16,99 €
Mehr erfahren.
- Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
- Kategorie: Fachliteratur
- Sprache: Englisch
Inclusion Unlocked is the definitive guide for business leaders to unlock the power of diversity and enable inclusion to flourish in their organisations
In Inclusion Unlocked a team of accomplished leadership experts deliver an insightful set of solutions to the obstacles that block progress and prevent leaders from delivering on the diversity results their employees, customers and investors demand. Written by authors whose core areas of expertise are inclusion and diversity, this book will provide an Inclusive Leader Scorecard model, access to an online diagnostic tool, and proven strategies that enable greater belonging. As well as this, Inclusion Unlocked provides first-hand accounts of how well-known CEOs, Chief People Officers and Chief Diversity Officers have accelerated progress in their diversity initiatives, and the pitfalls they have learnt to avoid.
The authors explain how business leaders can act as a driving force for change if they use the right mindset and tools. You’ll also discover:
- How to understand the relevance of inclusive leadership to impressive business growth
- How to identify the key levers for change and progress by cutting through the complexity
- Strategies that enable greater belonging, psychological safety, and innovation
An indispensable resource for business leaders, HR and DEI practitioners who want a practical and easy to follow guide for advancement in diversity initiatives. Inclusion Unlocked is the inclusion toolkit needed to make significant progress.
Sie lesen das E-Book in den Legimi-Apps auf:
Seitenzahl: 374
Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2024
Ähnliche
Table of Contents
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction: A Professor, a Psychologist, and a Man with One Leg Walk into a Bar
When Is the Right Time to Work on Inclusion?
So Who Are the Three People Who Walked into That Metaphorical Bar to Write This Book?
After They Walk In, They Sit Down at That Bar to Talk with You
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
SECTION 1: Building Understanding
1 From Language Barriers to Guiding Principles
Let's Start by Building a Shared Language—Our Definitions
The Inclusion Multiplier
So Now That You Have Some Shared Language, What Are the Risks to Using It?
Defeating Myths and Building Principles
2 Fixing a Broken Society
What's Broken?
Take a Look in the Mirror
3 What's the Business Case Got to Do with Diversity?
So Why Is the Business Case So Popular?
What's the Problem?
When Does Diversity Make a Difference?
4 The Journey from “Ignore Inclusion” to “Evolve Inclusion”
The Inclusion Evolution Map
Knowing Where You Are Going—Outcomes and Impact
SECTION 2: The Inclusive Leader Scorecard
5 The Inclusive Leader Scorecard
The Inclusive Leader Scorecard Diagnostic
Leading Self: How Am I Being Inclusive?
Leading Team: How Do I Enable My Team to Be Inclusive?
Leading Culture: How Do I Grow an Inclusive Culture?
Leading Brand: How Do I Deliver an Inclusive Brand?
T‐Shaped Knowledge and Practice
SECTION 2.1: Self Quadrant: How Do I Model Inclusive Leadership?
6 Purpose
Purpose and Inclusion Go Hand‐In‐Hand
Why Purpose Matters and the Impact If You Ignore It
Global Impacts on Purpose
7 Courage
Small Acts of Courage
Leaders Already Know Courage
Inaction Is More Risky Than Action
When Others Have the Courage to Inform You of Your Mistakes
8 Cognizance
So, What Biases Are Relevant to the Workplace?
Understanding Bias and How It Works Does Not Reduce the Impact
Pushing Beyond Workshops to Impact
SECTION 2.2: Team Quadrant: How Do I Enable My Team to Be Inclusive?
9 Candor
Creating a Feedback Culture
Balancing Challenge and Support
Being Comfortable with the Uncomfortable
10 Cultural Connectedness
Understanding Intersectionality
Cultural Connectedness Requires Humility
The Challenge of Virtual Work
Enhancing Connection through Employee Resource Groups
Cultural Fit Versus Cultural Add
Building Cultural Connection Step‐By‐Step
11 Psychological Safety
What Is Psychological Safety?
What Does Psychological Safety Have to Do with Inclusion?
When Psychological Safety Goes Wrong
The Hard Work of Cultivating Psychological Safety
SECTION 2.3: Culture Quadrant: How Do I Cultivate an Inclusive Culture?
12 Optimism
Learning New Behaviors
How Lucky Are You?
