Previously I covered how to mitigate unconscious bias in the ABC’S of Breaking Bias, which I suggest reading before this.

But unlike the ABC’S which focus on how to bring in more diversity through selection and recruitment,

The DEF’S are what you do once you achieved that goal.

You’ve brought in this amazing diverse talent and now how do you get the most out of it?

D – Develop them. This is particularly important when you have diverse teams who may feel the stereotype of maybe I’m just here because of the color of my skin or because of my sex. Creating a path for your employees in your organization shows you believe in them which instills confidence in them to perform.

E – Empower them. If you don’t get people to share their diverse ideas, backgrounds, and viewpoints, you’re not really getting the benefits of diversity such as creativity and innovation. Empower people to speak up, share their views, make a change and do things differently. For example by asking everyone to speak or appointing a devil’s advocate.

F – Fairly treat them. Make sure that promotable and non-promotable tasks are distributed fairly among everyone. What we see is that non-promotable tasks are disproportionately given to women and minorities.

S – Support them. People who believe in diversity and inclusion are willing to stand up and share that. That means flying in front of the radar and being aggressively transparent so everyone knows where you stand on this point.

Read my new book Inclusify: The Power it Uniqueness and Belonging to Build Innovative Teams, for a step-by-step guide on how to lead with inclusion and have employees feel engaged, empowered, accepted, and valued.