Workshop #1 (Registration Closed)
The DEI Factor in Innovation
Leveraging the Creativity of Diverse Teams
Thursday, January 25, 2024
9:00-11:30 a.m. Pacific / 12:00-2:30 p.m. Eastern
Presenter: Rebekah Steele
Did you know that the most innovative companies are four times likelier to be highly inclusive to make the most of diversity?
Think about it. Remember a time when you contributed to a breakthrough. Recall how it felt to be a part of that creative explosion, as a diversity of ideas sparked and caught fire. Consider how people spoke up – and just as critically – how they listened.
We know that together diversity, equity, and inclusion are a catalyst for innovation. When we bring together a diversity of ideas and perspectives, new and more potent breakthroughs can emerge. When we engage in open debate with purposeful and productive conflict, and when we commit to collaboratively building solutions that make things better, we can achieve innovations generated from our collective genius.
For the good of our teams, our organizations, and our customers, we must create more of these moments and experiences! We need to harness DE&I’s power for innovation as part of our team’s day-to-day practice.
Take action! Immerse yourself in learning experience about how to engage DE&I’s power as a catalyst for innovation in your team. Take advantage of this extraordinary opportunity as you learn how to:
- Unlock DE&I as a driving force for innovations that matter to you, your co-workers, your employees, and your customers.
- Build diverse teams, create inclusive environments, and employ techniques to empower a diverse mix of voices for innovation.
- Identify the factors vital for success and for overcoming barriers that compromise DE&I’s role in driving innovation.
Don’t miss this opportunity. Elevate your innovative capacity by embracing DE&I as a cornerstone of breakthroughs to shape the future of your team and your organization!
Learning Outcomes
At the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Explain to someone how DE&I acts as a catalyst for innovation
- List key factors important to building a diverse team
- Identify key factors important to building an inclusive team environment
- Employ specific techniques to inclusively engage a diverse team in pursuing innovation
- Identify some barriers that can compromise DE&I for innovation
About the Presenter
Rebekah Steele
Rebekah Steele knows we can make the most of a full mix of people to innovatively address our most complex challenges in business and society.
A business strategist with three decades of hands-on experience designing business-linked DE&I strategies, her deep expertise is informed by executive roles in global Fortune 100 companies, partnership with more than 100 DE&I executives each year, and collaborations with other leading researchers, thought leaders, and innovators.
Canada-based and globally engaged, Rebekah partners with boards and leaders of start-ups, scale-ups, and established global organizations to seize opportunities with bold approaches to advance DE&I and business success together. A frequent speaker on next-generation DE&I, her distinctive keynotes and dialogues galvanize audiences to connect DE&I with innovation, sustainability, and business results to drive better lives, better business, and a better world.
In addition to her consultancy, Rebekah is the co-author of INdivisible: Radically rethinking inclusion for sustainable business results (recommended by Harvard Business School Faculty, Forbes, Financial Times, and World Economic Forum), Design the Future: Breakthroughs with diversity, inclusion and design thinking, and the award-winning journal article, Diversity & Inclusion and Innovation: a virtuous cycle.
Rebekah is a Senior Fellow with The Conference Board, contributing to a broad spectrum of DE&I strategies for the DE&I Institute, leading DE&I executive networks focused on strategy and innovation, advising on research, and sharing business insights for what is on the horizon.
Learn more at www.RebekahSteele.com and www.INdivisible-book.com
