Cultivating Equitable and Inclusive Workplaces:
A conversation with Dr. Kristen Liesch and Anna Dewar Gully of Tidal Equity
We spoke to DE&I mavens, Dr. Kristen Liesch and Anna Dewar Gully, of Tidal Equality following the launch of their Equity Sequence™️. An action-driven alternative to anti-bias training, the Equity Sequence™️ is a series of 5 simple questions designed to drive equality in everyday workplace decisions and actions. We were curious to hear more about the Equity Sequence and get their take on additional ways to ensure corporate DE&I efforts are effective and impactful. They had a wealth of tips and information to share:
1. You created the Equity Sequence as an alternative to anti-bias training that companies can use to help reduce inequality. Can you elaborate on why anti-bias training misses the target?
There are a few key reasons why anti-bias training - sometimes called unconscious bias training or implicit bias training - misses the mark in terms of helping you build a more equitable organization. In a nutshell, it comes down to:
A disconnect between intent and outcome
A focus on the individual vs. the system
An unrealistic learning design
The proposition of unconscious bias training is that it leads individuals to an awareness of their own bias, and then to behavioural change. The premise is: “In this 90-minute sessions (or sometimes longer) we will take a roomful of people, make them aware that they harbor implicit bias, maybe talk about how that bias gets expressed in their decision-making, and then encourage them to go forth and act without bias.” But, if you think about it, bias is very much the expression of a myriad - hundreds, in fact - of cognitive shortcuts our brains take day in and day out, in a variety of situations and circumstances. So intending to connect “awareness of bias” to less biased action in this way is akin to giving a roomful of people a 90-minute session on the benefits of healthy eating and exercise coupled with an analysis of their personal habits, and then expecting them to start eating better and moving their bodies more the next day. We all have some understanding of how difficult it is to turn that intent into action.
However, building on that example, we know that by using a behavioural-design approach, we can support individuals in connecting the dots between intent and action. We can provide on-site fitness classes, remove “junk” food from free office fare, equip work spaces with stand-up desks, and so on. Similarly, research shows that the real opportunities for creating more equity and less bias lives in the systems around us; that the way we do everything - from marketing and communications, to finance processes, to sales pitches, to strategic design, to people management policies - all these can be looked at through an equity lens and modified to become more equitable in their design, and bridge that intent-action gap.
Finally, there’s actually a lot of good research that identifies the features we should look for in training programs, if what we’re after is behaviour change toward greater equity and inclusion. You can read the white paper we wrote on the topic, and use the free assessment tool we created from that research, but in summary, these are a few of the building blocks of an effective training:
It is voluntary, not mandatory, and engages “natural champions”
It includes problem-solving
It focuses on fixing the system, not the individual
It is directly and explicitly connected to everyday work activities
It is about problem-solving and goal-setting
As the question we’re answering here alludes to, we created the Equity Sequence™️ as a research-backed alternative to anti-bias training. In short, it is a series of 5 strategic questions that are designed to increase equity and inclusion (and reduce bias) in our work and decision-making. Whether you’re drafting communications, planning a digital event, making a sales pitch, revising a process… whatever you’re doing, you can apply the Equity Sequence™ as an individual or in a team, and it will help you reveal blind spots as well as opportunities to make your work more equitable and inclusive. The Equity Sequence™ can be learned in less than 2 hours, and then you can practice the Sequence™, applying it to what you’re doing, in less than 20 minutes. It’s not a one-and-done learning, it’s a skill-building practice.
2. Who is the Equity Sequence™️ for Sales designed for, and what is the expected outcome for this training?
The Equity Sequence™ for Sales is for anyone who identifies as a sales professional, who observes and/or experiences inequity in their lives and work, and who wants to be equipped with a practice to help them do something about it.
The 5 questions that make up the Equity Sequence™ are always the same, but we know that the best way to learn a new skill is to be able to practice it in a context that is already familiar. That’s why, when we train people in the Equity Sequence™, we use case studies and dramatizations that resonate. So, someone learning the Equity Sequence™ for Sales will experience a dramatization of the practice that takes place inside a conversation around a sales pitch strategy. Then a learner can choose from a couple of case studies to practice the Sequence on, themselves. We’re grateful, in this case, for the support of the CFW Careers team who helped us design these sales-specific case studies.
After having learned the practice and tried it out a couple of times themselves, a learner will feel well-enough or very well equipped to practice the Sequence in their day-to-day work. It’s designed to have impact from day-1 and we hear from learners that’s exactly what happens. It’s so practical and effective that some learners even bring the Equity Sequence™ practice into their personal lives and community and civic roles as well.
3. The Equity Sequence is only one step in a complex process for reducing inequality. What are other steps organizations should take?
