Faces of HR: How Connie Ross Fosters Belonging at 84.51°

As a seasoned media buyer for more than 16 years, Connie Ross’ passion for diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) led her down a path of purpose. A pivotal moment in 2020 ignited a desire to create opportunities for underrepresented voices and ensure everyone has a seat at the table.

Her media background may seem far removed from DEIB, but her skills translate beautifully. She uses her experience to help organizations, like 84.51°, a retail data science, insights, and media company, cultivate inclusive cultures. As the DEIB Talent Manager, Connie ensures a diversity lens filters through every aspect of the organization. From leadership decisions to talent development, she empowers teams to embody the company’s vision and values.

Beyond the numbers, Ross’ story isn’t just about impressive metrics; it’s about creating a future where everyone feels valued and heard. Having witnessed (and experienced) the lack of diversity in her own media buying group, she knew change was necessary. Her goal, “to no longer be the only one in the room,” fueled a fire to champion inclusion within her organization and beyond. Now, she leads the charge at 84.51°, ensuring their success is built on a foundation of belonging for all.

In our latest Faces, meet Connie Ross.

Who is/was your biggest influence in the industry?

One of my biggest influences in the industry is Janis Middleton, EVP & Chief Inclusion Officer at Guided by Good. She is an absolute must-follow on LinkedIn. She’s been a mentor and advocate that has helped me to find my voice and a path for my journey. Another influence in the industry is Stephanie Smith, SVP & Chief Inclusion Officer at Fifth Third Bank. Stephanie taught me the power of your voice and how speaking truth to power is necessary if you want to seek change. Lastly, Sharon Tunstall, Managing Director of Talent & Culture at the Jonathan Rose Companies, is an excellent leader that uses her influence to open doors. She also humbles herself to ask how she can do better and be better to help an organization excel when it comes to equity, inclusion, and belonging.All three women inspire me every day knowing that the work of DEI is necessary and to make the most of every opportunity to influence, inspire, and educate others.

What’s your best mistake and what did you learn from it?

I’ve stopped calling things a mistake and now refer to them only as learnings. My biggest learning came in my first DEI role, where I had a leader who supported the idea of DEI and leveraged the attention it provided for personal gains but failed to live the vision and values of the organization or model the way internally. The result was losing the faith and trust of our associates in our efforts, because of the inconsistency in what we were saying versus the reality of what we were doing. My lesson in this experience is that we must be intentional in our efforts, authentic in our approach, and transparent in our motives. When a leader fails to deliver on these things trust is lost and difficult to regain. 

What’s your favorite part about working in the industry? What’s your least favorite part, and how would you change it?

My favorite part about working in DEIB is that I get to work with all associates across the organization and be inspired by their stories and the work they are doing. I often tell new associates I have the best job in the organization because my focus is on helping them to be their authentic selves every day.My least favorite part about the industry is the efforts taking place to disband or eliminate DEI programs and the gains we’ve made to cultivate equity, inclusion and belonging for diverse talent.

It sounds like through your experience you really care about people, and you want to help them feel safe and comfortable, which is important in the industry. Please elaborate here.

Diversity is an organizational superpower that unlocks the best ideas, builds on the greatest inventions, and delivers results beyond the imagination. It allows us to draw on differing perspectives and lived experiences to be our very best and allow our associates an opportunity to fully engage and be their very best. Helping people to get to the level of safety and confidence in presenting their authentic selves is mandatory if we are to unlock those superpowers.

How can HR most effectively demonstrate its value to the leadership team?

There is great value in the partnership of HR and more specifically in my case DEI, with leadership. Leadership looks to our team to build pathways for individuals to grow and develop skills that will help us to achieve our goals, drive innovation, and seek our purpose of making lives easier for people. We create the opportunities necessary for our people to thrive, but we also must call on our leaders to model the way by showing empathy, humility, and acceptance, creating safe spaces for our associates to thrive as their authentic selves.

Where do you see the industry heading in five years? Or are you seeing any current trends?

With so many threats to the work of DEIB in the past year, it’s difficult to predict a trend. One trend I do see is the shift from saying the word diversity. Most organizations have shifted to using inclusion and belonging to avoid the divisiveness that some have attached to the word diversity. I do have hope for the future of DEI and believe that Gen Z will finally have its turn and we will see a future of inclusion and belonging that is the norm and not a hard-fought-for exception.

Do you have any advice for people entering the profession?

One of the challenges of DEI work is the limited roles or resources. Most of the opportunities exist for those at manager levels or above and tend to be smaller teams (one or two people), so it’s difficult to offer advice for entry-level. I will say that no matter what role you take in an organization, you can advance inclusion and belonging through your relationships with your teams and the work that you do, making you a key partner for the DEI team to leverage and setting the stage for any future opportunities to join the team directly. 

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