Part IV: LEQ + Lived Experience Intelligence | Personal, Leadership, and Organizational Competencies

 
 
 

💥This is #IncreaseDiversity, a weekly newsletter + toolbox series sharing best practices for employers who want to implement effective diversity recruitment programs. To see previous editions, visit JenniferTardy.com. | IG: @IncreaseDiversity 💥

News From #TeamJTC:

👉🏾 FREE REPORT | LEQ + Lived Experience Intelligence™: An introduction to an untapped intelligence, and the important implications of this transformational perspective for both individuals and organizations. Click to grab your free copy.

👉🏾 NEW EBOOK | We are very excited to announce that we are adding a new eBook to our INCREASE DIVERSITY TOOLBOX. “The Search Agency Diversity Recruiting Playbook” If you already subscribe to the Increase Diversity Toolbox, you are in luck as this eBook will be available to you at no additional charge. Otherwise, we invite you to subscribe to the Increase Diversity Toolbox to gain access to this eBook along with many great resources.

👉🏾 FREE CHECKLIST | 💥 We have a FREE, downloadable CHECKLIST for leaders called The Platinum Checklist for Hiring Professionals: 10 Immediate Actions Leaders Must STOP Doing to Increase Diversity. Click to download your free copy. 💥

 
 

LEQ – Lived Experience Intelligence™: An introduction to untapped intelligence, and the important implications of this transformational perspective for organizations in their journey to increase diversity in the workplace.

In this week’s newsletter article, Part IV of V, we continue to unpack LEQ and this time, in context to how one’s LEQ feeds and enhances both leadership and organizational competence.

Let’s dive in.

A benefit of increasing diversity is that the organization gains an expansion in the spectrum of perspectives.  The first time I talked about this idea of the spectrum of perspective was in an early newsletter edition called, The Hiring System: Part III: How Employers Can Leverage Keesha’s Spectrum of Perspective. In this article, I shared that the spectrum of perspective is a phrase that identifies the range or span of one’s point of view. In context to your organization, the range of the collective viewpoints of your employees means everything to the competitiveness of your organization.

What is the spectrum of perspective within your organization today? In other words, how many truly varying lived experiences are present within your workplace today.

If you have been following our LEQ + Lived Experience Intelligence™ series, there are a few things that you already know:

  • Our lived experiences are influenced by how we identify—in all the ways in which we identify.

  • Our lived experiences create within us a level of intelligence called Lived Experience Intelligence (LEI).

  • How much you leverage or use your Lived Experience Intelligence creates a Lived Experience Quotient (LEQ).

"LEI is what you have and LEQ is what you use." - Jenn Tardy

  • An increase in LEQ throughout an organization IS an increase in the spectrum of perspective and to be competitive, an organization must focus on increasing organizational LEQ.

Now that we know that there’s personal inherent intelligence (i.e., LEQ) and that this intelligence feeds overall organizational intelligence, there’s another competency I want to be sure is not missed. Just as personal LEQ enhances organizational LEQ, it also enhances leadership competencies too.  

There are strong personal competencies arising from LEQ that can positively impact those in leadership in many ways, like supporting effective management and supervision of others; shaping an inclusive approach to workplace environments; diversifying thought leadership, or bringing innovative insights into new business generations.

Adding LEQ into the equation for promotions will influence decisions as to who an organization will develop as the next generation of leaders, and how. Considering LEQ competencies in the process will shift perspectives, take new factors into account, and draw on other insights unique to lived experiences, all to the ultimate benefit of the organization.

Now, how does this all translate into an action plan and strategy for hiring leaders working toward increasing diversity in the workplace? Here are some actions you can take to get started.

  • Reimagine Inclusion | Inclusion is not only about creating an environment where everyone feels included. It is also about removing the barriers preventing inclusion by those who have been historically and intentionally excluded.

  • Share the value | Employee experiences contribute to successful quality initiatives and the stories about their experiences influence quality management and continuous improvement.

  • Broaden the socioeconomic range | Remove the barriers of entry that internship requirements impose to help broaden the range of diversity in graduates who may qualify for a role based on lived experiences in addition to work experiences.

  • Learn to unlearn | Establish hiring practices that will remove markers such as prestigious ivy league universities or companies on resumes. Train your staff to focus on lived experiences and the skills developed therein.

  • Restructure the hiring questions | Train your team to ask effective interview questions. Oftentimes, individuals with proximity to certain issues may not feel comfortable sharing, so framing and asking about it in a positive light can encourage candidates to share their experiences.

Think of strategies you can implement to elevate the voices of those who historically have not had a voice. Acknowledge there are multiple ways to approach diversity, inclusion, equity, and belonging and expand your efforts to achieve greater inclusion.

We invite you to:

  • Download a free copy of the report at http://www.livedexperienceintelligence.com/and share it with your peers.

  • Follow our Increase Diversity newsletter on LinkedIn (2.22.22 – 3.22.22) – where we will be breaking down the most important concepts regarding LEQ.

  • Join our 5-part LEQ series on LinkedIn Audio (live discussions)

 
 

Join me in the comments section and share your thoughts.

 
CJennifer Tardy