CEOs are increasingly concerned about how to leverage value from the significant investments their organizations have made in DEI cultural evolution efforts during the past 30 years. Needing to achieve higher performance in an environment of continually rising competition, speed and complexity of change, and elevated need for employee engagement, leaders now need to expediently capitalize on and elevate the engagement levels and performance of their people.
DEI Debrief Overview: Mixed Reviews & Impacts…
Those which focused on:
- “D” tended to enhance a sense or relevance and value in minority groups yet may have generated unintended divisiveness and disparate, non-meritorious treatment;
- “E” were facing greater life challenges and were able to even out pay levels across tenure, gender, race, and ability yet may have contributed to organizational deterioration of performance mindsets, levels, and rewards; and
- “I” developed collaboration, teaming, ability to leverage and mitigate conflict in differences, and innovation while supporting individuals to recognize, appreciate, effectively communicate, and manage conflict across differences with all people
Seven Essential Organizational Focus Areas to Heighten Performance and Competitive Edge
- Strengthened Market-Differentiating Culture. I vividly recall a conversation with a F100 financial services CEO more than 15 years ago… given competitors’ abilities to quickly (2 – 6 months) clone new products and services, the longest cycle competitive edge is culture. A market differentiating culture can take from five (5) to fifteen (15) years to replicate, thereby solidifying long term competitive advantage and value.
- Elevation of Leadership & Management Capacity, Building Trust and Connected-ness. The strongest employee engagement scoring organizations feature leadership/management trust as well as a sense of belonging in an organization
- Stellar, Best Practice Talent Acquisition, Onboarding, Engagement, and Retention
- Highly Effective Collaboration and Teaming
- Greater Performance and Accountability at all organizational levels
- Change Readiness, Reduced Resistance, and Change Management Efficacy & Speed
- Collaboration Across Differences to Innovate… Creating Organizational ‘Life Blood’
When we examine the most critical needs and interests of organizations and those of people who work in organizations, there appears to be more significant synergy among them than perhaps considered by most.
3 Steps to High Performance
How can leaders best tap into, and develop far greater value, from the past couple decades to rapidly and effectively spur talent acquisition, employee engagement, accountability, performance, retention, and innovation success? We suggest you focus on 3 Steps to High Performance:
1. Elevate Employee Experience and Engagement:
- Establish best practices in Talent Acquisition and Onboarding (offer acceptance through 1st year of employment to support high performance of talent);
- Align and integrate HR and TR Frameworks to desired Organizational Culture and Goals;
- Communicate and develop grasp of Performance and Accountability Mindsets, Goals, Recognition, and Rewards;
- Continually assess Employee Sense of Belonging and Interaction Safety;
- Ensure Collaboration and Teaming basics are understood and practiced; and
- Initiate development of Emotional Intelligence and Resilience.
2. Accelerate JIT High Performance Teaming:
- Develop Organization-wide Intermediate and Advanced Teaming capacity;
- Advance Emotional and Social Intelligence;
- Nurture Reciprocity, Humility, and Trust;
- Create Safety and Learning in Well-Calculated Risk and Failure;
- Creatively Embed Fun in Teaming to support connectivity and resilience; and
- Stimulate Business Process Redesign learning opportunities.
3. Master Change Management Efficacy, Complexity, and Speed
- Strengthen Organizational, Leadership, and Employee Resilience
- Create and Deploy Communications Excellence
- Continually Develop Organization-wide Trust
- Educate on How to Transform Conflict into Innovation Initiation and Advancement
- Speed Change Readiness, Agility, and Change Management Succes to 80% Rate
There’s no doubt about it… navigating pathways to high performance is vital to every organization’s market competitiveness, growth, and sustainability as well as to its employees and customers. We hope that our 3-step roadmap provides you with clear thinking to quickly and effectively chart your course forward for greater achievement.
Welcome to our world! Please don’t hesitate to contact us with questions or needs for advisory support. 203.495.1500.
by Regan MacBain Traub, CPC, Founder & Managing Principal