How to succeed at DEI: Ronald McDonald House Houston's special sauce (#113)

Cristina Vetrano (CEO) 0:05

Addressing DEI issues after George Floyd had been murdered. There was turmoil in the organization that had to be addressed, so we requested volunteers for a DEI committee. We decided to do an anonymous survey for a baseline, promising staff that there would be follow-up and transparency.

Our whole motto has been through this whole process is when we know better, we do better.

Cheronda Rutherford (Chair, DEI Committee) 6:47

We knew we needed external help and went to look for a consultant.

We chose Jean Latting with Leading Consciously; the suggestion was let's create a DEI survey to help us with forming that baseline that Cristina talked about.

Some of us on the DEI committee didn't realize the temperature of the organization, the level of upset. Next task: restoring trust within the organization, being transparent with the staff.

Philip Tenenbaum (Board) 14:12

First we [the Board] put out a public statement about DEI commitment. The we put together a board Task Force with SMART goals (specific, measurable, aligned to the mission of the Ronald McDonald House, Houston, realistic, and time based). Then we had to decide if you're going to try to conquer the world here and go very broad with a definition of what you mean by improving diversity, equity, inclusion? or are you going to go narrow? We decided to start narrow.

Number one goal for the board is to continue to diversify the board itself.

The second goal: diversifying our donor base.

Jean Latting (Consultant) 22:32

Cristina had everything I as a consultant was looking for in a CEO: This was going to be a journey; she realized there were going to be mistakes, and that people would have to be willing to learn.

She wanted to begin with a survey to collect some baseline data.

Three survey items:

First, general attitudes (for example): are you afraid to disagree with other groups?

Second, what is DEI like at Ronald McDonald House? Can you even talk about diversity?

Third, do you have a personal experience of feeling treated unfairly? What are your recommendations? And would you welcome classes and workshops?

The recommendations were as follows:

More diversity in higher ups and on the board.

People were committed to this process.

People do want more training.

In my consultant role, we offer a program called Pathfinders, which provides an opportunity for people to talk about topical areas, and then apply it to themselves and to their organization. The program was piloted by the DEI committee.

Fast forward a year to a follow up. Cristina wanted focus groups and not a survey because she wanted to hear the voices. There were two sets of positive comments:

• an overwhelming endorsement of leadership for embarking on this journey, just sheer gratitude.
• people strongly endorsed the effort, saying, I am ready, I am willing to step up, I raise my hand, we are willing to do this work. DEI is important to us.

Four recommendations came from the survey:

• People wanted tools and resources.
• People asked to give each other grace. This is a hard journey, not everybody can do it. And some of us will make mistakes. So, people who are not comfortable yet, let's give them grace.
• They wanted to see more culturally inclusive spaces.
• People wanted to have pulse checks, so they check and see how things are going.

Cheronda (DEI Chair) 31:42

What are the cultures that we have within Ronald McDonald House--the families that we serve, as well as the staff? And how can we incorporate those cultures in the recommendations that we plan to make, or that we plan to give to the board?

Pathfinders was a great opportunity for us as a DEI committee to sit down and have some conversations around race, around gender, around diversity, equity and inclusion.

The next thing is the DEI committee started taking ownership. We have started doing different things. We brought in a speaker for our second-year anniversary event; we started a DEI corner, which is just a monthly communication that brings education to staff around diversity, equity, and inclusion.

And then we also have a DEI email, where if you have experienced, or if you would like to share a suggestion or recommendation to the DEI committee, you can do that as well.

Successful organizations understand that the spirit of DEI doesn't live with the DEI committee, the committee ultimately serves to help all staff and stakeholders become true DEI champions.

Cristina (CEO) 41:49

We saw the need to have an HR person on staff and hired one.

When we know better, we do better. Sometimes when we know better, it's hard to hear it.

I want everyone in our organization to feel safe.

Conscious Change skills
covered in this blog:

• Test negative assumptions
• Move from the answer into the question
• Look for multiple points of view
• Check to see if you are making cultural assumptions
• Clear emotions
• Identify with your values, not your emotions
• Avoid emotional suppression
• Clear your negative emotions
• Build effective relationships
• Engage in powerful listening
• Develop skills in inquiry and openness
• Learn how to give, receive, and seek feedback

#DEI #Transparency #PowerfulListening

Leading Consciously

We are a leadership development firm that helps people and organizations create resilient, sustainable, multicultural, and inclusive settings. The ability to lead consciously can help you gain true awareness and earn the respect and trust of others.    

It’s the assumptions we have about people’s lives that are the biggest obstacles to growth, awareness, and success. We help you understand how those assumptions are preventing you from becoming the best you can be as an organization, an inclusive leader, and a person.

• See our website and join our mailing list
• Read our blogs
• Ask us about our leadership development programs:
• Pathfinders: Leadership for Racial and Social Justice, an online monthly membership program.
• ChangeMakers Online was developed to teach how to move forward, get unstuck, and remove uncertainties when navigating change in multicultural environments.

Let’s start a conversation. Email us at jeanLC@leadingconsciously.com