Why Most Organizations Are Stuck — And Don't Know It
Here is a question worth sitting with: If you asked your CEO, your frontline managers, and your newest employees to describe your organization's commitment to inclusion, would they give you the same answer?
In most organizations, the answer is no. And that gap — between what leadership believes is happening and what employees actually experience — is one of the most costly, least-measured problems in business today. It drives turnover, suppresses innovation, erodes trust, and quietly undermines the very culture leaders are trying to build.
After more than three decades of working with organizations across industries, D.A. Abrams has observed a consistent pattern: most companies don't lack good intentions around inclusion. What they lack is a clear, honest picture of where they actually stand. Without that picture, even the most well-resourced diversity and inclusion initiatives tend to produce activity without progress — events without evolution.
That's precisely why the Inclusion Maturity Model exists. Rooted in the principles of D.A. Abrams' Big Six Formula — the evidence-based framework at the heart of his landmark books Diversity & Inclusion and The Inclusion Solution — this five-stage model gives leaders a practical, business-focused lens for assessing where their organization truly is, and a clear path toward where it needs to go.
Let's walk through each stage together.
The Five Stages of Inclusion Maturity
The Inclusion Maturity Model is not a judgment — it's a diagnostic. Every organization starts somewhere, and the most important move any leader can make is an honest assessment of their current reality. Think of these five stages not as grades, but as coordinates on a map. You can't chart a course forward until you know where you're standing.
Stage 1: Compliance
At the Compliance stage, inclusion is understood primarily as a legal and regulatory obligation. Organizations here are focused on avoiding liability, meeting federal guidelines, and checking the boxes required by HR policy or government contracts. Diversity training, if it exists, is mandatory and often resented. It's scheduled, endured, and forgotten.
Leadership attitudes at this stage tend to be defensive rather than visionary. The prevailing mindset is: "We have to do this." Diversity is seen as a risk management function, not a business strategy. Conversations about inclusion happen in HR offices and legal departments — rarely in boardrooms or strategic planning sessions.
Measurable indicators of Stage 1:
- D&I efforts are owned exclusively by HR, with no executive sponsorship
- Training is reactive — triggered by complaints or legal events, not proactive strategy
- Demographic data is collected but rarely analyzed or acted upon
- Employee resource groups (ERGs), if they exist, are informal and unsupported
- Inclusion is absent from leadership competency models or performance reviews
The risk of staying at Stage 1 is significant. Organizations in this stage are not just missing an opportunity — they are actively accumulating hidden costs through disengagement, attrition among high-potential diverse talent, and a culture where people learn to mask rather than contribute their full selves.
Stage 2: Awareness
Something has shifted at the Awareness stage. Leadership has begun to recognize that inclusion is more than a compliance issue — it's a people issue, and people issues have business consequences. Organizations here are investing in education: unconscious bias training, cultural competency workshops, speaker series, and awareness campaigns around identity and difference.
The energy at this stage is often genuine and enthusiastic. Leaders want to do better. Employees appreciate the acknowledgment. But awareness, while necessary, is not sufficient. The challenge at Stage 2 is that knowledge rarely translates into behavior change without structural support. People leave a workshop feeling inspired and return to systems, processes, and norms that haven't changed at all.
Measurable indicators of Stage 2:
- Voluntary participation in D&I programming is increasing
- Senior leaders are beginning to publicly champion inclusion efforts
- ERGs are formally recognized and receive modest organizational support
- Employee surveys include some questions about belonging and inclusion
- Hiring practices are being reviewed for potential bias, but systemic changes are limited
"Awareness without accountability is just theater. The goal is not for people to feel differently about inclusion — it's for the organization to operate differently because of it." — D.A. Abrams
Many organizations spend years at Stage 2, mistaking activity for progress. The presence of programming does not equal the presence of inclusion. Moving forward requires something more intentional: integration.
Stage 3: Integration
The Integration stage represents a meaningful leap. Here, inclusion is no longer a standalone initiative — it begins to be woven into the fabric of how the organization operates. Talent acquisition, performance management, leadership development, succession planning, and even customer strategy start to reflect an intentional commitment to inclusive practices.