Cultural Differences in Optimism
Searching for Meaning
Building a Growth Mindset
13 Resilience
Weaponizing Resilience
Understanding the Lived Experiences That Underpin Resilience
Cascading Resilience Across the Organization
14 Autonomy
Let Go of Power and Share It
Rules Restrict, Principles Uplift
Micromanaging Can Be a Form of Bias
Virtual Working and Autonomy
Business Leader Partnering with DEIB Professionals
SECTION 2.4: Brand Quadrant: How Do I Deliver an Inclusive Brand?
15 Trust
CEOs and Business Fill the Vacuum of Trust
Trustworthy Leadership Is Essential to Your Brand
A Lack of Inclusion, a Lack of Trust
The Mechanics of Building Trust
16 Partnerships
Building Authentic Partnerships
Don't Wait for a Crisis to Start
Investing in the Right Partnerships
Inspiring Cultural Change
The Impact of Internal Partnerships
Enhancing the Employer Brand Through Reverse Mentoring
17 Activism
Get Off the Fence
Brand Activism Is a Business Priority
Using Brand Power to Reframe a Stereotype
Building a Brand People Love
SECTION 3: Application
18 CEO Inclusion Do's and Don'ts
Do: Say the Words
Do: Hire a DEIB Leader
Do: Partner with Your DEIB Leader
Don't: Ask for DEIB Solutions to Be Delivered Yesterday
Commit Because You Care, Not Care Because You Committed
19 DEIB Strategy and Execution
Greenfield DEIB Strategy
The
What
and the
How
Brownfield DEIB Strategy
Six Guiding Principles to Progress DEIB Strategy
Conclusion: 90 Seconds to Midnight, but Still Time to Act
Glossary
References
Introduction
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Section 2.2
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Section 2.3
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Section 2.4
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Conclusion
Index
End User License Agreement
List of Tables
Chapter 1
Table 1.1 The risks of talking about DEIB and the risks if we don’t.
Table 1.2 Busting the myths of DEIB.
Chapter 5
Table 5.1 The Inclusive Leader Scorecard descriptions.
List of Illustrations
Chapter 4
Figure 4.1 The Inclusion Evolution Map.
Figure 4.2 The Inclusion Evolution Map descriptions.
Chapter 5
Figure 5.1 The Inclusive Leader Scorecard.
Chapter 8
Figure 8.1 The five‐step cognizance process.
Chapter 19
Figure 19.1 DEIB step‐by‐step.
Guide
Cover
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Foreword
Introduction: A Professor, a Psychologist, and a Man with One Leg Walk into a Bar
Acknowledgments
About the Authors
Begin Reading
Conclusion: 90 Seconds to Midnight, but Still Time to Act
Glossary
References
Index
End User License Agreement
Pages
iii
iv
v
xi
xii
xiii
xiv
xv
xvi
xvii
xviii
xix
xxi
xxii
xxiii
xxv
xxvi
xxvii
xxviii
1
3
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
37
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
103
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
115
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
157
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
167
169
170
171
172
173
174
175
176
177
178
179
181
182
183
184
185
187
189
190
191
192
193
194
195
196
197
198
199
200
201
203
205
206
207
208
209
210
211
212
213
214
215
216
217
219
221
222
223
224
225
226
227
228
229
230
231
233
235
236
237
238
239
240
241
242
243
244
245
247
248
249
250
251
252
253
254
255
256
257
258
259
260
261
262
263
264
265
267
268
269
270
271
272
273
274
275
276
277
278
279
280
281
282
283
284
285
286
287
288
289
290
291
292
293
294
295
296
297
299
300
301
302
303
304
305
306
307
308
309
Inclusion Unlocked
A Guide for Leaders to Act
Dev ModiMelissa C. Thomas-HuntMarc Woods
This edition first published 2024
© 2024 by Dev Modi, Melissa C. Thomas‐Hunt and Marc Woods
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except as permitted by law. Advice on how to obtain permission to reuse material from this title is available at http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions.
The right of Dev Modi, Melissa C. Thomas‐Hunt and Marc Woods to be identified as the authors of this work has been asserted in accordance with law.
Registered Office(s)John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USAJohn Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 8SQ, UK
For details of our global editorial offices, customer services, and more information about Wiley products visit us at www.wiley.com.
Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats and by print‐on‐demand. Some content that appears in standard print versions of this book may not be available in other formats.
Trademarks: Wiley and the Wiley logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of John Wiley & Sons, Inc. and/or its affiliates in the United States and other countries and may not be used without written permission. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.
Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of WarrantyWhile the publisher and authors have used their best efforts in preparing this work, they make no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this work and specifically disclaim all warranties, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives, written sales materials or promotional statements for this work. This work is sold with the understanding that the publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. The advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a specialist where appropriate. The fact that an organization, website, or product is referred to in this work as a citation and/or potential source of further information does not mean that the publisher and authors endorse the information or services the organization, website, or product may provide or recommendations it may make. Further, readers should be aware that websites listed in this work may have changed or disappeared between when this work was written and when it is read. Neither the publisher nor authors shall be liable for any loss of profit or any other commercial damages, including but not limited to special, incidental, consequential, or other damages.
Library of Congress Cataloging‐in‐Publication Data
Names: Woods, Marc, author. | Modi, Dev, author. | Thomas‐Hunt, Melissa C., author.Title: Inclusion unlocked : a guide for leaders to act / Marc Woods, Dev Modi, Melissa C. Thomas‐Hunt.Description: First edition. | Hoboken, NJ : Wiley, 2024. | Includes index.Identifiers: LCCN 2023045904 (print) | LCCN 2023045905 (ebook) | ISBN 9781394158577 (cloth) | ISBN 9781394169191 (adobe pdf) | ISBN 9781394169184 (epub)Subjects: LCSH: Leadership. | Diversity in the workplace. | Personnel management.Classification: LCC HD57.7 .W6643 2024 (print) | LCC HD57.7 (ebook) | DDC 658.4/092—dc23/eng/20231116LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023045904LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023045905
Cover Design: WileyCover Images: © Apostle/Shutterstock; Courtesy of Dev Modi
This book is dedicated to my late father, Surendra Modi, and my mother, Sharda Modi. Your boundless love and sacrifices created a home and a community where I belong, giving me the courage to follow my dreams. To my cherished son Madhav Modi, your presence fills my life with hope for a brighter and better future. I extend heartfelt gratitude to my grandparents and the generations before them, whose sacrifices have contributed to creating a more inclusive world.
—Dev Modi
It definitely took a village. I dedicate this book to my parents Eileen and Major E. Thomas Jr. who provided a foundation from which I could aspire to become an Inclusive Leader, to my husband Brian who gave me the strength and walked with me, to my children Sophia, Thaddeus, and Phineas who made sure I did not stray from the path, and, finally, to my brother Jordan who models the best of Inclusive Leadership in the everyday care he affords to others.
—Melissa C. Thomas‐Hunt
In memory of my grandparents who saw the best in people.
—Marc Woods
Foreword
Inclusion Unlocked brings together three differing perspectives from world‐class DEIB experts to produce a book that merges the human side of inclusion with the business environment.
While senior leaders have largely focused on the more tangible elements of creating a diverse workplace, it is far more challenging to bring inclusion to life in everything we do at work and to create the “invisible glue” that binds an organization's values, business strategies, and people together.
In this book, 12 key behaviors, such as courage, purpose, trust, psychological safety, etc., are shown to be the bedrock of inclusive practices. The authors describe how these attributes are the foundation to not just inclusive leadership but great leadership, as well as a recipe for building an extraordinary culture. The stories, case studies, and research will engage the hearts and minds of the reader.
The overarching message of this book is that every leader needs to take ownership for making change, not only for personal growth or organizational progress but also for the benefit of society too. Inclusive workplaces are developed when every leader in the business takes accountability and owns the inclusion agenda.
This book motivates and enables business leaders who want to go beyond the theory and take practical actions that make a tangible difference – leaders who want to walk the talk and role‐model from the front for the benefit of all.
Tea ColaianniFounderWiHTL, Diversity in Retail and inclusion in
Introduction: A Professor, a Psychologist, and a Man with One Leg Walk into a Bar
How did this title make you feel when you read it? Did you snicker or frown? Were you intrigued or outraged? Did it make you feel uncomfortable or simply curious as to who would be the butt of the joke? Love them or hate them, we've all heard jokes that start like this.
Usually deriving some comic value from an individual's characteristics, the “walk into a bar” joke has been around for almost 4,000 years; the first known example, found on stone tablets from the Babylonian Empire, featured a dog walking into a bar.1 Jokes like this work because we expect one thing—often culturally ingrained unconscious bias at work—and then they deliver either something unexpected or something which accentuates that cultural stereotype. It is perhaps unsurprising these jokes first appeared in Mesopotamia when the Babylonian Empire was at its peak, and its population was composed of many national, ethnic, religious, and other identity groups living and working within the dominant Babylonian culture.
