TWCHG Newsletter: Vol. II, Issue. 12

I’m going to say something that might seem odd for those of us who champion inclusive workplace cultures. Here it is: People don’t go to work to belong.

It’s true. People go to work to contribute and to be compensated fairly for their contributions. However (and that’s a BIG “however”), it’s when people feel included that they give, do and achieve more—for themselves and for their company. True inclusion respects a person’s values, selfhood, ideas, experience, expertise, and even boundaries. And that type of respect is what cultivates belonging.

Hundreds of studies and white papers tout the benefits of inclusive cultures. Oxford University Press, Harvard Business Review, Catalyst, our own firm, The Waymakers Change Group, and dozens more have data illustrating the connection between inclusive cultures and increased innovation, decreased workplace harassment, improved absenteeism, as well as increases in trust and engagement, intent to stay, and something every organization wants—increased revenue.

But cultivating inclusion and belonging can sometimes be tricky. Ever heard someone at work say something like, “That’s just the way we do it here”? Some company “ways” are in fact hindrances to belonging, erecting invisible walls that nurture some people and exclude others. To help cultivate belonging in your company, consider the following:

EDUCATION, ACCOUNTABILITY AND MEASUREMENT

From unconscious bias and allyship education to more advanced workshops like shifting to a growth mindset, educational experiences can help increase empathy and reciprocity across your organization. Creating shared accountability for culture change so that everyone has DEI goals—from the CEO to individual contributors—reinforces a universal commitment to a more inclusive culture. Measuring leading indicators like participation in empathy experiences or employee resource group engagement and transparently reporting progress are also signs of investing in inclusivity. So is measuring outcomes like brand health and net promoter scores. We measure what we treasure, and those indicators reflect cultural inclusivity.

IDEA & DECISION FUNNELS

Create mechanisms to gather ideas from new people. From simple suggestion boxes to more involved design sprints. Establish think tanks of folks from all levels of the organization and charge them to solve real business problems. Not only will your solutions be better, but this will also provide greater visibility to diverse talent. Ensure feedback loops to learn from idea generation and reward great ideas with the opportunity to build the idea toward execution. The resulting ownership and buy-in feed inclusion and belonging.

ADVISORY GROUPS

Invite diverse colleagues to co-own your culture. Meet with them regularly. Ask how they’re doing, what you can do differently or better, ask how they think the rest of the organization is doing. In this way, you’ll have a deeper understanding of the hopes, fears, and frustrations within your team. Advisory groups such as this create trust, build relationships, help form and sustain new connections, and help leaders keep their ears to the ground.

BRIDGING SESSIONS

Bring teams together across differences for important conversations to build empathy and support collaboration. Bridging starts with establishing a clear purpose, then exploring the various truths represented in the room/on the team, imagining a preferred future together, and finally discussing individual needs and commitments. Bridging sessions help leaders facilitate emotionally sensitive conversations while building mutually beneficial connections within teams. Both the Building Bridges Model and The Will and the Skill tools are available at The Waymakers Change Group and can help facilitators of bridge sessions understand the various positions people might be speaking from and respond appropriately.

Friends, people do not go to work to belong. They go to work to contribute. Educational experiences that build empathy, being invited to help solve real business problems, being held accountable and then rewarded for contributing at higher levels—these are the ways we make people feel they belong and are truly part of the team. And in turn, they reward our efforts with higher levels of contribution. A win-win.

Visit our website and check out the free Waymaking tools available to you! And call us if you need help with Bridging Sessions or other ways to help all people in your organization feel they belong and can contribute to your success freely, fully and fairly.