QUESTION: What is Systemic TLD?
TLD means Teamwork, Leadership, Diversity. It recognizes that the problems DEI is intended to solve are in fact embedded in the system and must therefore attack the underlying systemic causes as part of a comprehensive enhancement of the business and operational culture. Diversity and equitable opportunity are worthy objectives and can in fact enhance an organization's goals, but only if stakeholders, human resources, and employees are equally committed and trained. Systemic TLD accomplishes what DEI and traditional leadership and team-building programs were intended to do but cannot, because current programs typically are band-aids that don't address the underlying dynamics.
QUESTION: What problems was DEI intended to solve?
DEI, which stands for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion, was intended to resolve four key problems related to workplace and social dynamics:
- Underrepresentation: Ensure that race, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and other identities are fairly represented in the workplace and have equitable opportunities.
- Bias and Inequitable Practices: Eliminate systemic discrimination and unconscious prejudices affecting hiring, promotion, pay equity, and other practices that create disparities in access to opportunities, resources, and benefits.
- Organizational Culture: Build a positive organizational culture where individuals from diverse backgrounds feel valued, respected, and included by by embracing diversity as a strength, fostering equity in decision-making processes, and promoting inclusivity at all levels.
- Performance and Innovation: Since diverse teams often perform better and drive innovation, DEI aims to leverage the strengths of diverse perspectives for better outcomes.
QUESTION: Did DEI solve these problems?
In a few cases, well-planned programs did achieve some progress. In many, many cases, it did not. The intent of DEI is healthy, but the reality on the ground is that implementation too often is based on faulty premises and misguided planning. Recently, many companies and organizations have either abandoned DEI, diluted, or reconstituted their DEI programs, due to inherent flaws in DEI program theory and design.
QUESTION: What went wrong??
Many implementations of DEI suffer from the following flaws:
- Failure to fit within organization objectives. All companies, non-profits, and even academic institutions need to make a profit to survive. Any DEI program must enhance that objective and the surrounding corporate business culture, while simultaneously making that culture more inclusive. Many DEI programs lost sight of this basic issue.
- Failure to integrate into actual operations. In too many cases, DEI was treated as a program divorced from day-to-day organization operations. To be successful, any DEI program must be woven into operations at the departmental and team level, not create some separate community of true believers imposing a foreign culture at the corporate level.
- The definition of equity is a major stumblng block, with equality of opportunity often in direct conflict with a notion of equity that demands outcomes based on demographic statistics. Equality of opportunity is achievable and practical. Equality of outcome is systemic nonsense, because that would require Bayesian models that probabilistically predict outcomes based on multi-factor simulations. Such models do not currently exist. Only Human SystemicsTM is qualified to create accurate and measurable models of expected outcomes.
- ESG (Environment, Social, Governenance) Initiatives have taken center stage for most corporations, non-profits, government offices, and academic institutions. DEI initiatives must complement ESG to gain credibility within any organization, and be shown to reinforce institutional objectives.
- A tenet of systemics is that starting with a flawed model will always produce flawed outcomes. A "systainable" program or corporate culture requires an equally provable "systainable model", which captures the elements that must mesh well together to achieve a successful outcome as defined by key stakeholders.
QUESTION: What should be done?
The goals of DEI are laudable, but so are those of ESG and an institution's core mission. The only way to synchronize those varied elements is to implement a program that integrates those into a team-building culture which scales up while promoting diversity and good governance. Such a program must have the following characteristics:
- Strong stakeholder commitment to the program accompanied by a clear statement of objectives and mission.
- A constructive and inclusive approach to teamwork, role practice, and training in a common mode of communications.
- Must be interactive, small-team, and "learn-by-doing", not presentation, large audience, or lecture-based, none of which achieve measurable outcomes.
- Must have a multi-variate model of diversity and causes of bias, such that root causes can be identified and addressed.
- Must have the ability to show real progress with practical metrics for outcomes that advance institutional objectives. These metrics should include both hard and soft variables, e.g. work output, job satisfaction, healthy communications, tools, etc.
- Must have a professional approach to transforming potential conflict and trauma into healthy negotiation and mediation skills. Leadership skills are a direct outcome of such components.
QUESTION: Does such a progam exist?
It most certainly does, and that program has several advantages over typical current programs, such as:
- Built on an actual tested methodology, called Human SystemicsTM, which uses system dynamics to reveal underlying causes of such things as bias, dissatisfaction, lack of diversity, dysfunctional management, etc.
- Integrates all the critical elements contributing to better DEI, ESG, and core mission achievement, with interactive team workshops developing and reinforcing communications, empathy, negotiation, "working smart", deadlines, synergy, etc. These elements use the most advanced features of Game Theory, Clinical Psychology, System Dynamics, Systems Anthropology, Corporate Best Practices, and Human Capital Dynamics,
- It clearly separates the workshops for training Human Resources in vetting and hiring from workshops that engage and elevate existing employees or volunteers. Each has a structure and process to match objectives to actionable milestones.
- Employees hate meetings and wasting time. Our interactive workshops create an atmosphere of fun and real achievement, overcoming the barriers of negativity and boredom.
QUESTION: What types of businesses or institutions are appropriate for Systemic TLD?
Systemic TLD programs are scalable and easily customized, so organizations as small as three partners up to 20,000 employees can gain from these programs.
Corporations, SMBs, Non-profits (501Cs), Academic institutions and government agencies all face issues of DEI, ESG and mission focus; Systemic TLD programs are affordable at all levels and types of organizations in addressing these issues.
Any organizations within a zone from Boston MA to Philadelphia to Northern New Jersey can experience in-person workshops with no additional transportation charges. These can be augmented by remote and blended learning features. Organizations outside that zone will incur a charge for transportation and hotel for the Human SystemicsTM team.
QUESTION: How can we find out more?
We make it so easy. Our progams have been tested on four continents with measurable outcomes over many years; we unfortunately don't yet have a national brand, so we offer you two compelling reasons to choose us over the alternatives:
- Download and read our white paper here.
- We will come to your place of business and actually perform a sample program in the presence of your decision-makers, so you can observe for yourself its methods and outcomes. One option is a 75-minute workshop which contains two interactive systemic games with review. The second option is a 120-minute workshop that closes the circle by demonstrating our method for assessing progress metrics.