Why Belonging Matters More Than Just Diversity
Building psychologically safe workplace cultures where employees feel they belong demands commitment and persistence.
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Most organizations fail to realize the benefits of their diversity initiatives because they target the wrong goal. Rather than focusing solely on hiring diverse talent, leaders should aim to create a culture of belonging where employees feel psychologically safe. By understanding the connection between diversity practices and workplace outcomes, implementing multiple approaches, and persistently pursuing these efforts, organizations can create environments in which all employees feel valued.
Creative workforces, accelerated business growth, and leaders who have learned how to harness their team’s diversity are all expected outcomes of well-executed diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives. Hiring to develop a more diverse workforce, however, doesn’t mean that these synergies will automatically accrue. Inclusive leaders need to understand that implementing DEI practices is a great starting point but an insufficient place to finish.
Diversity is not an end goal in itself but rather a means to something more significant: creating a culture of belonging where all organizational members feel psychologically safe. When employees feel like they belong, they feel safe enough to bring their unique, authentic selves to the workplace, sharing their true individuality with the team. McKinsey defines psychological safety as “feeling safe to take interpersonal risks, to speak up, to disagree openly, to surface concerns without fear of negative repercussions or pressure to sugarcoat bad news.” These are the exact behaviors that organizations want from their diversity initiatives. But simply working toward diversity does not guarantee a workplace that fosters a sense of belonging or inspires psychological safety.
Why DEI Practices Fail
The strides that decades of diversity practices have made toward creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces should not be devalued. Many of these DEI programs and practices find themselves on shaky ground right now. In some organizations, these programs are being shuttered; in others, they have the full backing of leadership. A potential explanation for this discrepancy — in which some organizations find value in DEI while others do not — lies, ultimately, in persistence.
The “one-eighth rule” explains that most organizations never reap the benefit of the management practices they try to implement because of three specific failure points. First, only half of organizations will make the connection between a particular management practice and its effect on their organization. Second, only half of those remaining organizations will try multiple approaches when implementing the new management practice. And third, even if organizations understand the connection between cause and effect and are willing to try multiple approaches, only half of those companies will follow the practice long enough to see the desired result.