DEI Forum Series: Conversation with Jeff Rogers

Join us for a discussion lead by Executive & Leadership Coach, Jeff Rogers, where we will explore trends and challenges in leading DEI efforts in today's world.

There is an enormous problem in our culture’s implicit model of change: we operate under the assumption that when there is a challenge or deficit in our organization, if we just knew everything about a problem, the solution would reveal itself. Worse, we continually operate as if that were true, even though very few problems are ever solved that way. This is
like studying drowning to learn how to swim. 

In our daily life, we operate quite differently: when we get a flat tire, we break out the spare, or we call for a tow, or we slowly drive to a service station in the right lane with our hazard lights flashing---but we never retrace the road for miles, agonizing over what caused the flat. If we’re cooking and a sauce is bland, we don’t start examining the tablespoon for accuracy---we add a little sugar, a little salt, and taste again. Better? Done? A little more? Because in those instances, we aren’t concerned about blame, or theory, or hypothetical future instances. We’re focused on the goals, and we want to be mobile, or to have a great meal. 

That’s the methodology that I apply when helping a group drive towards diversity, equity and inclusion.

This is all done in a way that’s compelling and optimistic, because human beings are…human, and are far more successful when they enjoy what they’re doing, and believe in it. Nothing is ever a lecture. Everything is a discussion, an exploration, an interactive guided tour shaped by the participants. Everything is customized, nothing is prescriptive, and everything is
transformational, not transactional. This is the same reason I don’t write in academese: the most essential foundation for a constructive relationship is shared understanding, and anything that obscures that is counterproductive. So why obfuscate? I’m speaking directly to you. And it’s more powerful. Every aspect of my collaboration is the same way.

There’s an African proverb: “To go fast, go alone. To go far? Go together.” The solution is the destination, but you will rarely get there alone. That’s why changing together is so difficult, and why it’s absolutely essential.