35. Conscious Inclusion with Catherine Garrod

"So quite often I find all that DEI activities and initiatives is operating without a plan. People don't know what they're aiming for, right? They may have read something on LinkedIn, or they experience something in their previous organisation, or they've read an article somewhere and they go, we should do this. And it kind of ends up being this big shopping list of activity that people are trying to navigate through and find..."

In Episode 35, I speak to Catherine Garrod, Founder of Compelling Culture, to discuss the underlying concepts in her book, Conscious Inclusion, the difference between positive action and positive discrimination, why organisations struggle to take a stand against exclusionary behaviour, and the data-led, systematic approach she takes to develop a DEI strategy.

Catherine’s passion for DEI is evident in her career journey, which has spanned for over 15 years in writing, consulting, organisational development, employee engagement and culture change. Her goal is to create a culture where people feel included, where their voice is heard, where they feel empowered and where action is taken to drive sustainable change. She was previously the Head of Inclusion at Sky, where she led them to become the Most Inclusive Employer in the UK, with 80% of teams increasing diversity.

Catherine speaks on why she titled her book as ‘Conscious Inclusion’. This refers to the shift from the unconscious, which controls 90 per cent of our decisions on a daily basis, to the 10 per cent conscious. She wrote her book through a motivation to help organisations turn knowledge and enthusiasm for DEI into practical steps that anyone can apply and adopt, regardless of their position, department, or background. She recounts her experience of toxic masculinity, in the interaction she had with a delivery driver. And this highlights how organisations can be dismissive instead of being inclusive, and further reiterates the importance in building a culture where people feel safe, validated, and accepted.

As she explains, it is important that the difference between positive action and positive discrimination is understood. Positive discrimination is about hiring minority individuals because of their identities rather than their skills, whereas positive action is about recognising the underrepresentation, ensuring there is no bias in the process, and then creating a work environment that attracts them. Based on this, it is clear that over-representation is the problem and not the lack of diversity in organisations. As such, she addresses how organisations can be conscious about inclusion:

1. Leadership development programs - Equip leaders with the right DEI skills. Ensure that leadership investment is aligned with the organisation’s purpose and values and is generating the right behaviours in leaders.

2. Culture – Create an environment that is a safe place for people to learn how to be inclusive leaders; where they can share their fears, ask questions, and be vulnerable and courageous.

3. Message and actions – Organisations should ensure that their messages are in line with their actions, both are equally important in assuring and reassuring their employees that they are committed to DEI.

4. Collaboration – Organisations should ensure that they are building with their employees and not for them. It shouldn’t be about command and control but about listening and protecting their employees’ rights.

5. Plan and use data - There needs to be a framework in place to deliver DEI, organisations should focus on one thing and do this brilliantly. Data acts as a guide to direct organisations on what actions they should take and when.

Links:

Catherine can be found on:

-     LinkedIn

-     X (Twitter)

-     Newsletter (Crown Jewels and Whoopsie Daisy)

-     Book

For more from Compelling Culture, you can visit their website at: https://www.compellingculture.co.uk/