In this instance, our use of this vehicle is less to do with comedic value, rather we want to trigger a response in you—something instant, something unconscious perhaps, something you may find easier to avoid than confront. We will do this repeatedly to help you examine what is informing such responses, reframe your understanding, and enable you to incorporate fresh insights and adopt new behaviors into your leadership style.
We have divided the book into three sections. The first, “Building Understanding,” provides context and insights into what it means to be inclusive and the organizational and societal impact it can have.
The second section will guide you through the 12 dimensions of the Inclusive Leader Scorecard, a proprietary model designed to help you on the journey to Inclusive Leadership.
Then, in the final section, “Application,” we will share our collective experiences on how to apply the knowledge we have gained and enable you to unlock inclusion for you and your organization. To further support this unlocking, each chapter will have a practical activity to bring the content to life with case studies and corporate stories along the way.
Since you picked this book up, you probably already have an interest in inclusion. That may be through necessity as you try to navigate the complexities of corporate life. It may be a personal passion or a fundamental part of your life's mission, or it may be that you found this a positive use of your time on a long journey home. Whatever your motivation, consider this: what do you risk by purposefully being more inclusive? What do you risk if you don't?
When Is the Right Time to Work on Inclusion?
Are you waiting for the right time to try to make the world a better place? Rabbi Hillel, a foundational Jewish theologian and leader, asked centuries ago, “If not now, when?”—and his prompt remains just as powerful today.2 It is a phrase you've likely heard, and may have used yourself, as it urges us to act now, not postpone duty.
Inclusion isn't something we can wait for other people to achieve. Legislation can help at a national or societal level, but for meaningful change to occur, we all have a role to play no matter what our identity, or identities. Inclusion is everyone's duty, and inclusion benefits everyone.
You may also know another of Rabbi Hillel's famous phrases, “Whatsoever thou wouldest that men should not do to thee, do not do that to them” If not word‐for‐word, you know its essence. Maybe you know it from The Buddha, “Whatever is disagreeable to yourself, do not do unto others.” Or, by its scholarly moniker “ethic of reciprocity.” Or simply as The Golden Rule.3 This maxim is popular in many traditions across the world. It is often used as a starting point for working with others. However, it is important to build upon this rule by understanding not everyone wants to be treated the same.4
In fact, at times, your own beliefs and moral codes may be counter to those of others around you, and you may have to adjust this to “treat others how they want to be treated,” or what is known as “The Platinum Rule” in many business circles.5 This can pose challenges for organizations at a time when opinions are increasingly polarized. What we urge you to do is to not simply dismiss thinking that is contrary to your own; rather invest time in considering the inherent value of all people and thus considering their wealth of perspectives. You may already have an understanding of the long history of the term “woke,” or have considered the pros and cons of “de‐platforming.” You have no doubt had conversations with colleagues and peers about “cancel culture.” You may have taken time to understand “how historically marginalized groups are still impacted today by that legacy” or “why historically dominant groups are feeling disenfranchised” and how you might validate emotions while still holding people and systems accountable for inequality. We will define and explore all of these things and more.
What we ask is that you stop avoiding difficult conversations, embrace the discomfort of learning and growing, and ultimately take well‐informed decisions and action.
Our aim with this book is to create a space where you can contemplate the rights, wrongs, and thorny issues, thereby enabling you to understand the fundamental principles of inclusion and also apply them to yourself and your organization. Whether this is the first time you're considering what it means to be an Inclusive Leader or you've been striving to lead like this for decades, we hope you take this opportunity to pause, reflect, and make a commitment to taking action. It is time to walk the talk and make up for lost time.
So Who Are the Three People Who Walked into That Metaphorical Bar to Write This Book?
The Professor is Melissa Thomas‐Hunt (she/her). Melissa is a Black cis woman, non‐disabled who has experienced periods of disability, born and raised in the United States. Her parents were both teachers; her father is a Southern Black man who was part of the Great Migration in the early 1940s, and her mother's family hails from the Caribbean and immigrated to New York City. She is currently the Senior Associate Dean of the residential full‐time MBA program and the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business and the Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy at the University of Virginia. Prior to that she was the inaugural Head of Global Diversity and Belonging at Airbnb, where she led the strategy and execution of the global internal diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging programs. Her happiest place is anywhere she's with her family, and her second happiest place is any place where people are engaged in connecting with one another.