We encourage leaders to find the courage to face the nature of the equity challenges that live in their organization before implementing tactical interventions. In our experience, there aren’t a whole lot of organizations willing to or interested in confronting the fact that their culture and organizational infrastructure might harbour and perpetuate bias and discrimination - racism, sexism, ageism, etc. It’s a lot more palatable to talk about inclusion and belonging than it is to ask questions like, “Do we have racism here? Do we have sexism here? How do these things show up?” So, if you’re really, truly interested in reducing inequality, get ready to look the problems square in the face and get to know them really, really well before doing something like creating ERGs or creating a mentoring program, for example.
Coupled to this recommendation, we are strong believers in learning from the wisdom of the crowd and practicing consciousness-raising. What does that mean? It means listening to and learning from people who observe and/or experience bias, inequality and discrimination. It sounds simple, but it takes a commitment to curiosity, candour, courage, empathy and equality. If you want to learn the answers to questions like “Do we have racism here? Do we have sexism here? How do these things show up?” you need to create opportunities to listen and learn, and you need to create the conditions for folks to share with candour. This might mean bringing in a third-party that can guarantee anonymity, but, speaking from experience, these questions - combined with a few more key questions - can really open up a lot of exciting opportunities for an organization to not only create a more equitable and inclusive culture, but do so to the benefit of their business and those they serve.
4. Kristen, in your recent article "Stop making 'the business case' for equity, diversity, and inclusion,”you outline how making the 'business case' hasn't proven an effective way to garner executive support or secure budget for equity-focused work; there needs to be a focus on equipping people who care with the skills they need to help create more equitable workplaces. What is your advice for a person who is looking to gain executive support to ensure that DEI initiatives are adequately resourced?
Such a great question! To be honest, Anna and I will both tell you: Don’t start by looking to get the executive support. Start by looking around you and asking: “What change can I make with what I’ve got already?” Look at the resources you have already, and ask: where are the champions for change? Where do they sit? What influence do they wield? What is ripe for change? By piloting change in this way, you have a low-risk situation where you can make mistakes and learn from them. You can build momentum and gather supporters. You can then have a compelling story to share when you do go seeking executive support. For an exciting example of how this has been done, you can read about how news anchor Ros Atkins started the 50:50 project at the BBC - it’s a fascinating and inspiring story about how grassroots efforts (that cost nothing) can translate into sweeping and far-reaching impactful change. (If you can’t get past the paywall, stay tuned, I’m writing an article with Ros on this topic, coming soon.)
5. Anna, given the current business and cultural context, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the Black Lives Matter Movement both in center stage, are there any resources or actionable recommendations for advancing workplace equity that you would like to share with the sales leadership community?
When it comes to taking action against racism and other forms of inequality, to us, meaningful action has three key components.
1. Name the problem of inequality. All organizations and communities suffer from inequality in various ways because inequality exists and is rife throughout our society. That looks like individualized and systemic racism, sexism, ableism, homophobia, and more. If you’re going to take action on inequality, you have to first name that it exists where you work or you will never successfully be able to work through the myriad of problems that inequality creates for your people, your culture, or your strategy.
2.Explore lived experiences of inequality, learn from them, and act on them. When you do work on equity, diversity, and inclusion...don’t ask euphemistic questions. Work with a third party organization that prioritizes solving the problem of inequality, and ask questions like: do you feel you have an equal chance to succeed here? Are there any barriers to equality in your experience? Have you experienced inequality here? Asking direct questions gives you the opportunity to really learn what problems of inequality live in your organization.
3.Learn a version of the Equity Sequence™ which our team designed to help individuals, teams, and whole organizations expand equity in decision-making, product and service design, and more. It’s a systems-change tool and something you can use to act on structural inequities that we inadvertently build into our organizations and their processes. It’s a small investment for a skill you can use to make change for the rest of your career and you can even use it in your community and pro-bono work
a few other gems:
The National Museum of African American History and Culture, devoted exclusively to the documentation of African American life, history, and culture, offers a free digital exhibition called Talking About Race
The Black Lives Matter movement has created the Healing in Action Toolkit, A Toolkit for Black Lives Matter Healing Justice & Direct Action to support deeper, and more healing conversations and actions.
Watch the feature film Selma and be inspired to learn more about civil rights and other social change movements.
To learn more about Kristen and Anna, their Equity Sequence™️ and their work at Tidal Equality, visit their website or check them out on LinkedIn or Facebook @tidalequality.
Our firm was founded 50 years ago as a career school to help women realize their potential to excel in executive sales, empowering them socioeconomically. That educational orientation and commitment to driving diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace resonates with everything we do to this day. For this reason, we are proud to partner with Tidal Equality to bring their powerful Equity Sequence™️ to sales teams everywhere. Sales remains the clearest path to leadership in many organizations. Advancing equality within sales organizations catalyzes access to economic opportunity and advances our mission towards a world where corporations reflect our ideal communities, those communities being diverse, inclusive and fair.
To start working towards reducing inequality in your sales team please click here to sign up for the Equity Sequence for Sales Teams. For a discount code, reach out to Maria Simon at maria@cfwcareers.com