This is where the Big Six Formula becomes especially actionable. As D.A. Abrams outlines in Diversity & Inclusion, sustainable inclusion requires alignment across six critical organizational dimensions: Leadership Commitment, Talent Strategy, Cultural Competency, Accountability Systems, Community Engagement, and Innovation Culture. At Stage 3, organizations begin to address all six — not in isolation, but as an interconnected system.
Leadership attitudes at the Integration stage shift from "We should do this" to "This is how we operate." Managers are held accountable for inclusive behaviors. Metrics are tracked. Inclusion goals appear in business plans alongside revenue targets and operational KPIs.
Measurable indicators of Stage 3:
- Inclusion metrics are embedded in leadership scorecards and performance reviews
- Diverse candidate slates are standard practice in all hiring and promotion processes
- Pay equity analyses are conducted regularly and results are acted upon
- Mentoring and sponsorship programs are structured, funded, and tracked
- ERGs have executive sponsors and formal budget allocations
- Inclusion training is role-specific, ongoing, and tied to business outcomes
Organizations at Stage 3 often experience measurable improvements in employee engagement scores, reduced voluntary turnover among underrepresented groups, and stronger internal pipelines for diverse leadership. The work is real — and the results are beginning to show.
Stage 4: Transformation
At the Transformation stage, inclusion has become a core organizational value — not because it was mandated, but because leaders and employees at every level have internalized why it matters. The culture itself has changed. Psychological safety is high. Diverse perspectives are not just welcomed — they are actively sought out as a competitive advantage.
What distinguishes Transformation from Integration is depth. In Stage 3, systems support inclusion. In Stage 4, people champion it — instinctively, consistently, and without being prompted. Managers don't need a checklist to be inclusive. They've developed the mindset, skills, and habits that make inclusive leadership their natural mode of operating.
This is the territory D.A. Abrams explores in The Inclusion Solution — the shift from compliance-driven diversity to culture-driven belonging. When belonging becomes a lived experience rather than an aspirational statement, organizations unlock levels of engagement, creativity, and loyalty that simply cannot be manufactured through policy alone.
Measurable indicators of Stage 4:
- Representation at senior leadership and board levels reflects the broader talent market
- Employee Net Promoter Scores are consistently high across demographic groups
- Exit interview data shows no significant disparity in retention across identity groups
- Inclusion is a visible criterion in vendor selection, partnership decisions, and community investment
- Leaders at all levels can articulate the business case for inclusion in their own words
- New employees consistently cite culture and belonging as reasons they joined — and stayed
Stage 5: Innovation
The Innovation stage is where inclusion becomes a genuine engine of business growth. Organizations here have moved beyond the question of "How do we include more people?" to "How does our inclusive culture help us solve bigger problems, reach new markets, and create breakthrough solutions?"
At this stage, diverse teams are deliberately constructed to tackle complex challenges. Inclusion is embedded in product design, customer experience strategy, and market expansion planning. The organization doesn't just reflect the diversity of the world it serves — it leverages that diversity to lead in ways competitors cannot easily replicate.
Leadership at Stage 5 thinks about inclusion the way they think about R&D: as a strategic investment with measurable returns. They can point to specific innovations, market wins, and customer breakthroughs that were made possible by the cognitive diversity of their teams.
Measurable indicators of Stage 5:
- Diverse teams are strategically assigned to innovation initiatives and growth priorities
- Products, services, and customer experiences are co-created with diverse stakeholder input
- The organization is recognized externally as an employer of choice across diverse talent communities
- Inclusion ROI is measured and reported alongside other strategic investments
- The organization actively contributes to industry-wide inclusion standards and best practices
"The most innovative organizations in the world aren't diverse by accident. They're diverse by design — because their leaders understand that the full spectrum of human experience is their greatest competitive asset." — D.A. Abrams
Self-Diagnostic: Where Does Your Organization Stand?
Use the following checklist to get an honest read on your organization's current stage. For each statement, mark whether it is Not Yet True, Partially True, or Consistently True in your organization.
