It's a bummer when you pull together resources and put in so much effort only to have nothing come of it except burned out and defeated people. Here are 6 reasons why your DEI team may not be producing the results you expected.
1. No clearly defined problem statement
“Diversity” is a broad term. Without a defined problem statement, the team may exert a lot of energy and share valuable information that feels like it goes nowhere because they don’t know what direction they are supposed to be heading.
2. No defined roles
If you pull employees from different parts of the organization, it’s likely that DEI and change management are not their areas of expertise. This is a new role they’ve been placed in and haven’t been given expectations about the duties and responsibilities.
3. No clear description of the nature of the work to be done by the team
Is this a think tank for ideas? Are these SME’s brought on to address specific issues? Are the employees supposed to conduct training?
Task forces and special assignments are jobs like any other and they require the same level of commitment from leadership to define the work expectations.
4. No clearly defined desired outcomes
How will you know when the team has been successful?
Without specific goals and desired results defined, the work of the team will start to feel like spinning wheels in the mud and never gain any traction. The team will burn out with every idea and solution they see not come to fruition.
5. No change management leader
Process improvement teams work no matter what the background is of the team members, but only if there’s at least one person who is trained in leading process improvements and change management.
6. No sponsor
Having a team working together to target a specific problem is great, unless there’s no one supporting the team who has enough authority to get the results implemented. Sponsors provide the support necessary to get funding, readjust priorities, and obtain buy-in.
If you’d like your DEI team to have a greater impact with less wasted time and energy, connect with me to ask about my change management support services.