5 Keys to Creating a Workplace Culture of Inclusion
“Inclusion is leadership. There is greatness you can build when you include the voices and perspectives that have been overlooked.” – Ruchika Tulshyan
“Managers cannot be considered effective if they can only manage employees who are like them.”
Over the past 5-10 years, executives have prioritized the concept of implementing Diversity and Inclusion practices within company cultures. By definition, culture is “the ideas, customs, and social behavior of a particular people or society.” An organization’s culture is defined by leaders’ priorities and shared beliefs, values, and behaviors and then communicated and reinforced through various methods, ultimately shaping employee perceptions, behaviors, and understanding.
Companies with healthy, diverse, and inclusive cultures create environments where team members feel like they belong and can contribute. Although it is not easy to create a culture where ideas are valued, developing team members is standard practice, and becoming a place where unique skills and talents are discovered; still, there is a reward when investing in the people-side of business.
Culture plays a significant role in shifting the diversity needle and forming genuinely inclusive environments. Variation in lived experiences, lifestyles, backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures moves a business from being a one-note, lifeless box with windows into a dynamic, flexible environment where the fear of failure is minimized, risks are taken, fresh ideas are born, and cutting-edge forward movement and growth are generated within the business. Equitable, standard criteria for the development and promotion of people are a prevalent determining factor contributing to a business’s internal success.
“If your company rewards vague traits like ‘executive presence’ and ‘leadership skills’ without measurable behaviors and skills, bias is likely to creep into advancement decisions.” - Brene Brown
There is a saying that strategy and culture drive the overall success of a business - if this is true, embracing and developing the entirety of the individuals who comprise your workforce is worth the time and effort. Connection, true mentorship, coaching, and development can occur, and real strides towards a healthy, inclusive workforce culture can be made when a team’s success is founded on individual and communal development that builds both the individual and the business.
The purpose of this article is to reveal measurable steps towards shifting standards, procedures, and practices that can create a culture where individuals are valued as themselves and feel they belong. Should you want to learn more about creating a workplace culture of inclusion, the Spotify podcast “Dare to Lead” with Brene Brown and guests Jodi-Ann Burey and Ruchika Tulshyan, is a great starting point.
Embrace Being Uncomfortable
Growth is uncomfortable. Truth is uncomfortable. To get to a culture of truly embracing the individuals in your workforce, you first need to find out where you are, which means looking in the company mirror.
Are there business norms currently in place that promote inequitable promotion, reward microaggressions (or aggressions), and create an environment of imbalanced diversity of thought and expression? If so, the organic, healthy internal growth of the business has been stymied, and valuable unique perspectives have been overlooked. An environment where portions of the workforce feel inhibited to express themselves due to pressure, be it implicit or explicit in the company culture, creates an oppressive working environment. The only way to know what kind of culture has truly developed is to go on Undercover Boss or to ask your workforce.
Internal growth means listening, hearing, and working with your workforce to co-create an environment that embraces and empowers individual team members, conducive to internal and external business growth. When used correctly and paired with real action, listening is a powerful tool that can build a solid foundation for a healthy culture that embraces and includes the voices of individual team members.
Improving company culture can look like a daunting task. However, some rewards are on the other side of closing the gap.
Banish the Bias from the Top
“The barrier to people being themselves is the culture people have built (at the top) to protect themselves. We must assess how safe it is for people to be themselves. The myth is that it is the work of the individual, not the work of the leadership to create a culture where people can show up as their authentic selves.” – Ruchika Tulshyan
Vague policies and procedures on how to advance within the company create an environment of scarcity and competition due to the unknown path of advancement. This type of workplace culture rewards aggression and peacocking and stifles the voices of individuals whose input is just as valuable, just not as visible.
Clearly defined policies and procedures on how to develop and grow within the company encourage individuals to create their own path of learning that interests them and serves the needs of the business. Systems of valuable professional development give individuals an accurate gauge of where they stand and where they see themselves going. As a result, they tend to stay with the company longer.
Advancement measures that accurately evaluate the skills and qualities of individuals create a culture where individuals are recognized and valued for their developed skills and accomplishments, and when assessed within an equitable system, promotion becomes an opportunity available to all team members. When leadership teams are comprised of individuals of a singular background, the question becomes whether the business is truly interacting with the community around them or if the systems for qualifying individuals for those roles are biased.
Are you flexible enough to make room for individuals and their differences that represent portions of the population that you are unfamiliar with?
Mentor to Move Forward
“The ABCDs of sponsorship: managers must Amplify, Boost, Connect, and Defend...” - Jodi – Ann Burey
Coaching and Mentoring can come down to simply staying curious a little bit longer. Being truly curious, interested, and connected to the development path of individuals means creating a culture where people feel supported and can come as themselves with the simple requirement of committing to developing and growing daily.
Fear-based workplace actions stem from team members who are unsure of their place and whether they are accepted, belong, and measure up to the standards they have placed for themselves, no matter how inaccurate those measurements may be. Mentoring individuals on your team can create an environment where team members have an accurate representation of their work efforts and guidance and support for moving forward. Individuals who have had minimal coaching or mentorship typically start at a disadvantage in the workplace due to the lack of encouragement of others who have walked a similar path. The confidence that comes from the acceptance and belonging of being mentored into a position is a privilege not afforded to all.
Communicate to Counteract Imposter Syndrome
“It’s easier to set up a professional development program, put money into training, or to even pay for a coach or a mentor rather than think about the values, ideologies, and subsequent practices amidst the severe underrepresentation in organizations that create imposter syndrome as a mainstay.” - Dr. Kecia Thomas, Organizational Psychologist mposter Syndrome –
There is an irrational fear of being found out due to a lack of developed confidence in oneself. “Conditions that Trigger Imposter Syndrome: Underrepresentation, Microaggressions, Uncredited Work Efforts.”
Mentorship helps people leaders uncover the skills, talents, voices, and unique perspectives of the individuals on their team. As mentoring and coaching happens, team members will begin to take risks and develop themselves in the areas in which they have been challenged. It is the role of the people leader to continue to encourage advancement, regardless of setback, and amplify the successes of individuals on their team.
Mentorship is about aligning with the developmental goals of individual team members and guiding and supporting them through and to their goals. The goal of mentorship is to create a culture where a diverse workforce can come together, embrace differences, grow, and empower others at the start of their developmental journey.
Empower to Empower
Truly inclusive environments value diversity and equity at every level in the organization. The leadership capacity is not reserved for a small few at a certain level in the hierarchy. A system of team mentoring allows team members to support and encourage each other and build confidence in their skills, talents, and leadership capacity. Individuals are also more likely to see someone like themselves represented, which perpetuates a culture where team members are accepted and belong regardless of background, culture, lifestyle, or ethnicity.
Workplaces truly devoted to inclusion from the leadership down can experience the rewards of witnessing a culture of collaboration, sincere communication, and efforts to champion each other for the cause of the business’s success. Each business is comprised of the interwoven tapestry of diversity held in the identities of each individual in the workforce. The question is how, or if, you will choose to utilize the valuable commitment of individuals committed to your vision.
“Bring your whole self to work because, that way, you can bring full ideas and the wholeness of your unique abilities.” Bozoma Saint John