Leadership & Accountability
- Senior leaders publicly and consistently champion inclusion as a business priority
- Inclusion goals are included in executive performance evaluations
- The board of directors receives regular reports on D&I metrics and progress
- Leaders can articulate a clear, business-focused rationale for inclusion
Talent Systems
- Hiring and promotion processes have been audited and redesigned to reduce structural bias
- Diverse candidate slates are required for all leadership roles
- Pay equity is analyzed annually and gaps are addressed with urgency
- High-potential diverse employees have access to formal sponsorship programs
Culture & Belonging
- Employees across demographic groups report high levels of psychological safety
- Retention rates are consistent across identity groups
- ERGs are resourced, empowered, and connected to business strategy
- Inclusion is a visible part of onboarding, team norms, and everyday communication
Measurement & Learning
- The organization tracks and acts on inclusion-related data beyond headcount
- Learning and development programs include ongoing, role-specific inclusion training
- Employee feedback on inclusion is collected, analyzed, and used to drive change
- The organization benchmarks its inclusion practices against industry leaders
Innovation & Impact
- Diverse perspectives are actively integrated into product, service, and strategy development
- The organization can point to specific business outcomes driven by inclusive practices
- Inclusion extends to supplier diversity, community partnerships, and customer experience
- The organization is recognized externally for its inclusive culture and practices
Once you've completed the checklist, look at the pattern of your responses. A concentration of Not Yet True answers in the early categories suggests Stage 1 or 2. A mix of Partially True responses across all categories is characteristic of Stage 3. Consistent Consistently True responses throughout — especially in the Innovation section — indicates Stage 4 or 5.
Be honest. The value of this exercise is entirely dependent on the accuracy of your self-assessment. And if you're not sure, that uncertainty itself is important data.
Why Stage Matters — And What Leaders Can Do Next
Understanding your organization's current stage is not about assigning blame or celebrating wins prematurely. It's about making better decisions with your time, resources, and leadership energy.
Organizations at Stage 1 need structural foundations before programming will stick. Organizations at Stage 2 need accountability mechanisms before awareness will translate into behavior. Organizations at Stage 3 need cultural depth before their systems will sustain themselves. And organizations at Stages 4 and 5 need to continuously evolve — because inclusion, like leadership itself, is never a destination. It is a discipline.
The leaders who move their organizations forward most effectively are those who resist the temptation to skip stages. There are no shortcuts from Compliance to Innovation. But there is a clear, proven path — and the Big Six Formula provides the architecture to walk it with intention and measurable results.
What makes the Big Six Framework so enduring is its business-first orientation. It doesn't ask leaders to choose between inclusion and performance. It demonstrates, with data and real-world examples, that the two are inseparable. Organizations that build genuinely inclusive cultures don't just feel better — they perform better. They attract stronger talent, retain them longer, generate more creative solutions, and build deeper loyalty with the customers and communities they serve.
Your Next Step Starts Here
Reading about the Inclusion Maturity Model is a start. But the real value comes from applying it to your specific organizational reality — with rigor, honesty, and a clear plan for moving forward.
To help you do exactly that, D.A. Abrams has made the Big Six D&I Assessment available as a free resource at www.DAAbrams.net/assessments. This evidence-based tool walks you through each of the six dimensions of the Big Six Formula and generates a personalized score for your organization — giving you a clear, actionable picture of your current strengths and your most critical growth opportunities. It takes less than fifteen minutes to complete, and the insights it surfaces are the kind that typically emerge only after hours of expensive consulting engagements.
If you're preparing to bring these insights to your leadership team, the Executive Briefs library at www.DAAbrams.net/executive-briefs offers a growing collection of downloadable frameworks, research summaries, and strategic tools designed specifically for executive audiences. These are resources you can share in a leadership meeting, a board presentation, or a strategic planning session — practical, credible, and immediately applicable.
The organizations that will lead their industries in the decade ahead are the ones building inclusive cultures right now — not because they're required to, but because they understand what's at stake. The Inclusion Maturity Model gives you the map. The Big Six Formula gives you the compass. What you do next is up to you.
Start with an honest assessment. Build from where you are. Lead toward where you need to be.
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