The Psychologist is Dev Modi. Dev is a British Indian, born in the UK. His parents sought refuge in the UK after they fled East Africa following the 1964 revolution in Zanzibar and found their home in the leafy suburbs of Harrow, NW London. His roots in India and Africa are core to his cultural identity and informs the work he does. He is an award‐winning Chartered Organisational Psychologist, with a career spanning two decades working with executive teams and senior leaders of the world's best loved brands. In the midst of the Covid pandemic, he wrote The Inclusive Leader Scorecard, the precursor to some of the ideas in this book. He now focuses on executive coaching, team dynamics, and leadership development as his core areas of specialism. His approach to Western professionalism blends with Eastern wisdom such as mindfulness, meditation, breathwork, and yoga. In his spare time, he runs leadership retreats in the Andalusian mountains of Spain.
The man with one leg is Marc Woods. He is a British, White, disabled man who grew up in a small town on the northeastern coast of England. One day young Marc woke with a swollen and painful ankle which stopped him doing the things he had been planning with his teenage friends. After 18 months, and many medical tests later, he was told he had bone cancer and subsequently had to have his leg amputated. Unsure of the lifelong implications, he literally and figuratively immersed himself in his childhood love of swimming, going on to represent Great Britain in international competitions for 17 years, including winning 12 Paralympic medals from five games. His fascination with how to achieve potential didn't stop when he hung up his swimming goggles, and he now works as an executive coach and keynote speaker to help leaders build effective teams.
Marc—The Changing Room
As a swimmer you have to lay yourself bare—well, almost. Once you're in your swimwear, there is little left to the imagination, so I very quickly got used to people looking at my artificial leg and, when I took that off, staring at my stump. Children will look straight at me, but adults tend to look out of the corner of their eye and try to hide their thoughts. Just occasionally, they let the mask slip—and you get an insight into how negative impressions of disability pass from generation to generation.
One particular event springs to mind. I was in the changing rooms at the Barnet Copthall swimming pool in North London. There are two swimming pools and a diving pit there, so it is not unusual for members of the swimming team to be changing at the same time as the general public.
As I stood there in my swimwear, a young boy of about three noticed me. He was transfixed by the sight of my artificial leg, pointing at it and saying: “Look, Daddy.”
As soon as his father, who was drying the boy down, realized what his son was pointing at, he slapped him hard across the legs. It took me by surprise. The child wailed and began to cry. I walked out of the changing room, past the sobbing child and flustered parent, not knowing what to say. For the entire training session that followed, I replayed the incident in my head and thought about what I should have said. That child left the pool that day no doubt thinking that disability was a terrible thing, not to be acknowledged or talked about.
After They Walk In, They Sit Down at That Bar to Talk with You
The three of us want to enable you to have a positive impact on inclusion, feel empowered to articulate things you may have previously found challenging, and be the person who welcomes whoever it is who walks into the bar, with an understanding that they may have had a very different journey to your own getting there. Speaking of which, we hear you asking “what is the punchline?” Appropriate use of humor can be a fabulous way to foster inclusion, and thereby improve performance, but on this occasion the punchline is that there isn't a punchline. It's just who we are: Melissa, Dev, and Marc, urging you to be the change you want to see by jumping into this book with both feet, which is easier said than done for some.
Acknowledgments
Dev Modi
As I reflect on the rollercoaster of a journey in writing this book, I am deeply grateful to those who played pivotal roles in shaping it, despite the obstacles and challenges faced along the way.
Firstly, I extend heartfelt thanks to my co‐authors, Marc Woods and Melissa Thomas‐Hunt, whose unwavering dedication and collaborative spirit greatly enriched these pages. I also want to express special appreciation to Alicia Brandewie for her invaluable guidance and keeping us on track throughout this creative process.
To my family and friends, your steadfast support, encouragement, and unwavering belief in my work have been the driving force behind this endeavor. I especially want to thank my late father, my mother, and my son for inspiring my tireless commitment to making a positive impact.
My diverse community of remarkable and talented individuals from various walks of life has played an integral role in this journey. I am deeply grateful for your encouragement and assistance, and your unwavering enthusiasm has served as a guiding light.
Lastly, I owe a profound debt of gratitude to the teachers, mentors, and coaches, both present and departed, whose wisdom and guidance shaped the path leading to this book's creation. I would like to pay special tribute to “The Smiling Monk” Janakinath Das, whose light continues to shine brightly despite his untimely departure. Thank you, dear friend, for always believing in me.
To all who have been part of this journey, your contributions and unwavering support have been truly invaluable. From the depths of my heart, thank you.
