10 Questions for your DEI Mid-year assessment

DEI is about constant reassessment and checking in to see how we are doing. Calendars, dates, and times of year are often a way to ensure that happens. 

I operate on several calendars:

- the Jewish calendar (lunar), 

- the Gregorian calendar (civil and Christian ecclesiastical), 

- environmental or seasonal calendar (solstices and equinoxes).  

Right now, we are halfway through the year, according to the Gregorian calendar. That means we have 6 months ahead of us before we welcome a new year.  In the past, when I primarily worked in higher education, I would follow the school year calendar. Now, as a full-time entrepreneur and business owner, I map out quarters and we are approaching the end of the second quarter. 

I say all this because we have to constantly update, pivot, explore, nurture and celebrate the work we are each doing. In particular, when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), accountability is always a part of the process. Accountability is something that needs to be built into your schedule via regular check-ins. 

While most of the changes we make in a DEI plan are not completed overnight, if we are doing our plan right, we are constantly in a process of making progress toward our goals. 

I want to offer you mid-year reflection questions for your DEI work thus far, to give space to the successes you’ve made and offer a way to reflect so you can revitalize or pivot the work you are doing;

Thinking about your DEI work from January- June 2022: 

1. What stands out to you from the past 6 months? 

   • Lessons learned from challenges and Lessons learned from successes?

2. What do you feel proud of?

3. How did you celebrate what you are proud of? 

4. What is something that you need to let go of? 

5. What areas need to be reassessed? 

6. What feels important to you moving forward?

7. Where do you need stronger boundaries to protect time to complete tasks and work associated with DEI?

8. What rules am I following that may be unnecessary? 

9. Review the goals you set 

   • How are you doing - what progress has been made? 

   • Where were you in alignment? 

   • Where have you been sidetracked? 

   • What important metrics can be shown? 

   • Where do you need help?

10. How did you prioritize breaks and care for your mental health?

    • How will you prioritize it for the next 6 months? 

I hope that regardless of the calendar you follow, you can take some time to step back and reflect on the past several months to help create and prioritize the next several months that lie ahead.