Drive for diversity: A blueprint for board diversity

We all know that board diversity is smart, and the benefits it can produce for the organisations being governed immense.

But what is most important is that groups approach diversification with a concerted, organised effort rather than through a series of isolated or short-term activities.

To this end, the Denver Foundation has produced a great resource - the Inclusiveness Project. The project is a series of interlinked guides and resources that build a well-rounded approach to inclusiveness.

While originally aimed at building racial diversity in organisations, the resource can very easily be applied towards building diversity in a number of areas.

According to the foundation:

• The most important quality that is found in leaders of groups that are highly inclusive is that these leaders take a long-term, holistic approach to inclusiveness and integrate it into all of the work of the organisation.
• Rather than considering inclusiveness to be one more thing that has to be done in a busy day, it is a fundamental part of the everyday work. It is neither perceived as a burden nor an additional responsibility.
• In highly inclusive organisations, leaders and the teams that they assemble are constantly working with the external world to be responsive to different communities and their needs, and they are intentional about working internally with their staff and board to create a welcoming environment and to expand people's knowledge and awareness of diverse communities.

The six steps

The Denver Foundation's guide - and its attitude to an inclusiveness program - is built around a six-step process:

1. Creating a structure.

2. Engaging in inclusiveness/diversity training (and perhaps hiring consultants or trainers).

3. Defining inclusiveness and diversity and creating the case for inclusiveness for your organisation.

4. Gathering information and conducting research.

5. Creating an inclusiveness blueprint.

6. Implementing the inclusiveness blueprint.

What is inclusiveness?

According to the Denver Foundation, inclusiveness goes beyond diversity and towards groups valuing the viewpoints of all people.

"Diversity describes one aspect of inclusiveness: the extent to which an organisation has people from diverse backgrounds or communities involved as board members, staff, and/or volunteers," it states.

"Inclusive organisations, on the other hand, not only have diverse individuals involved but, more importantly, they are learning-centered organisations that value the perspectives and contributions of all people, and they incorporate the needs, assets, and perspectives of (diverse communities) into the design and implementation of universal and inclusive programs.

"Furthermore, inclusive organisations recruit and retain diverse staff and volunteers to reflect the ... composition of the communities they serve."

Structure

The first section of the guide is aimed at helping groups clearly define their structure.

A key part of this section outlines how organisations can set up an inclusiveness committee to work through the process, with tips on its formation and composition.

Consultants and training

Part two of the resource examines why, and whether, groups should hire a consultant to help them with any training needed to establish an inclusiveness program.

For many groups, hiring consultants won't be an option, so the other part of this section looks at how the organisations themselves can deal with training.

Defining inclusiveness and stating the case

Actually stating the case as to why your organisation should embrace inclusiveness means you:

• Establish a basis for doing inclusiveness work.
• Define how inclusiveness can make you more effective.
• Recognise the costs of not being inclusive.
• Make a commitment to do inclusiveness work.
• Communicate your commitment to inclusiveness to constituents.

Information and research

Step four is to get the facts needed to help your group become more inclusive.

These facts can be garnered from already available information, or by gathering new information.

What is important, according to the guide, is to gain perspectives from your stakeholders - subjective information, including the opinions of your clients, potential clients, staff, board members, donors, etc, regarding the work that you do and how you do it.

The Denver Foundation guide includes worksheets and other documents designed to help groups gather and collate the information they need.

Creating a blueprint

This is where all the work done over the first four steps culminates.

An inclusiveness blueprint provides the breakdown for actions and steps your group will take in order to become more inclusive.

According to the Denver Foundation: "It is similar to a detailed strategic plan and includes goals, objectives, tasks, timelines, and individuals responsible for accomplishing each task.

"The blueprint is grounded in data: the priorities your organisation identified in the blueprint will be developed based on the information you collected during the information-gathering phase.

"The wisdom your organisation has had up to this time will be expanded by facts, figures, and perceptions of stakeholders."

The guide provides a series of sample blueprints for your group to use.

Implementation

Implementing your inclusiveness blueprint doesn't just mean putting it in place and forgetting about it.

As the foundation guide emphasises, your group has to have an ongoing commitment to the strategy, and must evaluate both the progress of work on the blueprint, and the work of those implementing it.

Benefits of a good blueprint

• Creates internal agreement and clarity about the priorities of your organisation in relation to inclusiveness.
• Ensures that everyone in your organisation understands how specific action items correspond to particular goals and outcomes that you hope to achieve.
• Leads to more successful teamwork and better communication due to common understanding.
• Ensures your group designates appropriate resources to achieve a specific goal.
• Connects action items to achievable milestones with which you will be able to monitor achievements and assess results.