Melissa C. Thomas‐Hunt
I owe a debt of gratitude to Dev Modi and Marc Woods for inviting me on this journey and pushing forward despite many unexpected obstacles. My deepest gratitude goes to Alicia Marie Brandewie. Alicia and I were colleagues at Vanderbilt University in the Office for Inclusive Excellence, where she was more than just an asset, a Swiss Army knife, fount of knowledge, guiding influence, and vital resource who knew just how to keep me focused on the mission. She is an integral part of our work's success, in no small part because she's a poet; so, when Dev, Marc, and I found ourselves in need of immediate excellent help, I knew she would be the ideal partner. She is always forward thinking and introduced us to Kate Johnson whose “can do” approach provided assists on many critical occasions. Alicia's expertise in DEIB and dedication to the book we made together, unwavering attention to detail, keen discernment, ability to clarify both strategies and sentences, and humor made this book possible. She worked through many nights, weekends, wee hours, juggling life‐curve‐balls, and putting other parts of life on hold to complete our book that not only advances the DEIB field but most importantly has a real, positive impact on people's lives. I see her heart shining in every paragraph and am grateful to her for lending it to us.
Additionally, my contributions to this book are made possible by all that I learned from Diane Strauss, my first mentor and favorite teacher, Maurice Chen, my mentor at IBM, my longtime advisor Maggie Neale, my colleagues at Wahington University, Cornell University, Vanderbilt University, the University of Virginia, and Airbnb, and my co‐authors across the globe. In particular, Tiffany Galvin Green and Natasha Bryant invited me to become an even more Inclusive Leader, and Scott Beardsley took a chance by appointing me as his first Global Chief Diversity Officer at UVA's Darden School of Business. He was a new Dean, and I was a spunky Associate Professor who “cold called” him on diversity in his first town hall. He embraced and accelerated my leadership then and many years later when he invited me to return.
Finally, I want to acknowledge the impact that Beth Axelrod and Brian Chesky's invitation to join Airbnb and Rich Baer's support had on my ability to unlock inclusion by actively creating belonging and fostering connection. They took a risk on me and never stopped lending their support and guidance. It was the learning journey of a lifetime.
Marc Woods
The road to inclusion is neither linear nor finite and has been trodden by many before. My first thanks go to those people, mostly unknown and unrecognized, who have forged the trail to this point. Then, I want to thank those in the future who will continue this work, perhaps after reading this book. Keep striving forward, staying curious, listening, acting.
And finally, to those in the present and our core team of Melissa Thomas‐Hunt, Dev Modi, Alicia Marie Brandewie, and Kate Johnson. Thank you for covering for me when ill health meant my focus had to be elsewhere.
Melissa and Dev, I have learnt so much during our time working together, and I thank you both for your generosity, energy, and inclusive hearts.
About the Authors
Dev Modi, an award‐winning Chartered Organisational Psychologist, made waves in 2021 with his groundbreaking book, The Inclusive Leader Scorecard, laying the foundation for Inclusion Unlocked. In 2022, HR Magazine recognized him as one of the top five most influential thinkers in HR.
Dev's mastery extends to coaching CEOs and executive teams at the world's premier brands. His compelling keynote speeches, thought‐provoking coaching, and dynamic workshops seamlessly fuse science, storytelling, and motivation, igniting his clients' energy and inspiring action.
His expertise spans inclusion, diversity, Inclusive Leadership, executive coaching, team coaching, and keynote speaking. As a member of industry bodies, like The Association of Business Psychology, The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), and WiHTL, Dev's contributions are widely acknowledged. His thought leadership stands out in publications such as Executive Grapevine, The Board Agenda, and People Management.
Dev's leadership extends to managing multi‐disciplinary teams in talent, leadership, and culture, both domestically and globally. He has collaborated with industry titans like eBay, BiC, PayPal, BP, Deloitte, and more to champion DEIB and Inclusive Leadership.
He is a graduate of The London School of Economics and Political Science with a Bachelors in Management Science and a Masters in Organisational Psychology from City University. Dev is an Associate Fellow and Chartered Member of The British Psychological Society—a beacon of excellence in his field.
Melissa C. Thomas‐Hunt is Senior Associate Dean of the full‐time MBA Program at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business. She is also the John Forbes Distinguished Professor of Business Administration at the Darden School of Business and the Professor of Public Policy at the Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Melissa is the former Head of Global Diversity and Belonging at Airbnb, where she led the strategy and execution of our global programs in internal diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging, and retains an external senior advisor role focused on advancing connection and belonging research.
