Anchoring – more than good intentions

In my line of work I often see that organisations start implementing diversity and inclusion with all the right intentions. And yet… in practice, real difference is a rare sight. Not due to a lack of effort or will, but because the right foundations are missing.

Diversity in Practice wants to help others to map out exactly that: what is truly necessary to make inclusion sustainable. But we want to do this in such a way that everyone can understand and actually work with it.

On the basis of all our practical experience we’ve created the buy-in model. It is an easy overview of what organisations need to make inclusion work properly.

This week, we’ll briefly dive into the first cornerstone: anchoring.

Anchoring means that diversity and inclusion is not an optional theme, but a fixed part of how an organisation thinks, decides, and works.

More than good intentions or a series of separate actions

To really let D&I land within an organisation, it needs to be more than good intentions or a series of separate actions. As long as it remains an additional thing (a campaign, a keynote or a project group) it remains optional.

Instead, when D&I is a part of everything: in how leaders make decisions, in how teams cooperate, in how successes are celebrated, in how mistakes are discussed, in how time, space and budgets are divided, it is no longer an optional bonus. That’s when it is anchored. And that is the first step towards sustainable inclusion.

Make sure D&I is not something extra you do – make it something that steers what you do.

Questions to ask

To understand to what degree D&I is already anchored within your organisation, we’ll share the buy-in scan by the end of this series. Until then, you can already ask yourself the following three questions:

• How clearly is ownership of D&I assigned within your management?
• To what extent do employees feel a shared responsibility in creating an inclusive work environment?
• How structural is the assignment of time, budget and capacity for D&I?

With the scan you will not only discover how your organisation is doing, but also what points you can yet strengthen.

Step by step towards sustainable buy-in

Anchoring is laying the first stone. But only with the other cornerstones can inclusion grow sustainably. Next week, we’ll look at the second cornerstone and in week 4 we’ll tie them together into one well-organised whole, including concrete actions you can take to increase buy-in within your organisation and to structurally anchor diversity and inclusion.

Update: the buy-in scan is now available!