Frederick A. Miller: Leveraging inclusion as a breakthrough organizational development strategy

Abstract

Frederick A. Miller has contributed to the theory and practice of organization change by challenging and reframing how organizations understand and leverage differences to create inclusive workplaces. With Judith H. Katz, he published the first comprehensive model and framework for implementing diversity and inclusion as a lever for strategic culture change, moving diversity from a compliance- driven set of programs to a breakthrough OD strategy linked to higher operational and bottom-line performance. Miller came of age during a period heavily influenced by the Civil Rights Movement in the United States, which significantly shaped his vision not only of what society could be but also of the role organizations needed to play in moving society toward a greater equality of opportunity and participation. His work reflects a lifelong commitment to pushing back on the status quo to help change organizations into places where human beings can be fully human and where each person can grow, do their best work, and have a meaningful experience. Many of Miller's insights come from observing and learning from his clients, engaging with peers on corporate and not-for-profit boards, and studying what is happening in the world. In collaboration with Katz and others in his firm, he has developed several simple models and practical tools and processes that make it easier for clients to move toward a workplace in which people can do their best work in service of the organizational mission, vision, and strategic objectives. Miller believes that, fundamentally, organizations are only as productive as the interactions between people. Significant organizational change for today's organizations requires an adjustment in the quality of interactions between people. Conscious Actions for Inclusion is a tool that provides a set of behaviors communicated in simple, common language that opens the door to greater clarity and enhanced ways of interacting.