By rethinking DEI, promoting psychological safety, and fostering cross-generational collaboration, organizations can encourage workforce sustainability and build resilient, future-ready teams that thrive amid change, writes Drew B. Mallory of Sasin School of Management.
Culture operates on multiple interconnected levels—organizational, team, and national—all shaping how people work and collaborate. Yet organizations often overlook how these layers interact, leading to misalignment between new initiatives and existing frameworks. By focusing on cultural adaptation and leadership, organizations can address these gaps to create workplaces that are both inclusive and adaptable to change.
To build sustainable workforces, it’s essential to ask: Why are we doing this? Where does it come from? And how can we make it better?
Diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives provide a vivid example of how leadership and cultural complexity intersect to influence organizational success. While DEI has long been a cornerstone of workforce sustainability, its implementation often reflects its Western origins, such as the American Civil Rights Movement. This can lead to cultural disconnects in regions where these historical contexts feel less relevant.
Misalignment can undermine even the most well-intentioned DEI efforts. What resonates in one culture might alienate another. For instance, in parts of Asia, the concept of "inclusion" may lack a direct translation, making DEI discussions confusing or even off-putting. In Thailand, a psychological safety program I developed was rejected due to its conflict with the cultural value of kreng jai, which prioritizes social harmony over confrontation. To ensure success, DEI initiatives—like all organizational practices—must be tailored to local values. This requires leaders to identify cultural nuances, conduct thorough research, and innovate accordingly. While tailoring DEI efforts to cultural contexts is essential, it is leaders who must champion this alignment and drive meaningful change.
Leadership is integral to the success of DEI initiatives across diverse cultural contexts. Leaders can bridge cultural gaps by demonstrating humility, fostering psychological safety, and listening actively. These behaviors help create environments where employees feel empowered to share perspectives—even when addressing culturally sensitive issues.
For example, in cultures that favor indirect communication, leaders can establish alternative feedback channels —such as anonymous surveys or small group discussions—that align with local norms. By adapting leadership styles to suit specific cultural contexts, leaders can build trust, promote collaboration, and ensure that DEI initiatives resonate globally. This alignment of leadership and DEI is essential to creating sustainable, inclusive, and high-performing organizations.
While leaders can set the tone for cultural adaptation, tracking diversity metrics provide valuable insights into cultural misalignments. Tracking data throughout the employee lifecycle—recruitment, onboarding, and retention—helps identify barriers certain groups face.
For example, high turnover among younger employees from specific cultural backgrounds may highlight disconnects between organizational practices and employee expectations. Recruitment metrics can uncover where certain groups face challenges and candidates drop out, while exit data can highlight recurring reasons for leaving.
Interpreting these patterns through a cultural lens enables organizations to move beyond surface-level demographic metrics. Instead, they can uncover the deeper cultural dynamics at play, leading to more targeted interventions that advance inclusivity while improving overall effectiveness.
Cultural adaptation isn’t just a challenge—it’s a pathway to innovation, particularly when applied to organizational policies and DEI efforts. However, success requires organizations to address past shortcomings, especially in listening to diverse stakeholders. One common pitfall is the tendency to rely on cultural familiarity, which can unintentionally exclude voices that drive collaboration and innovation.
To foster meaningful progress, organizations must align their DEI policies with local, organizational, and individual norms while actively promoting cross-cultural collaboration. A compelling example of this is the use of structured mentorship programs in many Asian organizations, which re-engage retired employees as advisors rather than formal authorities. These programs honor the expertise of retirees while empowering younger employees to lead and innovate, bridging generational gaps and respecting deeply ingrained cultural hierarchies.
This approach illustrates how cultural adaptation can enhance DEI initiatives by tailoring them to local contexts without compromising their core principles of fairness and inclusion. Just as global businesses customize their products to meet regional market demands, DEI policies must evolve to reflect cultural diversity while maintaining their universal mission. As DEI efforts face growing complexity, thoughtful cultural alignment will be critical to sustaining inclusive, equitable workplaces worldwide.
As organizations navigate increasing cultural complexity and evolving expectations, aligning DEI strategies with cultural realities is more essential than ever. By treating cultural adaptation as integral—not an afterthought—businesses can foster innovation, inclusivity, and resilience.
By rethinking DEI, aligning global goals with local realities, and embracing cultural adaptation, organizations can answer these critical questions: Why are we doing this? Where does it come from? And how can we make it better? This multi-layered approach ensures that DEI becomes not just a goal but a powerful driver of workforce sustainability.
- Examine the employee lifecycle through cultural layers: Segment and examine what's occurring at each stage to tailor your engagement and development strategies to local contexts.
- Promote psychological safety in culturally appropriate ways: Create an environment where employees feel safe to voice ideas while respecting local communication norms.
- Align global and local approaches: Adapt best practices to work within existing cultural frameworks.
- Consider cultural views of innovation: Integrate new practices while respecting local attitudes toward change and risk.
- Design culturally appropriate programs: Structure initiatives to honor both organizational goals and local cultural values.