Immediately prior to her role at Airbnb, Melissa served as Vice Provost for Inclusive Excellence and Professor of Management in the Owen School of Management. There Melissa was responsible for advancing equity, diversity, and inclusion across Vanderbilt's community of staff, students, and faculty.
Before her time at Vanderbilt University, Melissa served as Global Chief Diversity Officer and faculty at the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business where she led the Women in Leadership executive education program and was the founding academic director of Behavioral Research at Darden (BRAD) lab. She has also held faculty appointments at Cornell University's Samuel Curtis Johnson Graduate School of Management, where she was a member of the faculty for nine years, and also taught at Northwestern's Kellogg School, Washington University's Olin School of Business, and Stanford University's Graduate School of Business. Before beginning her academic career, Melissa was an Account Marketing Representative at IBM.
For 25 years, she has taught MBAs and executives in leadership, team dynamics, and negotiations and has conducted research on the factors that unleash, leverage, and amplify the contributions made by individuals, particularly women, underrepresented individuals, and numerical minorities. Her publications have appeared in Research on Organizational Behavior, Organization Science, Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Journal of Applied Psychology, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, Management Science, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, and Research on Managing Groups and Teams.
Melissa holds masters and doctoral degrees from the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University and a bachelor of science in chemical engineering from Princeton University. Melissa has been actively engaged in nonprofit board service. She currently serves on the board of Airbnb.org, the Boys and Girls Club of Central Virginia, and Harlem Academy, and as an advisor for Kokocares.org.
She has been married to Brian K. Hunt for almost 30 years and they have three adultish children.
Marc Woods a county standard swimmer as a teenager, had his left leg amputated because of cancer when he was 17. He competed internationally as a swimmer for 17 years, winning 12 Paralympic medals from five games and a further 21 from either World or European Championships. Since retiring from swimming in 2004 he has worked for both the BBC and CH4 at the Paralympic Games in Beijing, London, Rio, and Tokyo.
Marc believes passionately in the power of sport and physical activity. He now chairs the Chartered Institute for the Management of Sport and Physical Activity (CIMSPA). As the professional development body for the UK's sport and physical activity sector, CIMSPA is committed to supporting, developing, and enabling professionals and organizations to succeed, inspiring the nation to become more active, and creating a vibrant, UK‐wide sport and physical activity sector, with the highest standards of service delivery.
Marc co‐founded the Leadership Advisory business, Equiida, and now spends his time working with organizations around the world as an executive coach and speaker. He focuses this work around inclusion, transformative change, and leadership effectiveness.
Marc has written three books prior to Inclusion Unlocked. Most notably Personal Best, a combination of his inspirational life story and personal development advice, and Beyond the Call which, supported by research from New York University, looks at how to create conditions within an organization that make discretionary effort more likely.
SECTION 1Building Understanding
Chapter 1
: From Language Barriers to Guiding Principles
Chapter 2
: Fixing a Broken Society
Chapter 3
: What's the Business Case Got to Do with Diversity
Chapter 4
: The Journey from “Ignore Inclusion” to “Evolve Inclusion”
1From Language Barriers to Guiding Principles
The absence of discrimination does not indicate the presence of inclusion. Leaders need to be advocates and active players.
Tiernan Brady, Global Director of Inclusion, Clifford Chance
The appropriate use of language is one of the greatest tools we have to bring people together, but it can also be weaponized and destructive. One moment, you are proud to be referred to as “woke,” the next moment, it has been misappropriated and is being used against you like a slur. Language can be tricky and complex, meaning changed by tone or intent.
Yet, when people take a step back, most of us realize this: there is language we use in our professional spheres that is not readily accessible to others. So too, there are individuals whose expertise allows them access to the nuanced language that supports and advances Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB), while others must work to gain fluency. The lexicon of DEIB can seem daunting to its new speakers, in part, because of the perceived reputational cost of misusing or being unfamiliar with its words.
