Eddie Pate and Jonathan Stutz: How to Build a Culture of Belonging with Small Daily Actions

“If you focus on just hiring a diversity of folks and you don’t focus on creating a culture of belonging, with inclusive leadership, people are going to come right in the front door and go right out the back door.” [20:03] That"s what Jonathan Stutz calls a ‘leaky bucket’ when it comes to flipping the DEI (diversity, equity, inclusion) to ID&E, putting the priority on inclusion. Jonathan and Eddie Pate discuss why inclusivity in the workplace is so important. They take an important stance on the nuance of race and gender inclusion.  “The whole notion of micro inequities and micro advantages are these subtle actions, statements, or comments that significantly influence the way a person feels or how much they feel they belong. These are often targeted towards people who are underestimated—racial minorities, LGBTQ, and women in situations.” [37:45] Alongside micro vulnerabilities, microaggressions, and microinequities are actions that mute and remove talented individuals from a position of contribution. Eddie discusses how understanding these can help you and others around you see how micro-inequities and micro-advantages are being used and turn them around. He highlights The Platinum Rule, where instead of treating people how YOU want to be treated, treat them how THEY want to be treated.  “You’re always going to hire the best candidate for the job, but having that diversity is something that needs to be there.” [53:10] What is candidate slating? How can you have an inclusive hiring process? Jonathan shares some tips on how to create effective diverse hiring, like creating a diverse hiring board as well as casting a wide net, including multiple outgroups or minorities, and removing tokenistic diversity from the equation. Eddie reaffirms the importance of this process by adding the need for inclusive hiring training for leadership.  “How do we turn a meeting into a more inclusive meeting?” [56:21] Host Marcel Shwantes seeks ‘everyday pebbles’ tips to turn moments that everyone has across their workday into a more inclusive place, creating ripples through the organization. Eddie shares the ‘pause button’ as an agreed-upon process in a meeting to further discussion and slow down when it comes to hot topics. Jonathan dives into the importance of 1:1 meetings, a place to grow trust between manager and employee.  “You have to be very clear: you are not going to drive this yourself. ID&E is not a top-down endeavor, and that’s how this works. It"s top-down, middle-out, bottom-up.” [1:04:20] Eddie State CEOs need to not call out but call in, opening up to learning and taking accountability. Jonathan chimes in that inclusion is a daily endeavor with lots of little things, changing processes like SMART goals to SMARTIE—adding inclusion and equity to the consideration of everything. “This is a journey, not a destination. Inclusive leadership is leadership.” [1:10:55] As the three close out the episode, Jonathan and Eddie share their number one takeaways that drive home the point that inclusion is a non-negotiable priority as a leader of an organization, and the pebbles ripple throughout every employee"s life.  Join Marcel on Substack! Subscribe to Marcel’s Substack and get exclusive access to the Green Room for post-episode conversations. Mentioned in this episode: Daily Practice of Inclusive Leaders Eddie Pate Jonathan Stutz : Global Diversity Partners Marcel Send Marcel a text message!