Opinion | by Jessica Parsons
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (now commonly referred to as DEI) is Corporate America's new "Father, Son, and Holy Spirit." And let's just say there have been a lot of baptisms.
DEI is the glue that has wrongfully infused politics into leadership. Sure, a leader may be political. And there is leadership in politics. But we need to keep politics out of leadership. Business in America is no place for politics, something we've quickly discovered...
The objective of a business is to make a profit by providing goods and services. The job of a business leader is to seek successful strategies to grow profit, build legacies, and provide value for, and because of, their team.
The idea of a well-functioning DEI sanction within a team provides workers with a sense of comfortability because it creates an opportunity to form an identity. With that logic, the strength of the pack is the individual, not the team.
A business should form their alliance and brand identity on the same value, vision, and mission. If a team that runs a business is "every man for himself," (am I allowed to say that anymore?) there is division, hence why there's "quiet quitting," poor morale, poor work ethic (if any at all) and high-turnover rates.
But that's exactly what the first word in DEI means. The definition of "diversity" is "showing a great deal of variety; very different." Did you catch that? Not just different, very different.
The other definition?
"Including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and of different genders, sexual orientations, etc."
That's more our speed in this read.
Question, what does someone's sexual orientation have to do with how a business is run? Similarly, what does someone's religious background have to do with how a business is run? I'll tell you.
In today's world? Everything!
Why?
Inserting and making known ones beliefs and preferences plays a huge role in how decisions are made. If you're a Christian, you probably won't participate in something that denounces God. If you're gay, you probably won't participate in something that promotes a traditional marriage. These are called values, and they make us who we are, something DEI is after. The more diverse we are, the more we mix values. It's no secret why America is so polarized today.
Though it's important that everyone has opportunity (an American value, mind you...) to build, grow, and make something of themselves, I'd like to argue that the best way to achieve that is to surround yourself with like-minded and of similar-value individuals. Their goals and ideas will be aligned with your goals and ideas! Success will be easier and faster to achieve! Before you jump down my throat, because I know what you're thinking, let me explain.
This is not about skin color. Our society has moved beyond that, and rightly so. I'm not talking about physical attributes. The fact many will think of that first is exactly why we're talking about the negative effects DEI has inflicted on our society. Yes, DEI is taking a step backwards.
This is about what's on the inside, our values, the biggest component of leadership. DEI does not promote one's strengths like it should, it promotes how we're different and creates a reason to divide. That's exactly why the Supreme Court ruled out Affirmative Action among college campuses.
There is a correct way to steer DEI, however, but promoting our differences is not the way to go. The direction we should be taking is to find how we are similar, compare values, in spite of our differences, like culture and skin color. These things can, and should, be irrelevant. But we make them define who we are (our surface-level selves) instead of finding ways to create abundance and spread business, nevermind those things.
Brian Dapelo explains this best in his article, "7 Ways Your DEI Initiatives Are Harming Your Company and How To Resolve It."
"Companies achieve greatness by hiring great people, and the more the talent pool of great people is restricted, they lose access to the best people and greatness becomes less attainable."
Brian goes on to explain that if it weren't for DEI programs, it's fair to assume that anyone in a position of leadership got there by their own doing, not because of the way they look. This is how things should be.
Not to mention, DEI is extremely distracting. By pointing out one's differences, it's often all you end up seeing or noticing about them, except for the way they think, their opinions, or, more importantly, their values. This is extremely troubling for today's business world, and I can't imagine how many people shy away from starting their own business or getting involved because they're afraid of offending someone.
Here's a solution that Brian offers:
Eliminate the DEI role in your company.
Provide that person with a leadership opportunity that will bring out their true skills and experiences.
By doing this, we shift our focus away from someone's differences, and create a team. That's what leadership is all about.
In addition to Brian's article, I recommend the articles below if you're interested in continuing the DEI discussion.