Non-judgment of self and others has always been the central message of my work as an Emotional Intelligence thought leader, coach and facilitator. Latterly my work has brought me to the corporate HR arena where I have worked to put dignity and care at the heart of people strategy. This requires a holistic approach to cultural change by aligning transformational leadership competencies, inclusive practices and people development strategies with non-judgmental people systems.

While studying to become a certified professional diversity coach, I mapped out a model for building diverse, inclusive and equitable workplaces, by aligning the principles and language of ED&I with my core messaging around equality, non-judgment, dignity, care and ‘the leadership privilege’.

The principle concepts of this model are that:

1. Workplace cultures that deeply value, respect and leverage how people are different, truly reap the benefits of diversity – the sponsor of this aspect is the Executive team;

2. People strategy and systems built on the principle of dignity lead to fairness and equity – the sponsor of this aspect is HR;

3. Teams that care about each other and that respect each member’s uniqueness, build a sense of belonging which leads to inclusion – the sponsor of this aspect is the team’s leader.

My three-sided model – the Equity, Diversity & Inclusion pyramid – provides a visual of how the three aspects need to be happening concurrently.

For example, a workplace will not be truly equitable and inclusive if leaders are developed so that they build inclusive teams, yet they have to work with judgmental performance and talent management processes that ‘rate’ employees or put them in boxes based on bias.

The Diversity and Equity sides of the three-sided Equity, Diversity & Inclusion pyramid.

 © Amanda Knight 2020

The Inclusion and Diversity sides of the three-sided Equity, Diversity & Inclusion pyramid.

 © Amanda Knight 2020

To discover how to use this model in your organization, please contact Amanda to find out about her Diversity & Inclusion online program, or to discuss a customized approach designed specifically for the needs of your workplace.