Participants discussed ways to embed inclusion into their company culture during the second meeting of the Inclusion & Diversity Business Champion program on May 25. Led by the Inclusion & Diversity Committee, the year-long program is designed to guide participants through the process of building a strategy, establishing a culture that values diversity, and recruiting and mobilizing leaders.
Pat Lipovski, Envision Group International, kicked off the session by asking the group about their executive coaching sessions, part of the program where participants are paired with an executive coach from the Envision team. Coaching sessions recently started and will continue throughout the year.
“The executive coaching sessions have been helpful so far, as they focus on D&I but also on personal growth and where I am professionally.”
I&D Program Participant
The remainder of the session included information and discussions around building an I&D strategy and embedding into the organization.
When asked about current, successful engagement around I&D within companies, one participant shared best practices around how their organization is helping promote belonging within the organization.
“From a belonging perspective, it’s really about addressing the whole person. I think it’s very easy for an organization to focus on the work product of an individual. It’s important to recognize that those individuals have families and have activities outside of work. They are more than who they are in the office. Being interested in who they are outside of work is one of the things that increases belonging.
In addition, we also work on bringing attention to where an individual wants to be in their career, facilitating in-depth conversations around that and going a little deeper than just annual goals and the daily work product.”
I&D Program Participant
The group also discussed making diversity part of the company culture and how to ensure support around I&D initiatives from the top.
“Every organization is different, but the ideal situation is that the CEO is out in front,” Envision Coach Shanta Eaden said. “Talking about it, communicating it as a priority, expecting it from their leaders. There’s a term called the “shadow of a leader” — how a CEO shows up is how the other leaders will show up and so when you have that in place it’s easier to see that everybody is really operating from the same from the same point of view. This can permeate through the organization. I think everybody has an opportunity to create change, but the amount of change depends on how much support comes from the top.”
For more information on the Council’s I&D efforts, please contact Energy Workforce COO Molly Determan.
Peggy Helfert, Vice President Programs and Events, writes about Energy Workforce’s sector-specific best practices and leadership. Click here to subscribe to the Energy Workforce newsletter, which highlights sector-specific issues, best practices, activities and more.
