People, Change, and Inclusion with Sophia Kristjansson

“In DEI, we tend to categorize people and look at constructs that put us into boxes as a way to try to understand what is going on. And it is far more complicated than that,” explains Sophia Kristjansson, founder of Lexicon Lens, published author, and faculty member at the University of Denver's University College. She prides herself in guiding organizations and their leaders to achieve change through building cultures of inclusion and belonging Today, Sophia talks about the organizational changes that leaders can make to prioritize inclusion for all of their people, not just some.

As a leader, you are responsible for setting the tone for what behaviors are appropriate within your organization. It is up to the leaders to create a work environment that feels psychologically safe for all of their employees to show up as their authentic selves and which fosters a sense of belonging. If employees are behaving appropriately only when the leader is in the room and then engaging in bullying or microaggressions the second their boss leaves, DEI efforts will ultimately fail. Leaders must pay close attention to their team’s dynamics, staying aware of how employees behave when the boss is not looking and addressing any instances of discrimination right away.

Often traditional DEI programs make the mistake of overgeneralizing and dividing everyone into neat boxes for the sake of simplicity. However, people are more complicated than that and true inclusivity has to consider everyone’s unique perspectives and backgrounds. When leaders take the time to create a safe environment for all of their employees regardless of whatever box they might fit into, then real organizational change can occur.

• “Organizational leaders have a responsibility to create a psychologically safe place for their employees, all of their employees, to show their own uniqueness, and to feel a sense of belonging, thus, creating the feeling of inclusion among their peers, colleagues, their tribe, so to speak at work.” (9:26-9:54 | Sophia)
• “Change takes time. We can't do everything right away. It's a marathon, it is not a sprint, and it's going to take multiple years to achieve the goals that we're looking for.” (10:52-11:02 | Sophia)
• “Leadership has that ultimate responsibility to set the tone for what behavior is accepted and not accepted.” (13:49-13:59 | Sophia)
• “Brown and Black people, women, women of color, etc, leave organizations more quickly than white males. And I believe that is because the cultural environment is not sustainable for these individuals.” (16:33-16:51 | Sophia)
• “I believe that everybody must be included, including white males.” (19:18-19:24 | Sophia)
• “In DEI, we tend to categorize people and look at constructs that put us into boxes as a way to try to understand what is going on. And it is far more complicated than that.” (20:38-20:55 | Sophia)