Managing Workplace Diversity and Inclusion Makes Everyone Feel Valued

“Inclusion is an emotion,” said Linbert Spencer OBE of the Centre for Inclusive Leadership in a Training Journal interview focused on unpacking workplace diversity and inclusion.

I consider this idea as I chat with my 16-year-old daughter who recently started a new summer job boxing up dinners for the residents at a local assisted living facility.  “She pretends I’m invisible,” she responded when I asked about her first day and whether she knew anyone she worked with. She admitted that most of the other workers on the kitchen squad were college students or headed there. But she did know Piper, an upper classman at her high school. Piper, freshly graduated, apparently had already mentally moved on from her high school days and didn’t acknowledge or even look at her.

My daughter wasn’t particularly troubled by the treatment, accepting it as a rite of passage. But the idea of this “invisibility” struck me.

How often do we add people to our work teams who don’t feel included? Maybe it’s not so blatant as not looking at someone, but rather simply doing things that make them feel that they are not part of the conversation. That they do not matter?

 

Focus on Inclusion.

Inclusion. It’s the real point of diversity and inclusion – words that have somehow become melded together to mean that we’ve checked a box.            

For several years, organizations have been focused on diversity and inclusion. While compliance was initially driving some of the focus (with the protections it offers to nine characteristics), most have discovered that diversity is truly a benefit. At its best, when people of different backgrounds and experiences come together, they bring a greater array of perspectives, driving innovation and the accompanying financial gains.

Most of us get that.

But we continue to struggle with inclusion. In our efforts to address this, we often read that inclusion means inviting everyone into the conversation. But, Spencer points out that “invites” is the wrong word here. It gives power. Instead he believes the goal is that everyone feels free to be part of the conversation.

A Gallup report also hints at this: “In inclusive environments, individuals are appreciated for their unique characteristics and therefore feel comfortable sharing their points of view and other aspects of their true and authentic self.”

 

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What can organizations do to help employees feel included?

• Make all employees aware of unconscious biases and get that conversation started and keep it going. It’s easy to get comfortable working with, promoting or including people similar to ourselves. While awareness won’t stop the bias, it can help you build in processes to help you stay objective (even in crisis situations where we tend to fall back on habits).
• See each person as a unique individual and make him or her feel noticed, respected and appreciated. Say “hi,” get to know each person and give him or her opportunities and responsibilities (and not just as the Diversity Chairman). Check in with all individuals to see if your efforts are working. (Emotions are in the eye of the beholder.)
• Practice creating a psychologically safe workplace. Do employees feel comfortable sharing negative information, disagreement or honest feelings? If I feel that speaking up will somehow jeopardize my job, relationship or reputation, I will hesitate to be honest. Yes, that’s right, I’ll tell you what you want to hear … instead of what you need to hear.
• Get a true picture of how your own behavior appears to others. Ask a trusted colleague or friend if you appear biased. And take their words to heart. Good intentions don’t cut it.  

 

Workplace diversity is only valuable if it’s inclusive. Make sure no one feels invisible.

 

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