Applying Equity in a Crisis

Now more than ever, applying an equity lens to leadership and decision-making is essential.

In times of crisis, it’s easy to stop or disregard diversity, equity and inclusion work as less relevant or an unnecessary luxury. But now more than ever, applying an equity lens to leadership and decision-making is essential.

Here are six ways you can apply an equity lens to your organization in times of crisis.

  1. Use Inclusive Communication. In a crisis, it’s easy to resort to ‘telling’ communication: “Leadership met; here’s where we are; here’s what you’re going to do.” An equity lens in communication means first asking and listening, and then responding. Ask what people are experiencing and needing. Listen to what people say without interrupting, explaining or telling. Respond by explicitly addressing people’s concerns in your follow-up communications.
  2. Honor Differences in Response. Different people, communities and cultures have different ways of handling stress and expressing emotion. An equity lens respects all responses, not just the ones we’ve historically deemed “professional.” Allow space for both the doomsday-predictors and deniers. Recognize the highly-distracted and hyper-focused. Acknowledge both the expressive emoters and stiff-upper-lippers.
  3. Coach on Working Remotely. Not everyone is comfortable with technology. Helping your team be successful in this environment takes more than, “Here’s the link to our Zoom meeting. Follow the instructions for downloading.” Coach your people on Technology 101, the etiquette of phone and video conferencing, and practical ways to be productive while working at home amid multiple distractions. Allow time for some people to process new ways of working virtually.
  4. Community Relations. We’ve all received them – the “Our Response to COVID-19” emails, many of which are generic in content. An equity lens means being transparent, clear and specific so that your constituents have the relevant information they need. Explain how you are caring for your people, which products, programs and services continue to be available, how you are handling your suppliers and vendors, and how and when you will continue to communicate.
  5. Reductions in Force. If reducing your workforce is necessary because of declining revenue, consider the economic situation of your employees, and explore the pros and cons of furloughs vs. lay-offs. Ask your employees about their situation and needs. Furloughs allow people to remain employed with reduced hours and access to benefits, and be quickly re-activated when business picks up again. Lay-offs sever the employment relationship, enabling people to seek unemployment.
  6. Paying Vendors and Suppliers. When making decisions about paying vendors when revenue gets tight, consider the financial capacity of smaller businesses to weather financial storms. While striving to honor your commitments and being fair to everyone, an equity lens recognizes the possible differential impact on some businesses. Pay attention to under-represented groups such as women-, minority-, veteran-, disability-owned and emerging small businesses.

What are your thoughts and experiences of applying an equity lens to your organization in a crisis?

Thomas Bruner, Bruner Strategies and Lillian Tsai, TsaiComms

Leadership & Right Speech

Thomas, just because you have a thought doesn’t mean you have to speak it. – Paul Bruner, my dad

Despite my dad’s attempts to teach me otherwise, I used to confuse talking with leadership. As a young leader, I thought that talking first, talking fast, talking a lot and talking often was what leaders did.

In today’s hyper-verbal climate of 24/7 news and social media, the pressure or expectation for leaders to speak can be intense. The rush to weigh in and be heard can sometimes produce harm or injury, both for ourselves and others. We’ve all done it.

Buddha taught the difference between speech and what he called “right” speech. He suggested we consider four questions before, during and after we speak. For leaders of all philosophical and spiritual persuasions, these questions can help us pause to consider our speech through the lens of others.

Is it true? Just because we think, feel or believe something doesn’t make it true. Right speech is asking if what we are about to say is accurate, factual or objectively verifiable.

Is it helpful? We often speak for our own benefit. Right speech is asking ourselves whether what we will say is helpful, useful or beneficial to others.

Is it timely? We usually speak when we want to speak. Right speech asks whether now is the proper or appropriate time to say what we have to say.

Is it kind? Sometimes we speak out of anger and frustration. Right speech means we speak with good intent, good will and compassion for others, even – or especially – when we’re angry or frustrated.

Let’s discuss ways you and your team might benefit from learning to practice right speech.

“I made a mistake.”

“We were naïve. I had to admit that I made a mistake.
I figured that was part of my job…admit mistakes and move on quickly.”

– Ryan Carson, CEO, Treehouse

Now this is a corporate Learning Culture in action.

In 2013, Portland online-education company Treehouse generated national buzz when it made the radical decision to eliminate managers and let employees self-manage. At the time, Treehouse won praise in some quarters for experimenting with a completely flat organization structure.

Treehouse wasn’t alone. San Francisco software project hosting company GitHub tried it. Las Vegas online clothing retailer Zappos is trying it.

It didn’t work. Last week, CEO Ryan Carson went public with the news with exceptional candor. He announced that a layer of management had been reinstituted.

Regardless of whether a flat organizational structure was a good decision to begin with, this is a great example of a corporation being a Learning Culture. Here’s why:

Innovated. Treehouse had a vision for the kind of company it wanted to be. It identified a way to operationalize its values. After examination, it tried something different for reasons it considered solid.

Admitted. “It didn’t work.” No dragging it out. No papering over the reality. No blaming others. No issuing a press release full of obfuscation. Just a straight-up admission from the top.

Pivoted. After giving its model time to work, and then some time trying to fix it, Treehouse reinstated a management structure quickly. It didn’t reintroduce management incrementally or hesitantly.

Shared. By going public, Treehouse provided an opportunity for the rest of us to reflect on and learn from their experiment. The company also garnered praise for its candor.

 

Let’s discuss ways your business or organization can be a Learning Culture by learning from mistakes.

Learn Before You Leap.

This is a great example of an organization leading with the principles of a Learning Culture. And it’s a government agency.

My client, the Oregon Health Authority, recently had a longtime administrator retire. This manager had led a large, complex and visible department for more than 20 years. The department is very busy, and constantly juggles the needs and priorities of funders, contractors, community partners, constituents, advocates, policy makers and more. There’s a ton of work to be done all the time, so the pressure to fill the position quickly and be fully-staffed is real.

Rather than act reflexively and rush to fill the job as-is, my client made the decision to stop, take a step back, and ask the following questions:

1) Are the structure, role and expectations of this Manager position still current?

2) How might the department this Manager leads be more effective, current or relevant?

Even more impressive, my client didn’t just ask these questions of itself. It engaged a wide variety of external stakeholders in this assessment, too.

That’s a learning culture in action. Asking questions. Challenging assumptions. Reassessing. Willing to change. Always learning. And then moving forward.

 

Let’s discuss ways your business or organization can be a Learning Culture.