By David Liddle
European leaders face a pivotal moment. As DEI comes under fire globally, particularly in the United States, David Liddle challenges organisations to lead with purpose. This article explores how businesses can navigate political pressures without compromising values, using inclusion as a catalyst for resilience, performance, and long-term value.
European business leaders face an inflection point. As Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) comes under political and ideological pressure, particularly in the United States, organisations with global operations must now reassess their position with clarity and strategic intent.
The rollback of DEI programmes in the United States, driven by President Trump’s recent executive orders-including Executive Order 14173, which seeks to eliminate DEI-related activities across federal agencies – has sent shockwaves through global business communities. The U.S. Department of Justice has also launched multiple investigations into corporate diversity initiatives, prompting a growing number of high-profile firms, including Amazon, Meta, and McDonald’s, to scale back their DEI investments. Many cite heightened legal exposure, evolving shareholder expectations, and reputational risk.
For European businesses with U.S. operations or transatlantic partnerships, this shift presents a strategic dilemma. While DEI remains a cornerstone of organisational identity and ESG commitments in Europe, leaders must now navigate the optics and risks of diverging global postures. Some companies, such as Banco Santander, Aldi, and Institutional Shareholder Services, have already begun localising their DEI strategies-maintaining strong efforts in Europe while reassessing their U.S. positioning in light of the changing legal and geopolitical climate.
The Strategic Case for DEI
Despite political turbulence, the business rationale for DEI remains robust. McKinsey’s Diversity Wins report (2022) reaffirmed that organisations in the top quartile for gender and ethnic diversity on executive teams are 36% more likely to outperform on profitability. Deloitte (2020) found inclusive companies are eight times more likely to achieve better business outcomes, including innovation, market share, and reputation.
We help participants develop integrative thinking—so they can connect the dots, recognise interdependencies, and lead beyond the boundaries of their function.
From a European standpoint, alignment with ESG frameworks, investor expectations, and regulatory shifts such as the EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) makes DEI an operational priority. Inclusion is not a peripheral value-it is a strategic enabler of performance, resilience, and competitive advantage.
The backlash should not prompt retreat, but recalibration. Fragmented, reactive DEI strategies have outlived their usefulness. The imperative now is to reimagine inclusion as part of an integrated, enterprise-wide people strategy.
Towards an Integrated Employee Experience Model
Many organisations continue to treat wellbeing, engagement, and inclusion (WEI) as separate initiatives, often siloed within HR, CSR, or compliance. This separation dilutes their impact and obscures their connection to strategic outcomes.
An integrated model-where WEI is approached systemically-unlocks synergies that fuel trust, alignment, and performance – the core features of a world class employee experience.
- Wellbeing encompasses not just health, but purpose, belonging, and psychological safety.
- Engagement results from inclusive, values-led environments that give people voice, visibility, and agency.
- Inclusion ensures individuals are not just represented, but empowered to contribute meaningfully.
When deployed as a unified strategy, these three pillars support a sustainable organisational culture – one that attracts talent, enhances agility, and delivers long-term shareholder value.
Liddle’s Law: The Employee Experience Equation
To operationalise this integration, business leaders require a framework that connects people initiatives to enterprise performance. Liddle’s Law offers such a model:
The 3Ps: Structural Integrity in Action
Too many DEI programmes falter not due to lack of ambition, but because the systems that underpin them are misaligned. Risk-averse or retributive policies can inadvertently stifle innovation and erode psychological safety. The result? Employees disengage, and initiatives lose traction.
To move forward, organisations must conduct a root-and-branch review of their people systems-from hiring to onboarding, conflict resolution to career development. Policies should be enablers of wellbeing, engagement and inclusion, not obstacles to it.
The 4Hs: Everyday Leadership, Extraordinary Impact
Culture lives in the everyday actions, interactions, and reactions (AIR) of leaders and teams. The most impactful organisations are those in which leadership actively cultivates environments where teams are:
- Happy – supported and fulfilled in their roles
- Healthy – psychologically and emotionally resilient
- Harmonious – collaborative and respectful
- High-Performing – aligned, agile, and motivated
Crucially, these climates are shaped by leadership behaviours that model empathy, trust, and accountability. They coach, not command. They respond, not react. They build people up, not wear them down.
When such leadership becomes the norm, the shift in employee experience is not incremental-it is transformational.
SAP’s Holistic Inclusion Strategy
SAP’s Europe-based inclusion programme offers a compelling benchmark. The company integrated DEI into its global people strategy by embedding inclusion metrics into leadership KPIs and aligning its mental health, equity, and engagement programmes across all regions. As a result, SAP reported a 9% increase in employee engagement globally and a 10% improvement in perceived psychological safety in EMEA markets (SAP Integrated Report, 2023).
SAP’s approach underscores the principle behind Liddle’s Law: when structural alignment and leadership behaviour reinforce cultural intent, the impact on performance is exponential.
Leadership at the Centre of Cultural Transformation
Culture does not change through policy alone. It is shaped through the everyday actions, interactions, and reactions (AIR) of leaders and managers. The role of leadership in building the 4Hs cannot be overstated.
Progressive organisations are investing in leadership development that prioritises:
- Psychological safety and trust
- Responsive, emotionally intelligent management
- Coaching cultures that unlock potential and promote continuous growth
When these behaviours become embedded, team climates shift from transactional to transformational-fuelling motivation, innovation, and performance.
The European Opportunity
This is a defining moment for European organisations. Rather than retreat from DEI under external pressure, there is an opportunity to lead-anchored in evidence, strategy, and values.
Legislative frameworks such as the EU Anti-Racism Action Plan, CSRD, and Gender Equality Strategy provide not just compliance obligations, but a directional signal for organisations committed to long-term value creation.
To respond effectively, organisations must move beyond superficial DEI programmes and embed inclusion as a principle of governance and a driver of performance. This includes integrating DEI data into decision-making, linking inclusive behaviours to leadership accountability, and aligning talent strategies with values and purpose.
Conclusion: Aligning Culture with Enterprise Value
As geopolitical uncertainty clouds the DEI landscape, European organisations face a defining leadership test. The most effective response is not withdrawal, but evolution.
“We help participants develop integrative thinking—so they can connect the dots, recognise interdependencies, and lead beyond the boundaries of their function.”
DEI strategies can no longer afford to be reactive, fragmented, or performative. They must be embedded, evidence-led, and aligned to purpose, values, and performance. That means integrating wellbeing, engagement, and inclusion into a cohesive people strategy-one that strengthens organisational resilience and delivers long-term value.
To lead at this level requires more than intent. It demands insight. Leaders must be willing to understand the lived experience of their people, reimagine legacy structures, and foster high-performing climates rooted in trust and fairness.
This is the power of strategic alignment through WEI. When wellbeing, engagement, and inclusion are treated as interconnected levers, rather than isolated initiatives, they become the architecture of a truly transformational culture where people and performance thrive. These are not abstract ideals. They are measurable, achievable, and commercially sound.
Organisations that embrace this model will not only withstand the current backlash, but emerge stronger, more agile, and more attractive to top talent in a values-driven marketplace.
The question is not whether inclusion matters-it does. The question is whether you are ready to lead through WEI.
