A Venture Builder with a common leadership diversity problem.
The integrated solution addressed the gaps they couldn’t see and activated their social-impact vision.
R-LABS | Venture | Level 1: Activate
The Situation | diversity gap in leadership | social-impact vision
When I was introduced to George Carras, CEO of R-LABS, his board had recently highlighted a problem that needed fixing: their leadership team, predominately white and male, was lacking diversity.
It’s a common, stagnant issue in any industry, but R-LABS was far from common. As a venture builder focused on the real estate sector, they were facilitating innovation to solve industry problems and drive systemic change—including tackling social issues like housing affordability, and human health in built environments.
Joining the conversation, I oriented them towards a systemic approach that wouldn’t just fix the problem—it would align their whole business with their social-impact vision and deliver lasting results.
The Solution | diagnosis | co-designed strategy | advisory hours + coaching
We started with a much needed but easily overlooked step: analyzing quantitative and qualitative data to understand their current state. I reviewed their 2024 business strategy and interviewed 7 leaders to gain insights on their vision, priorities, and perceived opportunities. I identified the extent of the root issues as well as new gaps to address.
Next, I conducted a Strategy Lab, bringing management through a series of key learnings to get them aligned, and then guiding them through plotting their priorities and actions. Including the entire management team ensured everyone was on board with the what, why, and how, safeguarding against roadblocks or dissent down the road.
The resulting Impact Roadmap integrated and aligned practices on the inside of R-LABS (recruiting, performance management, culture) with new processes on the outside (tracking and measuring their social impact—a key priority that had never been quantified).
The Result | identified priorities | strategic implementation | future goals
Year 1 priorities include: diversify talent pool; strengthen inclusive culture; track, measure, and share positive social impact; and cascade learning and processes to ventures and founders.
Each of the priorities has 3-5 associated actions, and we’ve assigned co-owners for delivery, pairing HR with a member of the management team to drive accountability and results. And now that they’ve learned what good looks like, they’ve set ambitious goals to mature their company’s commitment and approach over the next 3 years.
Takeaways for your own strategy | right sized | culture fit | values focused
I'm committed to delivering solutions that work. Here’s how my approach ensured quick buy-in and lasting results for an organization like R-LABS:
Right-sizing for the stage of growth they are at: In a startup environment, it can feel counterintuitive to spend time and resources on DEI when you need another round of funding. I met the company where they were at, with a clear framework for growth. As they scale, their DEI strategy will scale, optimizing in step with their trajectory, and saving them time and money down the line.
Matching the approach to their culture: With an agile startup mindset, the R-LABS team was open to learning from the get-go. They recognized success would come from getting started, not getting it perfect from the start. Our process reflected their existing buy-in and delivered quick actionable results.
Aligning with core values: Like many startups, R-LABS had a core value of positive social change, but their framework to strategically and systematically put that into action was not well structured. CEO George Carras is excited to have a new defined process to support their vision and believes that their new Impact Roadmap will have sustained impact.
Ready to ACTIVATE your diversity and social-impact vision?
