DeepSummary
The transcript is a conversation with Jennifer Brown, CEO of Jennifer Brown Consulting, and Celeste Warren, Vice President of Global Diversity and Inclusion at Merck. They discuss what it means for a leader to be inclusive, how to determine if an organization and its leaders are inclusive, and the behaviors leaders need to exhibit to create an inclusive environment. Key points include the need for leaders to be vulnerable, have empathy, prioritize belonging, acknowledge differences, and serve as advocates for underrepresented employees.
They emphasize the importance of data and metrics to measure inclusion, as well as qualitative feedback from employees through methods like focus groups and surveys. Leaders should seek to understand and meet employees where they are, valuing diverse perspectives and enabling spaces where people feel safe to voice differing views. Inclusive leaders speak up on social issues important to employees, and diversity and inclusion is framed as crucial for business success.
Employee resource groups are highlighted as valuable for developing talent pipelines, incorporating community insights into business practices, and outreach. Individual contributors without leadership roles can drive impact by facilitating discussions, suggesting initiatives to leadership, and championing the formation of affinity groups.
Key Episodes Takeaways
- Inclusive leadership requires vulnerability, empathy, transparency, and advocacy behaviors focused on enabling belonging for all employees.
- Measuring inclusion through quantitative workforce data and qualitative employee feedback is essential to identify gaps and drive progress.
- Employee resource groups play a vital role in developing talent pipelines, incorporating insights from underrepresented communities into business practices, and community outreach.
- Individual contributors can drive inclusion by facilitating conversations, suggesting initiatives, championing affinity groups, and serving as allies.
- Leaders must actively speak up on social issues impacting employees and customers to build trust and psychological safety.
- Fostering cultures of inclusion where diversity is valued is positioned as crucial for organizational performance, innovation and competitiveness.
- An ongoing commitment to education, capacity building and leading inclusively across all levels is needed to create systemic and sustainable change.
- Acknowledging differences and meeting employees where they are with empathy and openness is key for inclusive leaders.
Top Episodes Quotes
- “Inclusive leaders, inclusive organizations make this a priority, and there's millions of reasons why they should. And that's the business case, which I'm sure we'll get to a little bit later.“ by Jennifer Brown
- “So, inclusive leaders, I think, are involved not just intellectually from a head perspective, but from a heart perspective, in the issues that are impacting employees and customers. And increasingly, those are social issues.“ by Jennifer Brown
- “And the good leaders, the good CEO's, the good C suite leaders, the good managers know that, and they blend the two together to say, how can I leverage the diversity within my organization, within my people to be able to drive our business forward?“ by Celeste Warren
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Episode Information
The Will To Change: Uncovering True Stories of Diversity & Inclusion
Jennifer Brown
12/4/21
This episode was originally recorded as a webinar, sponsored by SmartBrief and moderated by Becky Robinson, Founder and CEO of Weaving Influence. Tune in as Jennifer Brown and Celeste Warren, Vice President, Global Diversity and Inclusion, Center of Excellence at Merck, discuss what it means for a leader to be inclusive, and how to determine if your organization and leaders are inclusive. You'll also discover the behaviors that leaders need to exhibit to create an inclusive organization and how to incorporate those behaviors into your organization and weave them into your practices.