Season 2, Episode 10: Inclusion by Design: Building Sustainable Workplace Cultures

Overview:

When what you say on your website doesn’t match what it’s like to work at your company, you’re not just being hypocritical. You’re losing money. In this episode, LaQuenta “Q” Jacobs breaks down the three gaps that have a real financial cost: the talent gap, the market share gap, and the brand reputation gap. Using hard data on consumer spending and real-world brand disasters, Q makes a clear, undeniable business case for getting your culture right from the inside out.

Takeaways:

  • Cultural Alignment is Key: Organizations must align their written commitments with their cultural practices to avoid erosion and disconnection. 
  • Inclusion by Design: Embedding inclusion into core systems like performance reviews and team structures is essential for sustainable change. 
  • Internal Drives External: Companies with authentic internal inclusion can effectively market externally, maintaining market connection and competitive advantage. 
  • Beyond Psychological Safety: Real inclusion involves transparency, accountability, and sustainable change, not just psychological safety.
  • Market Impact: Misaligned cultures lead to loss of market connection and competitive edge, as seen in companies like Target and American Eagle.
  • Leadership Evolution: Leaders must evolve with societal changes to embrace diverse cultures and flexible work arrangements. 
  • Speak Up Culture: Organizations should foster environments where transparency is rewarded, and groupthink is challenged.
  • Strategic DEI Integration: Diversity, equity, and inclusion should be integrated into all organizational functions, not treated as standalone initiatives.
  • Consumer Connection: Companies must have diverse teams to authentically connect with varied consumer bases.
  • Resilience and Adaptability: Change champions need resilience and adaptability to align personal and business objectives for effective transformation.

About Our Guest:

LaQuenta Jacobs is the former Global Vice President of Inclusion, Equity and Diversity at Kimberly-Clark. A progressive human resources executive with over 23 years of experience, she is a certified Executive Leadership Coach and cultural diversity assessment expert. Jacobs is a recognized leader in organizational development and a champion for creating inclusive work environments

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