Resilience – A Diversity Officer Job Requirement
Over the last few years, many organizations have succumbed to social pressure and verbally committed to enhancing their focus on diversity, equity and inclusion. In many cases, this focus has included the appointment of a diversity executive whose responsibility is to develop and influence the adaptation of an inclusive culture for the organization.
Often, individuals selected for this role are recruited from outside of the organization. In many cases, these individuals do not have a clear understanding of the new organization’s culture. This means that there is a learning curve needed to get up to speed on the inner workings of the organization. Often, this curve includes gaining an understanding of:
- Where the organization is on its inclusive journey?
- What are the potential impediments to any initiatives that the executive attempts to put in place?
- Who are the organization’s diversity champions?
- What are the cultural nuances that are fundamental to the successful development of an inclusive culture?
- What are the expected performance objectives to be achieved?
These insights do not take place overnight. They take place over time. And they require patience, persistence and most importantly, a resilient personality.
Many executives who strive for upward professional mobility have viewed the role of diversity executive as a very attractive position – one that provides influence on the organization, visibility both internally and externally, and the ability to satisfy their desire to make a positive difference. These are all very reasonable expectations.
In the current market environment, however, it is important for an individual considering this role to take an in-depth look into the realities of the position before accepting the role as a diversity executive, in any organization, and recognize the importance of a resilient personality to ensure personal and organizational success.
In consideration, every candidate should undertake robust due diligence BEFORE accepting a diversity executive role. Statements from the organization should not be taken at face value. The statements may be well meaning; however, lack of substantive due diligence on the part of diversity executives, prior to accepting a position, is one of the major factors in the decrease of average tenure of diversity executives – from three years to eighteen months. This reduced tenure has negative implications on the overall impact of diversity initiatives in the organization, and it also has broader consequences – it impacts the perceived influence of the diversity executive role.
Why is this the case?
Each time a new diversity executive is introduced to an organization, the culture of the organization takes a pause, at best, and in some cases, presses the restart button. If this experience is repeated over and over, organizations consistently start and stop initiatives, hampering the organization’s ability to progress on its diversity and inclusion journey. An average two-year tenure is barely sufficient for the diversity executive to build solid relationships with diversity champions and executives across the organization. These are the individuals who can support their efforts and these relationships take time to develop and sustain.
It is important for diversity executives to realize that unlike other organizational roles where there are often dramatic results achieved in a short period of time, progress in diversity and inclusion is slower paced. It is often measured in smaller increments toward a larger goal. This is because the diversity executive’s role is to influence human behavior and this objective does not occur overnight. Both the organization’s leadership and the diversity executive must recognize this reality.
If the diversity executive approaches the role without clearly understanding the extent to which resilience plays an important role in personal and organizational success, they will become frustrated and seek professional refuge elsewhere. This leads to a cycle of negative impacts on the organization. Not only is the organizational culture impacted, but there is also a financial repercussion. The revolving door of diversity executives creates an added expense for the organization, rather than demonstrated added value. The amount of time and energy that is needed for another executive search is costly. Furthermore, while in their current role, the diversity executive’s attention and performance are impacted because their search for a new role occupies their time and attention.
Perhaps an often-overlooked organizational impact is how turnover of diversity executives impacts the organization’s external brand in the marketplace. And internally, these factors cumulatively support those individuals in the organization who would rather see a cultural status quo, making the job of the successor diversity executive that much more challenging.
So, what should a diversity executive do to build and support resilience in their role?
Read Part II of the Series: Resilience – A Diversity Officer Job Requirement
Marsha Jones is an Executive Vice President and Senior Partner of Tier 1 Level Consulting, LLC, a consulting and executive coaching organization. Marsha founded Tier 1 after serving for over a decade as the first Chief Diversity Officer of PNC Financial Services Group and after a distinguished sales management career at Merrill Lynch. Her multidisciplinary experience in diversity and financial services allows her to identify visionary opportunities and strategic initiatives that help her clients drive transformational business and cultural change.
