A common mistake in D&I efforts is to miss the core and central issue in creating change. Many of these efforts focus either on the individual level or the organizational level, missing the critical link in between, called the Group and Team level. The group and team level is the place where the day to day dynamics, that unconsciously and unintentionally interfere with full inclusion, have their most significant impact.

When a D&I effort focuses on the individual level, the focus is on creating more awareness and skills among individuals in the organization. The underlying belief is if we change individuals that will translate into organizational change. The individual level of change is necessary, but does not satisfy the goals of building a truly inclusive organization.

Some firms go to other end of the continuum and focus just at the organizational level. The focus here is to change policies and practices so they are more inclusive. The assumption is policy changes will automatically create change. Again necessary (absolutely necessary!), but not sufficient.

The middle of the inclusion continuum, the Group and Team level, gets lost when the focus is on either end.. This level has two aspects, both of which concern insider-outsider dynamics. One is the Group Level, which is about the patterns of experience of different identity groups in the organization. In what ways do our experiences in the organization have little to do with who we are individually and more to do with our group identities? For example, do women get their authority challenged more than men? Do Asians top out at the highest level of technical expertise and not get leadership opportunities? Do gay and lesbian staff have a harder time building relationships with colleagues than their straight peers? Does the expertise of Generation Y staff get overlooked due to assumptions about their knowledge or work ethic? These patterns of experience reflect “insider-outsider” dynamics, a set of dynamics that favor some groups over others, thus interfering with full inclusion.

The other aspect is the Team Level. Much of the work done in today’s organization is done in teams. Insider-outsider dynamics typically have a powerful impact in teams. Research shows diverse teams only outperform non-diverse teams when there is an explicitly inclusive leadership style. Given that most teams are diverse, inclusion is not a nice thing to have. It is a necessity.

At The Dagoba Group we help organizations create inclusion at all three levels; individual, group/team, and organization. We know this creates the most sustainable and holistic change.