Treneice Collins: Empowering Organizations and Teams to Exceed Their Potential through Innovative DEI Strategies

Workplace diversity is more important than ever before. With a multigenerational workforce in full swing, applicants actively seek out organizations that encourage them to be their true selves and appreciate diversity.

Today’s job candidates want diversity initiatives, and data indicates that businesses still have work to do to meet those expectations. DEI tactics are not one-size-fits-all. Leadership must demonstrate a genuine commitment to change, not merely a fear of looking bad or other societal imperatives. Diversity recruiting methods, like business, are continually developing as cutting-edge organizations draw links between worker diversity and job happiness, culture, community impact, innovation, and business performance.

Historically, the emphasis on diversity and inclusion has come in waves, particularly within the business world. There are moments in history when D&I is considered a corporate essential, and other times when it has lost its vigor and been placed on the ‘budgetary cut’ list. Treneice Collins, Inclusion and Diversity Consultant at Korn Ferry, feels that the present landscape has altered the workplace diversity and inclusion norm and that D&I and its initiatives will become a permanent fixture within businesses’ business models and sustainability goals.

Treneice is a published author with over 20 years of experience directing teams in a variety of sectors. She creates and leads the execution of a grassroots DEI strategy and full-cycle recruiting methods, as well as the integration of best-in-class diversity, equality, and inclusion practices.

Treneice, as a D&I leader, tries to help customers view D&I as a long-term strategy that is free of the constant reactionary responses to important cultural events. Instead, develop strategic methods that are integrated into the organization’s concept. Korn Ferry excels at this for its clients.

Attaining the Title of Influential D&I Leader

Early in her career, Treneice realized that she was frequently the only woman, the only person of color, the youngest, and the only one in the room. This was a pretty unsettling place to be. Especially, when she observed others from underrepresented groups going through the same thing; where they had to work twice as hard simply to be regarded as above average yet were still undervalued and sometimes neglected. She asserts, “Individuals within the diverse communities, whether we are identified by our ethnicity, gender, as part of the LGBTQIA+ community, neurodiversity, etc. are often the last to be considered or included in the conversation until after major events have occurred – only then are we seen as a business imperative.”

Treneice’s goal is to ensure that there is not only proper representation but also a voice for members of the diverse communities to have a voice within the organizations’ decision-making process.

Korn Ferry

Korn Ferry is a multinational organizational consulting business that is driven by thought leadership and brings its customers’ objectives to life. The company began in a modest office in Century City, Los Angeles, with one phone, one assistant, and a valuable contact list. But the sign on the door told it all: Korn/Ferry International—a worldwide vision.

Korn Ferry had a solid sense of what was achievable from the beginning. The Korn Ferry Institute is here to support you on your road to greatness by delivering creative thought leadership, research, data, and expertise.

Korn Ferry Institute is an innovation hub dedicated to shedding light on major trends and drivers of human and organizational performance. Korn Ferry Solutions are developed and infused with rigorous scientific research, cutting-edge intellectual property, and cutting-edge analytics. Organizations and individuals all throughout the world have benefited from the Korn Ferry Institute’s important research, ideas, intellectual property, and data. It has generated ground-breaking insights into all elements of work and is always innovating in order to have an effect on the world.

Approach for Sustainable DEI Practices

Treneice feels that her attitude towards diversity and inclusion has contributed to her success. She believes that diversity, fairness, and inclusion are more than just buzzwords or cultural fads that should be used lightly to avoid social shame in businesses. Instead, corporations should approach their workers with an intimate relationship and show recognition. She has incorporated this into her strategy, how she interacts with her clients, and how she inspires her team to assess and implement long-term sustainable DEI processes.

Concentrating on Long-Term Opportunities

Treneice does not totally think that trials alone make us stronger. Alternatively, she argues that unless the obstacles are considered as a forerunner to someone’s development and as a tool to achieve a certain goal. These issues might quickly turn into unneeded busy work. Throughout her career, she has had significant setbacks that might have easily destroyed her professional trajectory. While obstacles, her attitude has been to focus on the long-term potential of these situations. She shares, “A life lesson that I learned the hard way, is to never accept destructive feedback from someone who has never had the mental capacity to provide constructive criticism in the first place.”

The Success that Defines You

Treneice defines success in a very intimate way as she says, “Success is when I’ve accomplished something that I alone could never have accomplished.” This suggests that Treneice’s success is dependent on her capacity to lead and motivate others around her. She feels that success is inextricably linked to the legacy she wishes to leave behind. Having this perspective helps her to make mistakes without experiencing the crushing pain associated with making mistakes. This frees her thinking and understanding that her success is never hampered by the errors or mistakes she has made, but rather by her capacity to learn, adapt, and evolve, as well as the energy she puts into letting people around her do the same.

While sharing the recognition she has received, Treneice recalls, “I received from a colleague, that was based on some research I had done and shared regarding the transgender community. They used this as an opportunity to share and have meaningful conversations with their family, their response was heartfelt and genuine. I was able to create a ripple effect in their lives, and in this, I saw my impact!”

A Pragmatic Inclusion and Diversity Consultant

Treneice’s major position at Korn Ferry is to engage with the firm’s customers about their D&I aspirational objectives and deliver concrete solutions to help those goals become long-term sustainable D&I plans. Her priority is to balance her personal and professional lives throughout the day. She does this by accepting that her priorities will move from personal to professional on occasion, and vice versa.

Treneice chooses to invest in the people around her these days. She says, “I have found that the most powerful word that I can say, is no. No forces someone to think outside the box, be more creative, and stretch their thinking to achieve something they say they want to accomplish.” She further adds that her job is not to give all the answers, but instead to create an innovative environment.

Planning to Create a Diverse Work Community

Treneice has a series of specific career goals that she wishes to accomplish. She says, “At Korn Ferry, luckily, I work with leaders who are true partners in my success.”

Her personal ambition as a corporate leader is to establish an environment in which people of varied groups are not viewed as measurements or data to be farmed into an organizational architecture. Rather, her objective is to create intelligent procedures in which individuals from the varied community are regularly recognized as valued contributors and decision-makers.

Treneice’s thoughts are continuously on sustainability and how her activities affect the ideals of the next generation, since the future generation is observing everything, we do today, and our actions will be the foundations of the future that becomes their reality.