Looking past the political conversation that frames DEI primarily as an initiative to secure grant funding for research on various minority issues, there is a deeper motivation: a desire for a spiritual joining of humankind—oneness and love for all, regardless of physical or social differences. It’s the new assault on prejudice in the 21st Century.

Northeastern University changed the name of what had been called “The Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion” to “Belonging in Northeastern”…that “embraces everyone at the school.” Northeastern refers to core values that define its culture, much like major corporations do to attract high performers.

A recent TIME article on the “Top 20 Best Colleges for Future Leaders” ranks Harvard first, followed by Stanford, Yale, the University of Pennsylvania, and MIT. What does DEI do to help highly talented minorities gain admission to these schools?

A 2023 study by Harvard’s own Opportunity Insights found that a student from the top 1% of households is twice as likely as a middle-class student with the same SAT score to be admitted to Ivy League schools like Stanford, MIT, the University of Chicago, or Duke. Yet we still want some kind of selection system to cultivate the best and brightest who can bolster American innovation on the global stage.

"Participation trophy culture is robbing us of our best future.”

“Americans must recover a sense of achievement,” writes Arun Agarwal, highly successful CEO and vice chair of the Texas Economic Development Corporation. Agarwal, an Indian-American entrepreneur who has navigated our culture and succeeded, points out that we have been emphasizing self-esteem, race, origins, and gender with minimal results in aptitude for the majority of students. The wealthy still attend the Ivy League schools, while middle- and lower-income students are behind academically, even with government grants.

According to a policy brief by the Fordham Institute in February 2024, "More ‘equitable’ grading policies has exacerbated grade inflation and proffered little evidence of greater learning….By removing the sting of losing, we are inadvertently robbing [our youth] of the opportunity to develop resilience, grit and the drive to improve.”

Another Indian-American entrepreneur and business success, Vivek Ramaswamy, points to parenting. ‘A culture that celebrates prom queen over math Olympian champ or the jock over the valedictorian will not produce the best engineers,’ he warns. Believe me, I know. I live in Texas.

Further, “Trophies, awarded now for participation, have become a monument to the ordinary instead of a reward to the exceptional.’ …these trophies are currently accumulating on the shelves of a generation of kids who haven’t earned them, but fully believe they are entitled to them.”…

Blaming parents for this decline oversimplifies the issue. There is a “broader social framework that influences [the student.] Schools, sports leagues and community organizations have institutionalized … this philosophy, leaving …parents as minority voices in their children’s development.”

The long-term consequences of this cultural shift are profound. ‘In an increasingly globalized and competitive world, mediocrity is a recipe for obsolescence” concludes the author. TikTok in China is educational. What major purpose does it serve in America? “China, India, and South Korea continue to emphasize rigorous education, hard work, and merit-based achievement, producing generations of highly skilled individuals ready to lead in fields like technology, medicine, and engineering.”

The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) measures the reading, science, and math literacy of 15-year-olds worldwide. Its latest 2022 data shows the U.S. lags significantly behind countries like Ireland, Japan, and South Korea in both math and science literacy.

A science-based, reality-tested answer comes from David Yeager, PhD, a parent of three, former teacher, and psychologist who researches neuroscience. In his groundbreaking book, 10 to 25, The Science of Motivating Young People, Yeager emerges from the lab to explore the real worlds of business, schools, and parenting. He interviews dozens of high-performing mentors—managers, parents, and educators—to discover what fails and what works in building successful learners, regardless of social status, race, geography, or gender.

Yeager defines three leadership mindsets: The Enforcer, The Protector, and the Mentor Mindset. A mentor asks for excellence in a discipline they know well and demands superior performance while offering personal support in reaching that goal.

Pausing from the old Protector stance and instead applying a balanced, rigorous, and supportive approach may be the key to restoring excellence. Starting from a foundation of one’s hardwired, brain-based strengths—or “brainstyle”—can launch this journey.