#87: Driving Business Results Through DEI and Belonging with Andrew Adeniyi

Andrew is a first-generation Nigerian American from South Bend, Indiana, and the CEO & Founder of AAA Solutions; a consulting firm that provides workplace culture and Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) consulting and training services. Andrew obtained his bachelor's degree in Entrepreneurship and Corporate Innovation from the Kelley School of Business at Indiana University Bloomington. He then went on to complete his Master of Science from Michigan State University in Management, Strategy & Leadership. Lastly, Andrew received a certificate in DEI in the Workplace from The Muma College of Business at The University of South Florida.

With over 10 years of executive level management experience, Andrew has helped dozens of clients improve their employee engagement and create a sense of belonging within their organizations. Andrew currently resides just outside of Indianapolis, Indiana with his wife and three children.

He published his first book titled The Circle of Leadership in the Summer of 2020. The book serves as an entrepreneurial framework on how to create and leverage culture. Andrew released his second book titled The Building Blocks of Belonging in January 2024. The book explores the intersection of workplace culture and DEI.

Top 3 Takeaways

1. Stay the course. While there’s a highly visible tug-of-war happening when it comes to DEI, the worst thing we can do is shut down dialogue. Don’t stop at the headlines and miss the opportunity to reach the heart of the matter.
2. Measure up. It’s hard to know what to believe without having access to credible data. Aggregate results are useful, but be sure to drill down to discover what the employee experience is like for every major grouping of workers.
3. Boost the belonging. We all want to feel a sense of connection to our work and those around us. This drives our motivation and our engagement. Make sure to make time to nurture this type of connection through your people-first leadership.

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From the Source

“We do want to make sure it's fair. We do want to make sure that we have diverse organizations because that helps with innovation and attracting, retaining top talent. The problem is a lot of hiring processes are broken. There's bias that permeates all throughout workplaces, and it leads to cultures that aren't diverse, that aren't inclusive. DEI aims to level that playing field.”

“The problem is people didn't take the right steps to really lay a foundation and educate their workforce on why this matters. And I think ultimately they looked back and said, ‘We're not sure we moved the needle with the work that we did.’”

“Most of the clients we're working with, they're not contemplating not doing DEI. They're just trying to figure out what's the next level. And I think they're just not as vocal as the people who are against it.”

“We want to make sure this work is data-driven and not just emotionally-driven, and that can come in the form of surveys or focus groups. Having a third party come in and provide a fresh perspective or town hall discussions that allow you to just get an overwhelming amount of data to be able to say, ‘All right, what insights do we see here? What themes do we see here?’ And that will help prioritize and narrow down the focus that an organization should have.”

“Most organizations have data. The question is, is it good enough data to draw the type of insights we need?”

“We spend so much time at work, and to have poor cultures is really just unacceptable from my perspective. That's why I'm so passionate about this work.”

“People who don't feel like they belong, they're not going the extra mile. They're not showing up to the optional meetings. They're not going to the optional happy hours. They're not overly communicating in team meetings. They're withholding some of their thoughts. They may visibly look disengaged in team meetings and things like that.”

Connect with Andrew

Website: https://www.andrewadeniyi.com

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrewadeniyi/

The Circle of Leadership (book): https://amzn.to/4bWIJQq

The Building Blocks of Belonging (book): https://amzn.to/4bWDCzB