DEI Taskforce Tips from Coach Deni

You’ve just been “invited” to join your organization’s DEI taskforce. Maybe you’re excited! Maybe you’re a little wary, or even a lot wary. Either way: you take a step back and think to yourself, “OK, but where do I start?” Over the past few months I’ve had several conversations with folks in this exact position. So I put together a list of key questions you should ask before you say yes to this job:

1. What’s your budget?

2. What does this mean for your current role? 

3. How much autonomy (and decision making power) will this taskforce have? 

4. What data will this taskforce have access to?

Now let’s break these down. 

For those of you who’ve been following the blog, you know that the most important way to demonstrate a DEI commitment is to, well, commit. But real commitment is more than lip service and symbolic gestures. Real commitment requires concrete, measurable impact. And the only way to accomplish that is with an honest-to-goodness budget – real resources that allow your organization to adequately invest in substantive change. Without an adequate budget, your taskforce won’t be able to carry out its mission. And your time is worth too much to waste on initiatives that have no impact. 

Speaking of the value of your time – it is absolutely critical to understand what joining the taskforce means for your current role. Organizations will often serve you added DEI responsibilities without taking anything off your plate, and without a thought to the cost of your additional labor. As a result, If you decide to join the taskforce, you could be forced to decide between increasing your workload for the cause or maintaining some semblance of work/life balance. So I almost hate to say it, but  it’s on you to self-advocate and protect your time (and your pay) from this kind of encroachment. Ask yourself: What are the adjustments that respect your time, set you up for success, and give you a real chance at having a measurable impact on your organization?

I can’t overstate how important this next question is: How much autonomy will the taskforce have? Is the taskforce empowered to truly lead your organization through a DEI transformation – or not? Because you’ll need meaningful decision-making power to gather your findings, share your findings and convert them into something tangible. So look at how decisions will be made on the taskforce itself, and find out the FULL approval process for your suggestions and recommendations. That will give you a realistic preview of the impact you can (reasonably) hope to have. If that power is lacking, you could be complicit in simply paying lip service instead of genuinely building diverse, equitable, and inclusive spaces. 

Once you’re clear on how serious your organization really is, then it’s time to dig in and get to work. You must understand the baseline your organization is starting from. From there you can identify gaps and opportunities that the taskforce can actually get working on and problem solve around. But in order to do that, you need to have the facts in front of you. You can’t make sound decisions and plans without actual DEI data. So lastly, you must ask what data will the taskforce have access to – and what the condition of that data might be. Because when it comes to salaries, promotion rates, retention rates and more – you’ve got to see the information all laid out. It’s one of the best ways to cut through the built-up feelings, impressions, and self-concepts within your organization and get closer to the reality you’re all really working with. 

Now, why do we ask the budget question first? Because at some point you’re going to need to turn your data into strategy, and your strategy into results. And in addition to protecting your capacity, integrity, and the trust of your colleagues – I promise you that the external support to do this process well is a worthwhile and necessary investment. So run through these questions. Get some initial answers. And then let’s talk.