Kalyn Wilson; Purpose-driven coach, D&I and HR leader.
LinkedInA year on from George Floyd’s murder, and the racial reckoning that it provoked, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) is a burgeoning field of work and investment.
Kalyn Wilson, Founder and CEO of Dream Forward Consulting has been doing People, Inclusion, and Culture work – with deep DEI knowledge and lens – for more than ten years at Fortune 100 companies, nonprofits, startups, and major city governments. I interviewed Kalyn Wilson about the explosion of investment in DEI, and what leaders and consultants alike can do to protect the integrity of this important and sensitive work.
There is no playbook right now for building a truly inclusive organization, and so everyone is learning along the journey. In the words of MaryAnne Howland, the CEO and founder of Global Diversity Leadership Exchange noted, building inclusive organizations ‘is not about best practices, it’s about breakthroughs.’
Nell Derick Debevoise: Let's start with a snapshot of your background. Tell us about yourself and what Dream Forward Consulting is all about.
Kalyn Wilson: I am Kalyn Wilson, the Founder and CEO of Dream Forward C
onsulting, a boutique HR and DEI consulting firm. My focus is on making people, culture, and inclusion work, and making progress possible in those spaces. I do a lot of strategy and learning work, as well as overall talent management and operational support.
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I'm also finishing my Ph.D. program this year, which will lead to a doctorate in IO psychology. My dissertation is focused on optimizing the black male employee experience according to Maslow's hierarchy of needs. I wanted to use a framework that people could latch on to easily to understand how the black male employee experience differs significantly from their white male counterparts, and even black women. I felt like their stories needed to be told in their own words.
Derick Debevoise: What does DEI look like in companies that are doing well?
Wilson: DEI is much more expansive than we've ever considered it to be. We often think about the ‘big 8,’ comprised of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, and maybe religion at more progressive companies. But there are over 50 identity categories that make up each of our identities. At any given time, we could be leaning into any of those identities. So when we think about DEI, we need to think holistically about creating workplaces and creating spaces for people to thrive.
Derick Debevoise: Recently, there has been an explosion of DEI consultants, experts, and speakers in response to this long-overdue awakening to racial injustice, in particular. Share your perspective on this explosion.
Wilson: Well, the explosion has mostly been driven by emotions. People feel scared, confused, upset, and they say, “Oh my God, we need somebody to help us understand. So you see a lot of chief diversity roles and a lot of consultant roles opening up. But there is no overall direction. There's not always an understanding of the gravity of the work, and there's no long-term strategy in creating these opportunities, to link them to long-term business strategy.
What we’re seeing now is primarily an emotional response. And while emotional responses can be incredibly powerful and catalyzing, they are not effective in building a long-term coalition of support for all forms of diversity throughout an organization.
People are saying, “What do I need to do to fix this? What can I do to make myself feel better?” That doesn't necessarily lead to respect for the work. They want a consultant to help them resolve the emotional discomfort of racial injustice and other forms of bias in our organizations. That's the part that concerns me because getting to true equity is so much deeper than we've made it out to be.
Derick Debevoise: Most leaders want to do the right thing in terms of building inclusive organizations. What would you recommend to decision-makers to do DEI work better?
Wilson: One of the first decisions is whether or not they need an in-house person or team. A lot of people are saying they want to bring on a full-time person, but they haven't done the work to develop the organizational readiness to set a full-time person up for success.
In some cases, it’s best to start with a consultant to understand the organization's current state, and prepare to recruit a full-time DEI person. The second decision is titling the role properly, in accordance with the level of work that person will be doing. And finally, you need to consider how many people you really need, in terms of workload and specialty. You may need two different hires, one who focuses on training while the other focuses on strategy or external partnerships.
Derick Debevoise: What are about pulling someone with a non-white male identity from another function into a DEI role?
Wilson: I think it makes sense if the person already possesses the skills, qualifications, and technical knowledge needed to do the job. Or if the organization is willing to heavily invest in making sure they're ready to do this work. If the answer to any of those things is no, then, they need to hire someone else. Having a certain identity doesn't necessarily translate into technical knowledge, but it does provide valuable lived experience that is an invaluable resource for the work.
Sharing my experiences as a Black woman, or someone else sharing their experiences as a queer Asian man, for example, can be invaluable to understand everything from recruiting strategies to product inclusion to marketing inclusion. But you set someone up for failure if you're not also willing to invest in all of the other technical knowledge that they'll need to do the entire job. This includes some boring HR stuff, which companies never want to do but is a critical piece of effective DEI work.
So, you need to completely understand the job description for a particular role before deciding who will fill it. For example, what certifications are needed to be able to do certain tasks. Is this person going to be empowered to learn those tasks, and be effective in the work?
Derick Debevoise: Can you tell us more about the patience required from leaders thinking about DEI work in their organization?
Wilson: To be patient means understanding that we're not going to solve the world's DEI problems in three years. It means understanding that not only does the organization need to shift, but also they need to shift as individuals. So, when we come in as DEI consultants to understand and resolve a problem, we have to figure out what's going on. As we ask questions, almost always it emerges that the leaders have some work to do themselves. There’s no shame in this – we all have work to do, regardless of our own identity or background. The important thing is recognizing that and taking the time to do the work.
Derick Debevoise: How can DEI consultants make sure that they're acting with integrity, and not just jumping on the bandwagon?
integrity word concept written on wooden blocks, cubes on a dark table with a flower and a light ... [+]
gettyWilson: Integrity starts with understanding why you're doing the work. Just like when I talk about how emotional responses negatively impacts the organizations’ response to DEI related challenges. Emotional upheaval can also negatively impact consultants.
There are two things that consultants need to put in place to ensure that they act with integrity. First, they need a solid understanding of why they're doing DEI work. Second, they have to be connected to a level of intention around their focus areas and skill sets. By not taking the time to get clear in these areas, they set themselves up for overreach and burnout.
Derick Debevoise: What else do you want people to know?
Wilson: I want to be clear that everything I have discussed are not permanent issues. Whether it is the changes that organizations need to make, the changes required of internal DEI staff members, or the changes that consultants need to make, everything is possible. It starts with self-awareness, self-recognition, and then a commitment to working within your sphere of influence.
Discover how Dream Forward Consulting commitments to DEI work on an organizational level here. Learn more about my new book, Going First: Find the Courage to lead Purposefully and Inspire Action, here.
The Link LonkMay 28, 2021 at 11:48PM
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How Leaders And Consultants Can Do DEI Work With Integrity - Forbes
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