In the season two premiere of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava tackle the complex question of how to create a culture of inclusion and belonging in the face of growing polarization in the workplace and society at large.

To help answer this question, Jenny and Sameer turn to DEI expert Jarvis Sam. Jarvis is the CEO and founder of the strategy firm, Rainbow Disruption, which advises organizations on developing practical solutions that champion DEI in the workplace. Before that, Jarvis was the  Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer at Nike, where he spearheaded initiatives to enhance diverse representation and foster inclusive leadership. He also led organizational efforts around DEI with athletes like Serena Williams and Lebron James, as well as leagues like the WNBA and NFL. 

Jenny, Sameer, and Jarvis discuss what an inclusive culture really means, go over actionable steps leaders can take to create and manage a culture of inclusion and belonging, and address some of the biggest myths and misconceptions surrounding DEI. 

Full episode Transcript here.

Show Links:

Resources referenced by Jarvis Sam:

• The Rainbow Disruption
• DEI C.R.E.D.E.N.T.I.A.L by Jarvis Sam
• Amy C. Edmondson on psychological safety
• Uncovering Talent: A New Model of Inclusion, by Christie Smith and Kenji Yoshino, Deloitte, 2018.

Research by Jenny Chatman on group diversity: 

• Blurred Lines: How the Collectivism Norm Operates Through Perceived Group Diversity to Boost or Harm Group Performance in Himalayan Mountain Climbing (PDF), By Jennifer A. Chatman, Lindred L. Greer, Eliot Sherman, Bernadette Doerr, Organization Science, 2019
• Political Correctness and Group Composition: A Research Agenda, By Jennifer A. Chatman, Jack A. Goncalo, Jessica R. Kenndy, and Michelle M. Duguid. Research on Managing Groups and Teams
• Being distinctive versus being conspicuous: The effects of numeric status and sex-stereotyped tasks on individual performance in groups, By Jennifer A. Chatman, Alicia D. Boisnier, Sandra E. Spataro, Cameron Anderson, and Jennifer L. Berdahl. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes.
• The Influence of Demographic Heterogeneity on the Emergence and Consequences of Cooperative Norms in Work Teams Academy of Management Journal, by Jennifer A. Chatman and Francis J. Flynn, Academy of Management Journal.

Research by Sameer Srivastava on measuring culture through language using AI tools: 

• The New Analytics of Culture, by Matthew Corritore, Amir Goldberg, and Sameer B. Srivastava, Harvard Business Review, 2020
• How can AI Enrich Our Understanding of Organizational Culture? By Amir Goldberg and Sameer B. Srivastava, Management and Business Review, 2022
• Language as a Window into Culture, by Sameer B. Srivastava and Amir Goldberg, California Management Review, 2017

Related episodes of The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer:

• Amy Edmondson & Steve Brass on Psychological Safety
• How to Keep Remote Workers Connected to the Mission, with Hubspot CEO Yamini Rangan

Three main takeaways from Jenny & Sameer’s interview with Jarvis Sam:

1. Know your “why”: Organizations need to ask, “Why are we doing this work from the very beginning? And how does that link to key actions that we may have taken previously?
2. Comprehensive integration is key: Inclusion can’t be an add-on. It should be a key attribute in every area of the organization including talent acquisition, management, and succession planning.
3. DEI Is not just for underrepresented communities: Inclusive cultures are ones where every team member feels that they can show up as their truest selves.

Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 

Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit.

*The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*