?       

Software. Utilize artificial intelligence (AI) applications to assist with goal setting, analytics, surveys, third-party integration, assessment, benchmarking, and eliminating implicit bias.

Employe Resource Groups (ERGs). Encourage the formation of ERGs to identify the needs of all contributors and communicate with management to find ways of responding. 

External consultants. Consider periodic use of external consultants to assess recruiting, performance measurement, training, financial performance, disability practices and the like. 

Part 3 of 4 Parts

Elon Musk, (Telsa, Space X, X) said, “The point was to end discrimination not to replace it with different discriminations.” Unfortunately, a strong focus on inclusivity goals often trumps merit and fairness to all. 

Reporter Teresa Hopke says that companies rushed into inclusivity by hiring individuals, usually from underrepresented groups, who did not have the experience or resources to move the needle. As a result, states are passing laws limiting the reach of inclusivity programs and companies have moved away from mandatory anti-bias training.         

Universities that prioritized inclusivity over merit have struggled.

• The Supreme Court ruled that Harvard University and North Carolina admission programs prioritizing race-based admissions violated the equal protection clause and were unconstitutional.

• Writer Steven McGuire reported that the University of Michigan’s 2023-2024 DEI program included 241 staffers and a $30 million budget.  Their previous five-year program cost $85 million and black enrollment dropped from 4.3% to 3.9%.  Student dissatisfaction with the university’s climate decreased from 72% to 61%. 

• A Claremont Institute study at Texas A&M University, found that the percentage of black people who felt like they belonged dropped from 82% to 55% despite an annual DEI budget north of $11 million.

Organizations that strive to attain inclusivity goals by subordinating merit put their mission at risk.

Part 2 of 4 Parts

Inclusivity proponents report that inclusive cultures aid financial performance, recruiting, decision making, employee retention and public image. 

• McKinsey in their Diversity Wins study of more than 1,000 companies across fifteen countries showed the most diverse executive teams were 21% more profitable than executive teams in the fourth quartile of diversity.  Companies ranked in the top quartile of diversity were 36% more profitable than companies in the fourth quartile.

• Above average diversity in leadership teams, according to the Boston Consulting Group analysis, showed 19% more revenue from innovations than teams with below average diversity.

• The Deloitte Global 2022 Gen Z & Millennial Survey revealed that this group of employees valued diversity and inclusion in the work environment.  The survey also showed that Gen Z and millennials might refuse to work in cultures that were not consistent with their personal values.

• Inclusive cultures may also contribute to retention.  The CNBC/SurveyMonkey Workforce Happiness Index found that 78% of employees believe it is important to work for a company that prioritizes inclusivity.

• Eighty-two percent of employees in a LinkedIn Employment Survey of 2023 said it was important to work for a company culture that aligned with their values.

Part 3 addresses concerns with inclusivity practices.

Part 1 of 4 Parts

“They got little baby legs and they stand so low you got to pick’em up to say hello . . . don’t want no short people round here.”  These lyrics making fun of short people appeared in Randy Newman’s song titled Short People—listed as Number 1 by U. S. Cash Box Top 100 in 1977.

In all societies, there is ample evidence of discrimination based on skin color, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, hair color, race, height, weight, physical features, freckles and other observable differences.  Researchers Neuberg and Cottrell suggest that bias may be hard-wired in our brains.  Survival of our ancestors depended on living in groups.  Outsiders who looked and acted differently were seen as threats.

To combat bias and discrimination during the last two centuries, social pressure and litigation have birthed movements such as the right to vote, desegregation, civil rights, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI), LGBTQ2S+, ageism, lookism and others.   

As the labels and acronyms for fairness continue to evolve, I use the term “inclusivity”—make everyone feel equally supported and involved in the workplace regardless of who they are—to represent all elements of the movements.

The second blog in the series deals with the case for inclusivity.