What's After DEI?

How to Elevate Corporate Cultures and Society By Harmonizing Diversity & Merit

My Big Picture Perspective on This

While some are rejoicing, and others are grieving or angry, over the crash of DEI, my question is: How can we turn this into an opportunity to build something even better? Something that transcends the weaponization of DEI by radicals on both sides of this issue.

My perspective about this topic is informed by having attended multiple training programs on this topic. Some I found deeply wise and some I viewed as harmful because, in my opinion, they added fuel to DEI misconceptions and backlash. My perspective is also informed by my personal experiences throughout my life with privilege I hold (both earned and unearned) and with ways I have been (and to an extent continue to be) a target.

I have seen the noble underlying intentions behind valuing diversity and inclusion get radicalized into fragility and entitlement to what’s not been earned. And I have seen the opponents of that radicalization try to throw out the noble intentions of DEI along with its radicalization.

I have seen the noble underlying intentions behind valuing merit get radicalized into holding on to power differentials as a form of entitlement, and fear, resentment, or hatred of those who don’t seem like them. And I have seen the opponents of radicalized versions of merit try to throw out its noble intentions along with its radicalization.

Discarding the core wisdom behind diversity and inclusion, or behind merit, simply because some have radicalized each, does no one any favors.

DEI Radicalization and Backlash: What’s We’ve Lost Sight Of

What I view as having been lost through DEI radicalization and the radicalization of merit, and the backlash that both have engendered, is golden wisdom of each. We would be wise instead to elevate society, governance, business, and communities, by enhancing everyone’s awareness of:

• Power differentials and their impacts;

• Privilege differentials and their impacts;

• Target differentials and their impacts;

• Development opportunity differences and their impacts; and

• The vast value our differences offer.

Here is what I observe to be the biggest factors that have contributed to radicalization, politicization, and weaponization of DEI and merit:

1. Making diversity more important than merit;

2. Making merit more important than diversity;

3. Reinforcing victimization and entitlement rather than empowerment; and

4. Reinforcing guilt and shame rather than understanding.

The Golden Intentions Behind Diversity, Inclusion, and Merit

DEI’s Golden Intentions: Diversity enriches everyone. Not everyone has an equal opportunity to develop themselves and open doors, and thus are excluded when they might otherwise have been included. All of us are advantaged in some ways that others aren’t. This is not something to feel superior about or feel ashamed of: it’s something to turn into blessings. All of us have experiences with ridicule, exclusion, or hatred. This is not something to feel inferior because of or permanently disadvantaged by: it’s something to heal from so those experiences can be transformed into blessings, such as empathy and superpowers that might not otherwise have been developed. Holding people back from being their best selves and having their most golden impact, solely because they don’t look, talk, or understand things the way we do, harms them and their organization.

Merit’s Golden Intentions: Those whose competence and temperament are well-matched to a specific role, whose background and perspectives add multidimensionality to a team, and whose values are a strong culture fit, have the most merit. Those who occupy roles they are not well-suited to fill at that time, and those who refuse to be accountable for their impacts, especially their unintended impacts, harm themselves and their organization no matter how good their intentions might be.

Toward Harmonizing Opportunity, Diverse Inclusion, Resilience, Merit, and Impact Literacy

My perspective is that a wise approach to addressing all of the factors I covered in the previous section includes:

1. Equal opportunity for people to develop themselves to the point where they merit positions they seek;

2. Multidimensional diversity among leaders, board members, executives, managers, team coordinators, and so forth; inclusion that enriches decision-making, organizational and societal culture, and customer and constituent experience; and

3. Merit-based advancement through growth-enhancing accountability and equality in consistently applying the same wise standards to everyone.

As I see it, the value of all of these intentions is self evident, and that it is inaccurate to view any of them as controversial. What I see is the opportunity to join together in an authentic commitment to continuous improvement in how those three intentions are accomplished and harmonized, instead of throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

I envision us continuing to elevate company cultures, government, and society, by honoring the golden intentions of those who recognize the wisdom and value of diversity and inclusion AND honoring the golden intentions of those who recognize the wisdom and value of merit. There is gold to be mined on both sides of this issue and it’s aching to be integrated.

Why combining resilience, impact, and merit is crucial:

• Being resilient without being impactful enables the unacceptable to gather momentum

• Being impactful without being resilient diminishes the quality of our impact while causing us to sacrifice our own wellbeing and our cherished relationships in the name of trying to do good.

• Being resilient and impactful without being accountable for the effects our words and actions have prevents us from growing.

Here are five guiding principles to help harmonizing happen:

1. We recognize and embrace the golden intentions that gave rise to DEI.

2. We recognize and repair the shadow aspects of DEI that contributed to its radicalization and downfall.

3. We help all people recognize ways in which they have inherent and earned privilege to channel this in uplifting ways rather than feel shame about it.

4. We help people recognize ways in which they have been targets to heal those wounds, transcend victim mindsets and turn the gifts their challenges required them to develop into valuable and valued superpowers.

5. We provide all with opportunities to develop to where they flourish through merit-based hiring and promotion.

6. We help everyone uplevel their resilience, multidimensional thinking, collaboration effectiveness, and impact literacy.

RIM to the Rescue

RIM is mindsets and skills for Resilience, Impact, and Merit.

• Resilience Upleveled: Thrival-Oriented Not Survival-Oriented

• Impact Upleveled: Replacing Learned Helplessness and Tyranny With Positive Power

  • Valuing a Broader Range of Differences (such as temperaments, perspectives, strengths, and so forth)

  • Wise Utilization of Privilege

  • Victim Consciousness Healing

  • Encouraging Innovation Creativity

• Merit Uplevel

  ed: Rewarding Accountability for Positive Impact

  • Accountability-Capable Agreements

  • Elevating Best Practices

  • Repairing Collaboration Breakdowns

  • Growth-Promoting Performance Reviews

Details About Impactful Resilience™ in This Audio