Rotman Management – April 2019

98 / Rotman Management Spring 20 19

a role where they can’t do any more damage — or terminat-

ing them. That sends a clear message about the expectations

of your culture, and early adopters and high performers will

appreciate that you’ve enabled them to get on with things.

Overall, I advise looking at change in the context of

your organizational culture. Cultures are revealed by how

people speak and act, reflecting organizational norms as

to what is acceptable. When leaders set clear expectations,

observe employees in action and give and receive feedback,

people have an easier time making change happen, and

norms gradually shift to reflect the new reality.

For readers who have a change initiative coming up or

want to propose one, what can they do to keep negativity

at bay?

I would advise them to start with the assumption that most

people come to work wanting to do the right thing. Change

is the hardest on people when they aren’t given the whys, the

whats and the hows. It’s very important to engage early and

often with the affected population — to help them anticipate

what is going to happen and what it will mean for them per-

sonally. Include people in designing solutions rather than

having a small group of experts create the change some-

where else, announcing it at the last minute, and then plunk-

ing it into the organization. That is a recipe for disaster.

When you look around at the world today, intolerance

seems to be growing. Is that because of CAVE people?

How should leaders approach intolerance within their or-

ganization?

That is very true, and it is the major reason why I recently

made a switch from broader business consulting into the

realm of inclusion and diversity. When I think about all the

negativity going on — particularly across different demo-

graphics in organizations, but also within our society in gen-

eral — to me, it’s not just an inclusion problem or a diversity

problem: it’s a culture problem. As I mentioned, culture is

Laura Methot is a co-founder of I&D 101, which focuses on inclusivity

and diversity in the workplace. She is an Adjunct Professor of Psychology

at Western Michigan University.

There are far too many examples of leaders modelling intolerance.

revealed by the way people speak and act, which indicates

what is acceptable in that environment. Inclusion is about

shaping our culture to a point where all members can feel

accepted and be treated fairly and equitably, where they are

inspired to participate at all levels. An inclusive culture is the

key to unlocking the value that diversity brings to our work-

places and communities.

Having said that, I think ‘leaning in’ to make sure we’re

helping more people succeed is only half of the solution.

Leaders also need to figure out where and how the words

and actions of people within the organization are creating an

exclusionary environment. It’s not just about creating new

policies or training more people; those are necessary but

not sufficient. Changing from intolerance to tolerance and

from exclusion to inclusion involves changing how people

think and act from day to day, and it’s up to leaders to model

that change. There are far too many examples of leaders

modelling intolerance. We need to see more modelling of

positive change in our communities and workplaces.