4 Feeling fearful
Fear can be another barrier to effective implementation of diversity and inclusion within the workplace. This could be:
- the fear of an individual who has faced discrimination and their subsequent reluctance to engage with the agenda or speak out
- the fear that engaging with diversity and inclusion initiatives might lead to favouritism or fewer opportunities for those who don’t fall into key diversity groups
- the fear of getting things wrong due to privilege or unconscious bias.
In this short film, Asif Sadiq explains that making mistakes is natural, and why we shouldn’t let that stop us from trying.
Download this video clip.Video player: Video 5: Making mistakes
Transcript: Video 5: Making mistakes
Asif Sadiq
Making mistakes is a natural thing. Within the DNI space, we can never get it perfect. We’ll always make mistakes. What’s really important is that we do try.
As organisations, we can’t wait for that perfect moment. There never is a perfect moment to do something. The perfect moment, actually, is about doing the right thing at the right time and trying.
We need to value our intent. And sometimes our intent is really positive, but the impact might not be so positive or might not have the desired outcome. That’s fine. We can always go back again and look at what more we can do to have that positive impact.
But not trying is not an option. Waiting for someone else to do it first, your competitor, another organisation, doesn’t give you that edge, doesn’t give you that lead, doesn’t give you that authenticity as an organisation that truly wants to try to drive change. That requires us to be bold, us to stand up and say, we will try, we will make mistakes, we will learn and grow.
I guess the most important thing, when it doesn’t feel like the right thing, when you try something positive, and actually there’s a few people who end up saying it’s not positive or it’s negative. The truth is we do live in a very diverse world. There’ll always be people that don’t agree with you, and there’ll be those that agree with you.
The truth is there’s sometimes this misconception that diversity means that we must all think the same. We don’t have to. We can think differently but still respect each other. So when we do have people who are not happy, it’s about trying to educate or trying to make them understand why we are driving positive change in this space.
Communication is critical. Diversity is not about communicating to that one group. If we truly believe in what we’re saying, if we truly believe in our product around inclusion or our values around inclusion, then we must tell all our people and we must do it with confidence and ready to be challenged, because that’s fine. But as long as we try, and we try to get that message across, that’s the most important thing.
Video 5: Making mistakes
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Communicate Inclusively (no date) suggests the following ways to combat reluctance to engage:
- Open Communication: Create a space for open and honest dialogue about DEI initiatives. Leaders should actively listen and address any concerns with transparency and empathy, while clarifying goals.
- Focus on Benefits: Clearly communicate the positive impact of DEI on the organisation, highlighting the benefits of a diverse and inclusive workforce for all.
- Data-Driven Approach: Use data and metrics to demonstrate the need for DEI and its positive impact on business outcomes when initiatives are implemented successfully.
- Empathy and Education: Provide DEI resources, training and workshops that equip employees with the knowledge and skills to navigate a diverse workplace.
- Collaboration: Create avenues for employee feedback and participation. When employees from all backgrounds and all levels feel involved in shaping DEI initiatives, they are more likely to own them and become advocates for change.