Daisy Auger-Dominguez has worked for notable, influential companies like Google, Disney, and Moody’s, sharing her expertise on how businesses can make their workspaces more equitable and inclusive. She spoke with our VP of Marketing, Morgan Norman, about how teams can stay connected and engaged, strategies for leading your business toward larger diversity, and where she sees the future of communication technology, among other deeply relevant topics.
Daisy discussed how businesses are learning to be remote and how their journeys have evolved since the beginning of the pandemic. Specifically, she spoke on how teams should communicate with each other, how managers should communicate with their team, and how that differs for each person.
Communication has evolved in a short period of time, and each company is learning new ways to manage this effectively. And Daisy provides some insight on how they should be thinking about their new ways of managing.
As a team manager, you should be thinking about what your team needs from you, and, as Daisy said, “How am I showing up differently now?”
When you and your team transitioned to remote working, the needs changed, and they continue to change as new routines are learned. This is especially true when considering the needs of each individual team member. Some may require multiple check-ins for maintaining progress while others require as little disturbance as possible, so they can balance the woven needs of their professional and personal life.
Daisy also shared her thoughts on how businesses can evaluate and strengthen their drive toward more diversity:
You don’t need to act right now—you actually need to pause and reflect, and take a look at your organization and really think about how you designed your organization, and why you have the outcomes you have.
And while she says that, yes, you should focus on recruitment to increase diversity, it’s vital that you first evaluate your organization to be one that has a culture that will truly absorb those you recruit. Then it becomes about how you recruit, where you recruit from, how a company builds a job description, how they enable a clear career path, etc.
Pursuing diversity and equality in the workplace is much more than simply hiring diverse talent and continuing operations in the same way, it’s about building communication in teams and enabling their development and growth.
Hearing Daisy Auger-Dominguez share her thoughts and expertise for us and Real Talk’s viewers was incredibly powerful. We celebrate voices like hers and those she helps raise, and we will continue to celebrate those voices by listening and learning, reaching out, and always striving for doing better.
Like many around the world today, we want to reach a place of true equality, diversity, and acceptance. Though the path is long and unknown, we must open our ears and minds to those who can teach us how to grow, so we can keep moving forward.
And we will keep moving forward, together, no matter what.
Originally published Sep 15, 2020, updated Jan 30, 2023
