Written by: Rishea Middlebrooks MHI, CAPM
“Eighty-five percent of the reasons for failure are deficiencies in the systems and process rather than the employee. The role of management is to change the process rather than badgering individuals to do better.” – Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Take a look at Nadine Bent-Russell’s presentation on DEI agility to learn how mutual enablers can foster collaborative practices and, in many cases, spur employees to greater heights!
Presentation Overview 
In this presentation, Nadine Bent-Russell, Global Program Manager at Honeywell, discusses how the integration of DEI (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion) and Agile practices can result in further effectiveness of collaborative practices and, in many cases, spur employees to greater heights.
Takeaways
What is Diversity, Equity & Inclusion and how does Agile Project Management come into play?
- Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) are three closely linked values held by organizations working to be supportive of different groups of individuals including people of different races, ethnicities, religions, abilities, genders, and sexual orientation
- DEI is a system that only works as good as people allow
- PMI Culture Values directly align with DEI methodologies
Agile is a way of working and a mindset. Agile is the way that we choose to think and to act and is in harmony with DEI. The Agile Manifesto lists four core values. It reads, in its entirety:
We are uncovering better ways of developing software by doing it and helping others do it. Through this work we have come to value:
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- Individuals and interactions over processes and tools
- Working software over comprehensive documentation
- Customer collaboration over contract negotiation
- Responding to change over following a plan
That is, while there is value in the items on the right, we value the items on the left more.
How can we enable employees to reach greater heights?
- Making them feel seen
- Providing an environment for frequent collaboration and idea generation
- Practicing blameless retrospectives
How can we become mutual enablers?
- Create genuine belonging for all, knowing that our differences make us stronger
- Be a spokesperson for diversity issues that are not necessarily personal
- Commit to continuous improvement
Next Event
Join us at the next PMI Atlanta Technology forum on Tuesday, March 28th, 2023
Register at www.pmiatlanta.org/events/event-calendar
Event Pictures