In reality, it is an amalgam of terms, concepts, and practices which you may have never encountered. It's easy to reject its language as unnecessary or criticize it for being too quick to change. Instead, we invite you to consider staying open to DEIB language and explore its ability to provide a shared language to unlock new understanding of people and their experiences. For example, the term “BIPOC”—to specifically name Black and Indigenous in addition to people of color (PoC)—may seem unnecessary. However, reading The BIPOC Project1 and asking questions of trusted people can help us understand that the term was adopted mostly by younger generations to not only increase solidarity among people of color but also call out the ways in which Indigenous and Black people were uniquely impacted by systemic racial injustice that shaped the future experience of all people of color, specifically, in the United States (US).2Though originally focused on the US context, the language of BIPOC has come to have global resonance, including in the United Kingdom (UK) where the term “BAME” (Black, Asian, and Minority Ethnic) was used until it very recently encountered the same critique and is now a faux pas, where other designations of historically, racially marginalized people are preferred.3
It is important to note we use the term “marginalized” instead of “minority”, and “dominant” instead of “majority”, because we find them more accurate. Marginalized groups are minimized, disenfranchised, and often subject to historical injustices, while dominant groups exert power and influence regardless of either group's size. Returning to the above example, “PoC” and “BAME” are terms historically used to accurately center Whiteness as the racial “majority” and diminish people of all other races as a “minority” in the US and UK, when in actuality they are the “Global Majority,” a term coined by Rosemary Campbell‐Stephens, as about 80% of the world population is “Black, African, Asian, Brown, dual‐heritage, indigenous to the global south, and/or, have been racialized as ‘ethnic minorities’.”4 We concur with Campbell‐Stephens that language is deeply impactful; so, it should be used intentionally at a minimum while striving for empowering usage.
Understanding the evolution of DEIB language and developing a shared understanding of the meaning of words can reduce the friction points between people and begin to build individuals' confidence in their ability to have conversations. We will unpack some common terms, but remember that DEIB language is continually evolving and the best way to learn new terms is to look them up and then ask trusted colleagues.
Dev—We All Begin Our Inclusion Journey Somewhere
When I first began to explore my interest in the DEIB space, my friend, an expert in this area, tried to simplify things for me. She shared a range of useful phrases, such as “diversity is a fact, inclusion is a choice” and “diversity is counting your people, inclusion is making your people count.” Just when I thought you couldn't get more simplistic than this, she said, “diversity is being invited to the party, and inclusion is being asked to dance.” I later stumbled on an article from Linkedin by Daniel Juday where he postulates a series of builds to evolve the statements to reflect our maturing understanding of the topic: “Diversity is being invited to the party, inclusion is dancing” or better “diversity is being invited to the party; inclusion is choosing the music” or at its best “diversity is going to the party; inclusion is being a member of the party planning committee.”5
So, armed with these basic layperson definitions, I began my journey into the DEIB space—barely equipped, but confident in my desire and ability to learn and make a positive impact on the agenda and upon the minds of leaders.
Let's Start by Building a Shared Language—Our Definitions
To help overcome the barriers—from the fear of being misunderstood to the fear of retaliation for challenging systems—to engaging in DEIB dialogue and action, it is important for you to have a well‐established baseline knowledge.6 You don't need to be an expert, but you do need to be comfortable with core concepts, key terms, and best practices and willing to engage in continuous learning.
Diversity refers to the comprehensive range of identities that make up the spectrum of human difference. These range from identities that are visible to another person to those that are less visible, and those invisible unless you choose to share them. While it is impossible to create a comprehensive list of all identities, some major groups include: race, color, ethnicity, sex, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, disability, neurotype, age, religion, political affiliation, country of origin, veteran status, socioeconomic status, relationship status, education, and personality. Some of these differences are important and core to who we are, and others are tangential. Individuals' identities should not be assumed, but rather left to the discretion of the individual to define and reveal them.
People are complex beings, each with multiple identities that make up who we are and our unique experience of the world. The term “intersectionality” was coined in 1989 by professor Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe how race, class, gender, and other identities intersect with one another, overlap, and cannot be isolated from one another.7 The intersection of identities impacts the way people are perceived and treated, and in turn, influences the way people engage with the world around them. For example, the experience of a gay, cis (gender assigned at birth matches gender identity) Muslim woman entails a very different lived experience (the first‐hand experiences one has in life) than a disabled White man because each identity element impacts the others. Your awareness of intersectionality will enable you to have a more meaningful understanding of diversity. Start by considering your own identities and the way they impact each other, with this understanding enhancing your ability to connect on a deeper level to yourself and others.
It is important for leaders to know what identities are legally protected in the countries in which they operate. For example, in the UK, the Equality Act 2010 legally protects people from discrimination based on age, disability, gender, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, and gender reassignment.8 While in the US, the equivalent is the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC)'s enforcement of federal laws prohibiting discrimination of an applicant or employee based on a “person's race, color, religion, sex (including pregnancy, transgender status, and sexual orientation), national origin, age (40 or older), disability or genetic information.”9
