The Trump Administration’s assault on all manner of efforts to address diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) has upended organizations of all kinds, including universities, law firms, corporations, and, most dramatically, government agencies. The Trump-issued executive orders are willing to sacrifice all types of life-saving research and inquiry and services in order to eliminate any sniff of righting historical discrimination or uplifting demographic groups that might need an extra hand.
These strong-arm tactics by the Administration are leaving organizations with what seems like an impossible choice: either kowtow to these demands and give up important values and goals, or refuse to go along and risk losing funding, or suffering other retribution. But there may be a third choice that continues to hew to the values and goals of DEI, without needing a special DEI program that runs afoul of these draconian executive orders and their untenable choices.
Research has shown that some DEI programs work better than others.1 Initiatives that mandate attendance at DEI programs have been shown to promote bias, rather than reduce it, perhaps because of a backlash reaction to being “force-fed.” Better is to create processes that inherently include contact between managers and all demographic groups, in the course of regular business and problem-solving related to the organization’s primary task. As Dobbin and Kalev write, “Some of the most effective [DEI] solutions aren’t even designed with diversity in mind.”
But how can leaders and organizations do this? And do it without incurring the wrath of the anti-DEI executive orders? One way is to rely on the principles of Future Search,2 that is,
- Get the whole system in the room,
- help people to get out of their silos to see the complexity of their system before making plans and decisions,
- focus on the future and finding common ground, and
- foster self-management and responsibility for action.
When you involve the whole system, you are including all stakeholders. And by definition, “all stakeholders” means ALL stakeholders! No group left out, no one group is privileged over another – all are included, and efforts are always made to reduce barriers to participation. And the Future Search process gets people talking with one another across divides, gaining a common understanding of their system, focusing on the common future that everyone desires. The focus is on the work of their system, so there is no push-back to being force-fed. Diverse groups work together, and get to know one another, thereby debunking stereotypes of the “other” in the process.
Does Future Search work? Recent research on twenty uses of Future Search in school districts3 shows that the process was remarkably successful at bringing diverse stakeholders together. The school superintendents interviewed reported that the process led to finding common ground among diverse stakeholders, a shared vision for the future, clear priorities, and the basis for a strategic plan that everyone got behind. All the superintendents recommended Future Search to their peers. Although this study focused on school districts, the results would be applicable to all types of organizations.
With a process such as Future Search, organizations can live their values without having to choose between submitting to or flouting unreasonable government control.
1 Dobbin, F. and Kalev, A. (2016). Why Diversity Programs Fail. Harvard Business Review, July-August, 52-60.
2 Weisbord, M., and Janoff, S. (2010). Future search: Getting the Whole System in the Room for Vision, Commitment, and Action. (3rd edition). San Francisco: Berret-Kohler Publishers, Inc.
3 Axelbank, J. and Howick, D. (2025). Community Engagement Using Future Search: A Systematic Assessment of the Wisconsin Experience. AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 22(1), 23-45