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“There are Six Stages in the Life Cycle of a Diversity Council”, observes Janice Bowman, President of the Association of Diversity Councils.
Stage One activities focus on setting the foundation for Council operations such as choosing a name for the team; defining the group’s purpose, objectives, roles and responsibilities and most importantly, establishing a strategic diversity process aligned to business goals.
Building upon Stage One, in Stage Two the team creates a blue print for aligning Council goals with organizational goals and developing a comprehensive communication plan. The Council is also involved in obtaining buy-in at all organizational levels.
In Stage Three, the Council is fully engaged with everyone contributing and sharing responsibilities for accomplishing targeted results. Throughout these three stages, senior leadership is visibly supportive and members deliver results which support the Council and the organization. Councils may operate in Stage Three for years. An unfortunate reality for Councils is that they may drift away from their core objectives, loose focus on their goals and see diminished support from senior leaders.
Downward slippage occurs In Stage Four. This downturn of Council efforts can be prevented by being proactive in addressing contributing slippage factors such as disengaged members; unproductive meetings; ineffective council leadership; unresolved conflict among members; unresolved issues that require assistance from senior leadership; and member confusion
about their role. In Stage Four, the Council suffers "Council Fatigue".
Council Fatigue can be eradicated by revalidating goals, making needed
changes with membership; and renewing senior leadership support. If done
successfully, Council Fatigue will be removed and the Council
transformed back to Stage Three. Some organizations utilize the
Association of Diversity Council's Diversity Council Boot Camp(tm) to
address council fatigue. Organizations also use Boot Camp to improve the
council's overall effectiveness and help council members understand the
importance of utilizing team member skills and strengths to achieving
peak performance.
However, should Council Fatigue go unaddressed, the downward spiral continues and the team moves into Stage Five - Dormancy - where absolutely nothing is being done. Councils can languish here for several months or for years, just barely hanging on. This is not a desired stage for Councils because they have no visible support at any level of the organization. The Association of Diversity Council’s 2 day Boot Camp™ is highly recommended to pull Councils out of Dormancy.
Stage Six is the next step for Councils that are ready for Rejuvenation and Restructure. Successful rejuvenation requires visible support and leadership from senior executives. Also, assessing areas of success and areas of poor performance for the Council is a must. Assessment of areas such as, senior leadership support; council structure; effective council leadership; tracking and measuring progress; and communication of the council’s progress to the organization will build a more effective and impactful Council.
Diversity Councils operate at various times in each of these six stages. Understanding the stages and associated behaviors and activities will help Councils respond proactively to their challenges while maximizing their opportunities.
Click here for more information on the Association of Diversity Councils or Boot Camp™
Janice E. Bowman is the President of the Association of Diversity Councils, (a division of PRISM International, Inc.), a national, member-based network of diversity councils dedicated to increasing the impact, effectiveness and recognition of diversity councils and providing best-practice resources to help educate, develop and inspire.
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