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The Inclusion Dissonance: The Challenge of Moving from Representation to TRUE Inclusion
Posted on February 10th, 2010 No commentsOrganizations by far are still stuck in the representation stages of inclusion. In fact, many organizations have a false understanding of inclusion and how it can and should be practiced. They only become aware of this when: they see their numbers reflect a different reality than what they intended, there are continued complaints and dissatisfaction among people, and there continues to be challenges in recruitment and retention. Yet, for some organizations who strive more consciously to promote and educate about inclusion, there is still a gap that exists between their beliefs and how they practice inclusion. The field of cognitive psychology, particularly its focus on cognitive dissonance, can provide one explanation for why organizations continue to fail at inclusive work.
Cognitive dissonance is a state of discomfort that humans experience when one of their beliefs/ideas/attitudes is contradicted by evidence or when two of their beliefs/ideas/attitudes come into conflict with each other. In other words, there is disconnect or dissonance between one’s beliefs about a particular issue or someone/something and one’s behaviors towards that issue or someone/something. A famous case in cognitive dissonance comes from the work of Leon Festinger who described the workings of cognitive dissonance that occurred in a group setting.
Dissonance in Action
Festinger and his associates studied a group which believed that the earth was going to be destroyed by a flood on a certain date. This belief led group members to gather in the same location and pray – by doing so, they believed they would be saved. In the end, there was no flood and no end of the world. So what happened to the members? For the group members who were really committed to the idea/belief (basically giving up their homes and jobs) — when the flood did not happen, these individuals had a large dissonance between their beliefs and the piece of evidence they saw. Because of this large gap, they were more likely to re-interpret the evidence to show that they were right all along. For example, they would say that the earth was not destroyed because they came together to pray. While these individuals justified their beliefs others recognized the foolishness of the experience and changed their beliefs and/or actions.Using this example to guide our thinking about inclusion in the work place we can see that organizations who want to move from representation to true inclusion often have large gaps (dissonance) between their beliefs/attitudes/ideas and their behaviors. Basically, organizations aren’t really walking the inclusion talk they believe. Some organizations even justify their inclusion beliefs even when the evidence shows up to contradict the belief system. And, rarely do we see organizational leaders change their beliefs or actions to match up with what they should be doing around inclusion.
Dissonance and New Learning
Dissonance can also occur when new learning or ideas are presented that conflict with what is already known. For example, an employee is required to attend a cultural diversity workshop. During the session, the employee hears ideas that contradict or come in conflict with his/her belief about the topic. This employee already has certain knowledge about cultural diversity that he/she brings to the workshop, and because he/she is especially committed to their own knowledge and belief system, it’s more likely the employee resists the new learning. You can tell when the person is struggling with dissonance when you hear statements like, “why can’t people who come to this country be more like us” or “why do we have to take these classes,” or “I have to change my belief (or what I do) just to accommodate someone else?” More often than not, when the new learning is difficult, uncomfortable, or even humiliating, people are more likely to say that the learning or workshop was useless, pointless or valueless. To do so would be to admit that one has been “had” or “conned” into believing something different. And as Byron Katie would say, who would we be if not for the stories that we continue to tell ourselves?If all this sounds familiar or resonates with what is going in your organization, you’re not alone. Our behaviors are very much still rooted in beliefs that are not completely explored within a working environment. Organizational leaders have not articulated clearly (although they think they have) what they believe to be inclusion. The result is a failure to implement and practice inclusion that matches up with the belief systems. Organizational leaders – especially those specifically working on diversity initiatives – need to identify the points of dissonance that occurs in their organization and among staff. Organizational leaders should pay attention to this dissonance and how it’s being expressed.
The Larger the Gap in Beliefs, the Higher the Dissonance
According to cognitive dissonance theory, the more important the issue and the larger the gap between the beliefs, the greater the dissonance within people. This is critical for organizational leaders to understand because inclusion is a very important issue within an organization, and inherently there are large gaps in beliefs on a personal, team, and organizational level related to this. Individual beliefs about power and privilege as it relates to gender inequity, race inequity, generations, ability/disability, sexual orientation, religion and so on need to be explored. If dissonance is not discussed, organizational leaders will continue to employ workers who: feel uncomfortable talking about culture and diversity, continue to behave in inappropriate ways, and feel that all they need are the “right tools” or the “right answers” to be culturally competent. Without careful attention to exploring the stories of dissonance, leaders allow their organizations to bury their inclusion blind spots. This can lead to underestimating or overestimating abilities and to truly understanding what needs to be done. Regardless of the talent that is recruited, the accomplishments or progress made, or even how much money is poured into diversity initiatives, these blind spots can lead leaders to miss opportunities that bring about positive, transformative change and innovation.Given this information, what can leaders do about the inclusion dissonance within their organizations? First, leaders must have the courage to be open to the possibilities that their beliefs or the organization’s beliefs are not aligned with actions/behaviors. It takes courageous leadership to not maintain the status quo; to explore the stories that give root to organizational and individual beliefs. Second, leaders can and should explore the dissonance by asking themselves the following:
1. What are my organization’s beliefs about inclusion?
2. What dissonance is present in our beliefs and our behaviors?
3. What gaps (in recruitment, within policy, in intra-personal interactions) are created because of the dissonance?
4. How is this dissonance stopping us from truly being inclusive?Finally, it’s important for leaders to work with their employees to explore employee dissonance. Inclusion is not the sole responsibility of leaders; it is the responsibility of everyone within an organization. And because leaders are in positional power to promote and support the work, it is the responsibility of the leader to help his/her employees to uncover their blind spots. With clear sight of these blinds spots, organizations can turn them into an advantage. By doing so, organizations can find significantly greater possibilities that expand and deepen inclusion work than previously imagined.
