Building Inclusive Organizations that Last. Embark on a transformative journey with “Cultures of Belonging,” where Alida Miranda-Wolff’s insights unlock the power of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. This pivotal guide offers clear, actionable steps to foster an environment where every Employee thrives.

Dive deeper into the blueprint for building a culture of belonging that elevates your organization—continue reading for an in-depth exploration of this groundbreaking work.

Genres

Business, Nonfiction, Leadership, Management, Organizational Development, Human Resources, Diversity & Inclusion, Corporate Culture, Professional Development, Social Science

“Cultures of Belonging” by Alida Miranda-Wolff serves as a comprehensive guide to creating inclusive organizations. The book provides practical advice on infusing diversity, equity, and inclusion into the fabric of a company’s culture.

It emphasizes the importance of belonging and outlines strategies for building new values and experiences that resonate with all employees. Miranda-Wolff draws from her extensive experience in DEI consulting to offer a roadmap for overcoming limiting work environments and fostering a sense of unity and purpose among staff.

Review

Alida Miranda-Wolff’s “Cultures of Belonging” is a thought-provoking and insightful read that addresses the critical need for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) in today’s organizations. The author’s expertise shines through as she combines personal anecdotes with a wealth of practical advice.

The book is praised for its clarity and the tangible steps it provides for managers and leaders to create a more inclusive workplace. It is an essential resource for anyone looking to make meaningful changes in their organization and is highly recommended for its depth and applicability across various industries.

Recommendation

You can’t expect your employees to thrive unless they feel wanted and needed – particularly if they represent marginalized populations. Alida Miranda-Wolff offers a sensible, comprehensive approach for creating an environment that embraces everyone and prioritizes relationships. The author argues that cultures rooted in “diversity, equity, inclusion” and belonging (DEIB) offer the best opportunities for employees to flourish. Leaders must work hard, show commitment and expect resistance as they formulate and execute cultural change, but a respectful, productive and welcoming organization will be their reward.

Take-Aways

• “Diverse, equitable and inclusive” cultures enable employees to flourish.
• Positive energy and high performance abound in caring cultures.
• The size of your company affects its culture and performance.
• Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives require planning, commitment and may face formidable obstacles.
• A “vision, values and mission” (VVM) statement conveys your organization’s intentions and directs its decisions.
• Use your onboarding process to set the tone for successful integration of new hires.

Summary

“Diverse, equitable and inclusive” cultures enable employees to flourish.

Ensure that inclusivity is a foundational component of your culture. But before you consider introducing a diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiative, define culture and belonging properly. Though many use these terms interchangeably, in fact, they are mutually exclusive.

“Culture doesn’t guarantee equitable outcomes or widespread belonging. A healthy culture that focuses on DEIB, though, is a different story.”

Cultures aren’t necessarily positive or beneficial; they can be dysfunctional. Culture is a “shared way of life” and neither inherently good nor bad in and of itself. People choose to engage in a particular culture because of its positive qualities and practices.

Not every employee feels a sense of belonging. That’s normal. A corporate culture of belonging that embraces DEIB invites everyone to participate regardless of gender, ethnicity or any other “social identity.” On rare occasions, employees may not feel a sense of belonging because they disagree with the company’s direction or philosophy. All a leader can do in such cases is to create the appropriate conditions for inclusion. The rest is up to each individual.

“Culture is a process of translating ideas into behaviors, working as a disseminator or transmitter rather than just an outcome itself.”

Many leaders view culture and DEIB as separate entities. But 66% of the respondents in one study say they would have stayed with the organization they left if its leaders had repaired the culture. The same study revealed that the presence of a DEIB strategy resulted in having fewer employees leave “due to unfairness.” Still, many business leaders are more comfortable addressing the issue of culture at large before turning to DEIB integration.

Positive energy and high performance abound in caring cultures.

An indisputable correlation exists between a healthy culture and high employee performance. As author Simon Sinek wrote in Leaders Eat Last: Why Some Teams Pull Together and Others Don’t, people excel when they feel safe and comfortable with their colleagues and leaders.

“Organizations are not born, they are made. They are often made in their leader’s image.”

You can do better work when you’re not preoccupied with repairing your workplace relationships. Employees who care for their managers and peers and who align with their organization’s vision try harder in good times and bad.

The size of your company affects its culture and performance.

Cultures typically develop organically in organizations with fewer than 30 employees. People know each other and feel comfortable engaging face-to-face. The culture dynamic changes in companies with 50 to 200 employees. There, community becomes the main focus; leaders must institute guidelines so everyone understands their individual and collective responsibilities and purpose.

“It’s human to over perform when we feel believed in and like we belong.”

Businesses with 200 to 2,000 people are no longer communities, but organizations. They require formal rules and protocols. Relationships change. Employees develop a stronger allegiance to their individual teams or units than to the overall organization. A high-functioning corporate culture prevents groups from splintering away and pursuing agendas that do not align with the company’s vision.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging (DEIB) initiatives require planning, commitment and may face formidable obstacles.

The concept of DEIB is popular in contemporary companies, though scant universal agreement exists regarding its definition. To create an equitable environment, you must first understand these fundamental terms.

