How to sustain change

Last week a colleague of mine lamented on the disappointing impact of a session on diversity and inclusion. “We had an hour’s session online where the facilitator covered inclusion and discrimination,” he told me. “It was a good session, and we got to have some honest conversations, specifically about racism and gender inequality. But just as we got into some really deep discussions, the hour was up!” I could hear the frustration in his voice. “An hour is not going to change anything!” he ranted. “We need persistent nurturing!”

I loved that phrase! Persistent nurturing means that when we think about change, it’s not just a once-off intervention. We need to think about change as a process and not just an event. People don’t change overnight (sadly) – it sometimes takes a lot of effort and time to facilitate change. And effort and time are expensive, more often than not.

If we are really serious about creating lasting change in organisations, here’s a couple of ideas that organisations can include:

1. Include the change in more than one intervention. If racism is a problem in your organisation, an hour’s training on racism is really just the start. Include it in your company values, discussions between manager and employees, and consistent communication. Include it in leadership development programmes and water-cooler conversations. Embed it in the way that employees relate to the organisation and others.
2. It needs more than just training. A training course – whether online or in person – is just one step towards creating awareness and opening the door for conversation. But the impact is limited. I have found that coaching is a great way to foster change, both in individuals and teams. I have seen people who have for years been set in their ways, change because of an insight that they gained in individual coaching. I have seen teams have breakthroughs in understanding one another in team coaching sessions. Coaching is a superpower that your organisation can dial into.
3. Create real work opportunities to practise. If I reflect on where I have learnt the most, it’s probably not training or even coaching – it’s doing the job. Create opportunities for people from different backgrounds to work together and get to know one another. This is the best way to break down preconceived biases and prejudice. They just cannot stand up in the face of getting to know someone else as a person.