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Authentic Leadership: The Missing Ingredient in Diversity
Posted on February 4th, 2010 No commentsWhen it comes to diversity leadership, authenticity of leaders in managing and leading diversity efforts is absolutely necessary. The political and socio-economic landscape pushes and challenges organizations to engage in transformative work in diversity leadership. As organizations look to develop the diverse elements within their workplace, it is important for leaders to understand that transformative work in diversity must be internalized at a deeper level than at present. If leaders can apply what is known about authentic leadership to the diversity process, they will better engage and cultivate a generation of leaders more mindful of the value diversity has in life.
Authenticity, and specifically authentic leadership, is about the nature of individuals to be true to themselves. Truth of oneself can be found through a deep exploration and reflection of the self, particularly in three areas of one’s life: purpose, values, and relationships. I believe that these three elements stand out as critical ingredients for leaders to have in diversity work. When embraced and internalized, they can transform diversity thinking and practices at a personal, organizational, and community level.
Purpose. To begin, leaders in diversity work need to be clear about their purpose in the process. Articulating their reasons and support for diversity is critical when engaging supporters, but that is not enough. Purpose, in authentic leadership, is to understand oneself in relationship to what is being sought. In other words, understanding and exploring your motivations, your passion, and your personal journey must serve as a foundation for reaching the desired vision. You must personally explore and identify what it would mean to the organization, and most importantly to its people, if diversity (of thoughts, ideas, people, systems, etc) did not exist.
Simply asking yourself and others, “if we didn’t do this work, what would be lost,” can make a difference. I once worked with a manager who asked this question of himself, and then his staff. The result was a deep and authentic dialogue about the responsibility that each person brings to the process. They understood that diversity wasn’t something to control or “manage,” rather it was a human element that needed to be nurtured and cared for by everyone. In the end, he gained an understanding for the different notions of diversity his staff had, he learned more about his own passion and purpose for the work, and he gained more enthusiastic support for his vision.
Values. Leaders are often defined by their values, their beliefs, and their character. Authentic leadership in diversity work requires leaders to consistently review, revise, and reflect upon their personal value systems and how these systems impact the work they do. Leaders must understand and articulate what values drive their behaviors and attitudes. This means that leaders must question and challenge, that they explore the deeper stories that give life to their belief systems, and that they are courageous enough to give themselves a “reality check” for any dissonance surfacing between their beliefs and actions.
Too often, I see organizations create assessments and tools to measure the effectiveness of “the organization as a system,” and forget about the most important system, the “personal value system” that drives most of organizational processes and thinking. We need to be reminded that organizational systems come about because there are people within the organization who are driven by their personal values and beliefs.
As an example, I have worked with managers and executives who are passionate about the issue of diversity, but often cannot make a value-connection back to their personal lives. In fact, many of them begin diversity initiatives or efforts because it is part of a strategic or business plan, or it’s important because “it is the thing to do.” There is no connection back to the personal experiences – values, life histories, beliefs – of the individual, thus the purpose (or authenticity) for the work is not connected to authentic values for doing the work. It is essential then for leaders to uncover the stories that create the deep roots of personal cultural understanding (values and beliefs), and then to challenge oneself and others about these stories.
Relationships. Essential in authentic leadership is a leader’s ability to develop long-lasting and meaningful relationships. For this to happen, it’s vital for leaders and organizations to change their thinking and practices about relationships. Leaders can create a shift in doing authentic work in diversity when they pay attention to the relationships that they develop. Authentic relationships can occur when the questions asked are shifted from “how can this relationship help me to reach my organizational goals” to “what can I (we) learn from this relationship, and how can the learning move us towards our vision?”
I suggested this question to a woman who manages volunteers in a nonprofit. In our brief conversation, she realized that asking the question in this way helped her to see culture and diversity as a process rather than an outcome. She realized that it was important to build relationships for diversity work, but in doing so the relationships built can have a larger impact than the diversity efforts themselves. By asking questions such as, “what forms of relationships need to exist in this organization,” “what do relationships mean to this organization,” and “how do people in this organization work together” enables the organization to become a learning organization around diversity and culture. Asking these questions enable an organization to be more authentic and understanding of how relationships are created. This is a critical element in authentic leadership and diversity as it helps leaders to tap into the power that relationships have in building trust, unity, and support for diversity work.
By applying authentic leadership principles to diversity work, leaders can garner support and understanding for the work, discover the discord between individual and organizational values and behaviors that serve as barriers, and develop meaningful relationships for organizational growth – all intended to heighten awareness and understanding for the value diversity has on organizational life. Authentic leaders who can dig underneath the surface by exploring their purpose, their values, and how they build relationships lay a foundation for a deeper commitment to organizational growth. That because attention is paid to purpose, values, and relationships, how we think about and act upon these elements will engage people, not only with their minds but also their hearts.