• Diversity – Your group includes a variety of individuals from multiple backgrounds. Diversity is an excellent vehicle for growth because you maintain a flow of information and responses from unique and varied sources.
• Inclusion – People with distinct identities feel a connection to their team members. It’s possible, however, to feel that connection to your group or team, but not to other departments or the company as a whole.
• Equity – Markedly different from equality, equity refers to fairness and leveling the playing field for those who require specific accommodations. Equality means providing the same access and opportunities for everyone. Equity is acknowledging that not everyone begins from the same place.
• Belonging – Having a sense of belonging means you feel connected to a larger cause that promotes values you cherish.

New organizations typically reflect the values and priorities of their founder or founders. Job candidates can learn a lot about a company by researching its CEO’s history and personality. In the early stages of organizational development, new hires are likely to emulate the principles and objectives of top leaders. Bringing on like-minded individuals strengthens inclusivity, but slows diversity – and that’s bad for business.

“Unlike diversity and inclusion, which are outcomes you can clearly see and measure, equity is a process to get to those outcomes.”

Instituting your plans will prove the biggest challenge to a DEIB initiative. To begin, gather extensive data about your organization today. Use interviews and assessments to identify shortcomings. They may, for example, identify the need to hire more women in enterprise sales positions.

These roadblocks often prevent or slow DEIB implementation:

• “Time” – People never think they have enough time, but transformative change takes weeks or even months. Employees who already labor to meet expectations will often resist additional time-consuming projects.
• “Resources” – Regardless of its scope, DEIB requires funding as well as time. Companies rarely budget for DEIB enterprise work. Thus, you’ll face stiff competition from various teams demanding resources – and time – for their own specific projects or interests.
• “Stakes” – Initiatives in this area affect people differently. Some employees have no complaints about the status quo and won’t want to expend energy to change it. Others, including those who suffer negative consequences due to a company’s DEIB inadequacies, may no longer have the willpower to fight back. Their indifference may align with those who prefer the status quo. That may generate stasis.

Your organization can overcome these obstacles if leaders stand up for their beliefs. The task may seem daunting, but you can succeed with a solid game plan and unwavering commitment.

A “vision, values and mission” (VVM) statement conveys your organization’s intentions and directs its decisions.

Instituting DEIB often demands that organizations scrutinize their vision, values and mission (VVM). The VVM describes how your organization defines its objectives and cultivates behaviors that enable it to reach its “highest purpose.” Employees and even high-ranking leaders often struggle to verbalize their companies’ vision statement.

Creating or refining a company’s VVM can become a highly sensitive, controversial matter. It requires precise wording that summarizes why the organization exists, how it plans to achieve its goals and what tasks people currently perform to reach those objectives. Your VVM ultimately guides every decision your company makes.

“As your company changes, pivots, transforms and grows, you will need to revisit your VVM at least annually.”

Consider holding a corporation-wide VVM workshop where employees can express their opinions and experiences and pose questions. Bring in a facilitator or designate an employee with a solid reputation and mediation experience to run the workshop and ensure that all of your employees have the opportunity to share their views.

The facilitator reviews the VVM and divides the audience into teams that identify “current behaviors that support the company’s value.” Each team shares its findings with the group. The facilitator explains that the company will assemble the workshop data into a document that everyone can view and comment on for a week. After everyone has weighed in, the facilitator will finalize any necessary modifications to the document and forward the completed product to top executives for their consideration leading to eventual implementation.

Use your onboarding process to set the tone for successful integration of new hires.

Establish a strong onboarding system that ensures a smooth transition for new employees. Onboarding plays a critical role in retention; employees often decide to stay at companies based on their experiences with their managers, co-workers and customers during the onboarding process.

According to a Gallup study, “only 12% of employees strongly agreed their organizations onboarded them well.” A Bamboo HR study revealed that 17% of new hires leave within the first three months; 30% leave in the first six months.

“A strong onboarding process improves retention of new employees by 82%.” (Glassdoor research)

Ideally, onboarding helps employees understand their responsibilities, introduces them to their teammates and the other people they’ll work with, and provides “nuts and bolts” knowledge of the organization and its protocols. Inadequate onboarding typically leaves new employees to fend for themselves. Some will figure out what they must do to succeed and become part of the culture; others will struggle. Most people in any organization need and welcome direction and mentorship.

“As you assemble your onboarding plan for your new hires, think carefully about whom to include and what roles they will play.”

No one manager can handle onboarding alone. A typical company might divide the responsibilities among five people with specific roles:

• “Hiring manager” – This person provides the primary frontline contact for new employees. Hiring managers establish goals, monitor progress and meet with new hires to help them “navigate the organization.” Hiring managers should spend as much quality time with new people as they possibly can.
• “Team lead/more experienced peer” – This individual may work in human resources or belong to another team. He or she should be an established employee with the knowledge and experience to explain company guidelines and behaviors and to provide technical assistance.
• “Intra-team peers” – Relationships develop naturally on a team, but a new hire’s colleagues play an important role during onboarding.They know how things operate and can describe the team’s strengths and weaknesses. Peers heavily influence whether new hires feel welcome.
• “Cross-team peers” – New hires also must form relationships with their peers in other departments. A new marketing employee, for example, will benefit from understanding sales figures. A new engineer may have to deal with customer service requests.
• “Cross-department mentor”– New employees can learn a great deal about an organization by establishing a connection with a senior manager outside their department. Calming guidance from veteran leaders is of enduring value particularly during onboarding when newcomers need reassurance and direction.

About the Author

Alida Miranda-Wolff is founder and CEO of Ethos, a consultancy which helps organizations create cultures where employees feel comfortable and productive. She also wrote The First-Time Manager: DEI: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

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