Diversity & Inclusion Vision, Mission & Strategy 

An organization’s vision, mission and strategy are essentially the “where, what and how” of your Strategic Diversity Management Plan. A vision statement presents an inspiring vision of the future for participants to work toward, or of where the organization would like to be. The mission statement presents the present work of the plan, or what it is that participants will do. Finally, the strategy links the mission and vision together, and communicates how the present (what) connects to the future (where).

Any large change initiative that is not grounded by a clear vision, mission and strategy is likely to lose focus. Because a Strategic Diversity Management Plan will need the participation and support of a large number of people, all of whom might come to the process with different ideas about what “diversity & inclusion” means, it is important to create a guiding principle that will unify the efforts of everyone involved.

In simplistic terms, a plan’s vision, mission and strategy consist of words and ideas. Without a framework within which they can be put into action, these words and ideas are easily forgotten or minimized, and the results (less focus, people working at cross-purposes, lack of direction) are the same as if they were never crafted. Therefore, it is crucial that once created, mechanisms are put into place that measure the working group’s activities against the vision, mission and strategy of the plan at every available opportunity.

1. What inspires you about diversity & inclusion work? What, if anything, inspires your CEO and other senior diversity champions within your organization?
2. Does your vision statement present a clear and inspiring vision of the future?
3. Does your mission statement present a clear and accurate assessment of the work contained in your Strategic Diversity Management Plan?
4. Does your strategy statement link your mission with your vision, and present a clear path to get from here to there?
5. Can the daily work of your Strategic Diversity Management Plan be measured against your vision, mission and strategy?

Assemble your diversity champions (including senior leaders, upon whom you’ll depend for support) and brainstorm around the following questions:

• What are your hopes and goals connected to our work in diversity & inclusion?
• How do you see yourself contributing to the Strategic Diversity Management Plan?
• What concrete actions would you like to take to achieve your hopes and goals?

After an appreciative brainstorm (all ideas are captured, no ideas are shot down), work in teams to group answers into themes.

Select a core group or groups of individuals (including the CEO, if possible) to craft vision, mission and strategy statements based on these themes.

Ensure that the resulting statements support the organization’s overall mission, vision and strategy.

Test the vision, mission and strategy statements on potential stakeholders, or even those outside of your organization, and solicit feedback. Ask those being tested to paraphrase the vision, mission and strategy in their own words and compare the paraphrased responses for discrepancies (this will indicate a lack of clarity and a need to revise).

If working in a global organization, test statements to ensure that they are applicable to all key geographies, and yet broad enough to allow for relevant local interpretation.

Present statements and test results to the core group of diversity champions and gain consensus around them.

Involve senior leadership in the process of crafting vision, mission, and strategy. Your CEO should be looking at the business from a very long-term perspective, which will be a great asset to this portion of your work, and leadership involvement here helps to secure leadership commitment throughout.

Create a plan to communicate the vision, mission and strategy of your Strategic Diversity Management Plan to the rest of your organization.

Do not rush or minimize this part of your work. While a seemingly simple task, creating a vision, mission and strategy that is clear, both specific and inclusive, and measurable will have a significantly positive impact on your entire Strategic Management Diversity Plan. Conversely, a poorly-thought-out vision, mission and strategy that is not measurable, either too broad or too limiting, unclear, or not communicated effectively will hamper your work.

COPS (Culture, Organization, People, Systems) Worksheet

Theories of Organizational Change

Case Study: The Coca-Cola Company

“Writing a Compelling Vision Statement,” Time Thoughts

Gardenswartz, Lee and Rowe, Anita. The Global Diversity Desk Reference: Managing an International Workforce. Pfeiffer, 2003.