Journey of Equity Diversity & Inclusion (EDI)

(Each phase includes customized Orientations & Training)

PHASE I – Leadership Alignment, Executive Coaching, JEDI Survey

PHASE II – Organizational Assessment & Employee Engagement

PHASE III – Culture & Process Improvement

SUSTAINABILITY PHASE – Measure, Improve, Refine, Repeat

While we use the acronym JEDI for this important work we are not linking the name or our work to the Star Wars characters, story, or franchise. It’s only an easy way to remember that everyone is on their own Journey to become more aware, sensitive, and engaged in Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion matters. 

What is JEDI? The Journey of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion

JEDI is a strategic, thoughtful and aligned approach to incorporating equity, diversity and inclusion as a fully integrated business priority.

What Do These Terms Mean?

Journey: Everyone is on a journey through life, learning, growing and changing based on our upbringing, experiences and life lessons. No journey is the same and every journey progresses or stalls at different times, in different ways and definately at different speeds.

We encourage people to consider their past experiences on the journey in the present and ask the question, where and who do I want to become as future me? We help people reflect on what they need to do or not do today that will help them become the best version of themselves tomorrow?

Equity refers to fairness and justice and is distinguished from equality: Whereas equality means providing the same to all, equity means recognizing that we do not all start from the same place and we must acknowledge and make adjustments to imbalances. Equity is about power. Who has it? How is it used? How is it measured? What systems are impacted by it?

Diversity refers to the presence of people who, as a group, have a wide range of characteristics, seen and unseen, which they were born or have acquired. These characteristics may include their gender identity, race or ethnicity, military or veteran status, LGBTQ+ status, disability status, and more.

Inclusion refers to the practice of making all members of an organization feel welcomed and giving them equal opportunity to connect, belong, and grow—to contribute to the organization, advance their skill sets and careers, and feel comfortable and confident being their authentic selves.

The main difference between diversity and inclusion is that diversity is a state of being and is not itself something that is “governed,” while inclusion is a set of behaviors and can be “governed.”

This by no means diminishes the importance of diversity and the need to continue to drive progress. On the contrary, boards and leaders should engage in conversations with management about improving diversity, and this in itself is an inclusive practice.*

Diversity and Inclusion are also outcomes or report cards for an organization. They disclose what organizations have done to reflect the cultures that they live and work in. Inclusion’s outcomes are a measure of how much belonging, value and support staff, contractors/vendors and other stakeholders experience. Are they welcomed for who they are?

* The diversity and inclusion definitions used above are from Mike Fucci and Terri Cooper’s Deloitte article from April 2019.

Foundations of JEDI

We have learned over decades of working with leaders that their teams and their organizations that behavior change and organizational change starts in the mind. Like an operating system for a computer, so is the core of our thinking. Our words and actions are outcomes that start from the inside out. We agree with the statement made by two McKinsey Consultants on what is needed for real and sustainable organizational change.

Orienting leaders and their teams with a common understanding and language has been a key to helping organizations embrace EDI as a business priority that is just as important as other objectives and goals that drive the business. This important alignment becomes a force multiplier that is ‘baked into’ thinking, systems, processes and values.

We also provide coaching, surveys and assessments that provide strategic organizational listening. This includes consulting and facilitation with cross-functional impact teams that focus on researching and improving where the most profound gaps/deficiencies/opportunities were found.

“Organizations that identify and address pervasive mindsets at the outset are four times more likely to succeed in organizational-change efforts than are companies that overlook this stage.”

Nate Boaz and Erica Ariel-Fox, “Change Leader, Change Thyself,” McKinsey Quarterly, March 2014

Training Is Customized To Meet Each Client’s Needs/Situation

One of the best ways to grow our mindset and expand our thinking is to create a common language and framework for building and strengthening core values and culture. Be a smart investor and schedule your team to attend a Mindset Matters session to begin to align your organization with foundational frameworks and common terms and concepts.

Organizations are looking to grow and align their understanding and appreciation of different perspectives, cultures and experiences that show up in the workplace. Social justice perspectives are all over the map these days. We are seeing cultural fractures in organizations of all sizes and types due to the inability to wrap our minds and mindsets around what matters most.

Because we are all in different places on our ‘journey’ of understanding, appreciating and valuing differences, it only makes sense to invest your precious resources into ares that are strategic, systemic and sustainable. The bonus for attendees is that these concepts work in our personal lives too.