The Power of Single-minded Communication
Television galvanized the Civil Rights Movement. The internet empowered disability rights. Social media fueled the LGBTQ+ rights movement. When it comes to advancing diversity, inclusion, and equity, communication has always done the lion’s share of the lifting. In the business world, though, it's always been a balancing act: Internal directness to reassure employees of the company’s commitment versus external diplomacy to mitigate potential attacks.
As we navigate the current backlash, single-mindedness in communication is critical.
When you pray, move your feet
In my TED Talk, I defined single-mindedness as not just caring about something, but caring enough to do something about it. Applied to communications, that means adjusting four hallmarks of credible communication for this moment:
Authenticity must be about honesty, being truthful and transparent, even when it's challenging, and not promising what you can't or won't deliver, even if it sounds good.
Clarity must speak to more than legality, drawing the line between what the law compels the organization to do versus what it chooses to do. If there's a shift in direction, give real reasons—even if those reasons have to do with potential backlash.
Transparency must include consistency, navigating the rapidly changing external environment with consistent communication to prevent internal uncertainty.
Accountability must transcend empathy, taking responsibility for words and actions, and holding others to their commitments.
When you talk, make it matter
The first and most important lesson I learned in PR was this: it’s not what you want to say, but what they need to hear. That lesson shaped the three core tenets of my DEI communications philosophy:
Know what YOU want. Communication for communication’s sake is noise; communications should drive…something. If you don’t know what you’re asking for, you aren’t likely to get it. If you’re not exactly sure what you should want, ask yourself one starter question: “What am I solving for?”
Understand why THEY won’t. These days, a lot of people see ‘DEI’ as a bad thing. Some of those very same people view ‘diversity’, ‘equity,’ and ‘inclusion’ as good things. Motivation and perspective are personal; understanding others’ is critical. To get at these, follow up the starter question with four more: What’s the motivation? What are the goals? What could be done? How would I define success? These questions align with my four-step process to communicate DEI strategy to stakeholders.
Speak so they will. You know what you want and why they won’t. Time to take your audience to MARS. Give them…
Mirrors to see themselves in the message.
Anchors to a collective purpose (shared values, accountability).
Relevance to see their "why."
Stories to connect at a deeper level.
In DEI communication, the goal of single-mindedness is to create like-mindedness
When you push, meet the moment
Single-minded communication is the bridge from good intention to tangible impact. The foundation of that bridge? Intentional language. And in this moment of intense pushback, getting intentional is about redefining how we think and talk about some key terms like…
Diversity—not a problem to solve, but something that solves problems. It’s about transitioning from "bodies in the building" to "brains in the business" by leveraging diverse perspectives and talents to innovate and improve tangible business outcomes.
Inclusion—not feeling valued but being able to deliver value. ‘Belonging’ is hard to define and deliver reliably. Inclusion, when defined as enabling contribution, reliably delivers.
Equity—not fair people, but fair systems: We can’t eradicate bias in people, but we can mitigate it with unbiased policies and procedures. Systemic problems demand systematic solutions.
Single-minded communication about diversity, inclusion, and equity requires replacing subjectivity with objectivity, redesigning intent for impact, and retooling outreach for measurable outcomes. In an inequitable world, where equity itself is disruption, single-mindedness is what differentiates those who disrupt for good from those who are disrupted by change.