Podcasts

Organizational psychologist Gena Cox and leadership coach David Lancefield offer five strategies for making more progress and creating a more representative, fair, and high-performing workforce.

In this “HBR Minute” HCI Podcast episode, Dr. Jonathan H. Westover explores Gena Cox and David Lancefield’s recent HBR video, “5 Ways to Infuse Diversity and Inclusion Into Your Organization.” 

At the core, people simply want to be acknowledged as being another human. Humans like to belong and to form a connection over numerous similarities: likes, quirks, or goals. Ironically, there is sometimes a gap in how humans connect when trying to empathize with the human experience. Could it be that each individual is mentally wrapped in their own world? Could it be that individual human experience varies so much that the likeness in the larger human experience is hard to see?

Dr. Gena Cox dives into the criteria for being an effective leader, and how to enable managers to make fair and consistent choices for talent mobility. She discusses how enhancing the employee experience, requires understanding at all levels where there could be differences in an organization.

Diversity can act as a catalyst for a competitive advantage, inclusion of all voices can serve as a concrete commitment by employers which indicates all strengths, opinions and prospective will be valued. However, it all starts with an understanding building sustainable relationships is the key to extended success.

Leaders should focus on organizational psychology topics such as well-being, inclusion, and resilience because the human experience is what drives the business outcomes they desire.

You can have diversity and not have inclusion. People who look different from one another can work together and get things done but that will only happen if they all feel valued.

“Diversity and inclusion” is really only about one thing; effective (or ineffective) leadership.