Everybody Isn’t Meant to Lead DEI

There’s a quiet epidemic happening inside many companies, and it’s not about budgets, layoffs, or market shifts. It’s about who gets tasked with leading diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEI) work, and how poorly structured, under-resourced, and unsupported those roles often are.

If your DEI “strategy” looks like picking a well-liked employee, usually a woman of color, and putting her in charge of all things DEI with no real plan, team, or authority, this is your call-in.

This week on What’s the DEIL?, we talked candidly about why so many organizations get DEI wrong from the very first decision: who leads it.

The Mistake: Confusing Passion for Proficiency

Too often, DEI leadership is assigned based on personal identity or interest—not professional expertise.

Would you promote your graphic designer to CFO just because they’re good with spreadsheets? Would you ask your office manager to lead product engineering because they’re great at organizing tasks? Of course not.

And yet, DEI is frequently treated as an afterthought. A checkbox. A passion project. The result? People get “plopped” into DEI roles without a roadmap, support, or the authority to move strategy forward. It’s unfair to the person, ineffective for the company, and deeply harmful to the communities you claim to care about.

DEI Is a Business Function. Treat It Like One.

Let’s be clear: DEI is not soft skills work. It’s not a “side of the desk” project. It’s a core business function—one that touches every part of your organization, from HR and marketing to operations, sales, legal, and beyond.

That means your DEI leader needs to be:

• Strategic: They must build and execute organizational-wide strategies, not just organize heritage month events.

• Cross-functional: They need to speak the language of every department, break down silos, and embed inclusion into operations, branding, hiring, and more.

• Data fluent: DEI leaders must analyze workforce demographics, pay equity trends, retention patterns, and other key metrics to make informed decisions.

• A communicator: They must tell powerful, clear stories about the work—internally and externally—so employees and stakeholders stay engaged and aligned.

• A project manager: Ideas without implementation go nowhere. This role must keep DEI work moving on time, with accountability and measurable outcomes.

Why Committees Aren’t Enough

Let’s talk about DEI committees. They sound good. They can be good. But too often, they become overextended groups of volunteers who are already working full-time jobs and are now expected to lead a company’s inclusion efforts in their “spare” time.

Sound familiar?

Here’s the problem: committees without leadership, structure, and resources burn people out fast. Especially when the people on them already hold marginalized identities. We’ve heard too many stories of people working nights and weekends to build DEI programs—without pay, support, or formal authority. That’s not empowerment. That’s exploitation.

Committees should advise. They should inform. But they should never replace a dedicated, qualified DEI leader with decision-making power and the budget to drive real change.

Burnout Is the Consequence of Bad Structure

We’ve seen it firsthand. In our own work, we’ve experienced the edge of burnout—dragging ourselves through airports after back-to-back DEI trainings, pouring everything we had into clients who weren’t equally committed. Sound familiar?

Burnout doesn’t happen overnight. It builds slowly when high expectations meet low support. And when someone is placed in a DEI role without clarity, authority, or resources, burnout is almost guaranteed.

Worse, it sends a message to everyone watching: “We say DEI matters, but we won’t fund it, structure it, or staff it properly.” That erodes trust and undermines every future initiative.

What Great DEI Leaders Bring to the Table

If you’re ready to stop checking boxes and start building real momentum, here’s what you should look for in a DEI leader:

1. Strategic Thinking

They can build a roadmap, set goals, and measure progress. This isn’t someone who just reacts to cultural moments—they proactively shape a long-term vision.

2. Cross-Departmental Collaboration

DEI doesn’t live in HR alone. It impacts how you market your product, how you source suppliers, who’s in the room for decision-making. Great DEI leaders know how to build bridges across your org chart.

3. Project Management Skills

The best strategy in the world won’t matter if you can’t implement it. DEI leaders need to assign tasks, manage timelines, and keep projects moving forward.

4. Data Literacy

From workforce audits to pulse surveys, DEI efforts are powered by data. You need someone who can interpret the numbers and turn insights into action.

5. Communication Mastery

If your people don’t know what’s happening, they’ll assume nothing is. A strong DEI leader can clearly and consistently communicate progress, setbacks, and goals—up, down, and across.

6. Resource Stewardship

One person cannot do this work alone. A true leader knows when to delegate, when to partner, and when to push for investment.

You Can’t Afford to Get This Wrong

If you’re serious about equity, you need to be serious about who leads it.

That means:

• Stop putting people in DEI roles “because they care.”

• Start hiring for competence, not convenience.

• Pay people for this work.

• Make space in their schedules to do it.

• Give them a seat at the table—and the authority to say yes or no.

If you don’t have someone on staff with these skills yet, that’s OK. There are partners (like us) who can help you build the structure, find the talent, and develop a long-term strategy.

But please, for everyone’s sake, stop plopping people into DEI. Your people—and your business—deserve better.

What’s Next?

At The Norfus Firm, we help organizations stop winging DEI and start building intentional, lasting strategies with measurable results. Whether you’re launching your first DEI initiative or trying to course-correct one that’s stalled, we can help.

Connect With Us

If you found this discussion compelling, we invite you to connect with us further. Here are some ways to stay in touch:

• Follow Natalie Norfus on LinkedIn
• Follow Shanté Gordon on LinkedIn
• Book a consultation with The Norfus Firm
• Follow What’s the DEIL on Instagram and TikTok