Every Day Inclusion (Every Day): the Surprising Impact!
If I were to offer you a solution to the following list of Workplace Challenges, would you believe it were possible by adopting 1 Mindset and 4 Behaviours?
A Solution to:
The Quiet Quitting,
Dramatically increase Innovation,
Increasing Wellbeing and Mental Health.
A way to:
dramatically increase Employee Satisfaction and Customer Service,
increase Team Effectiveness and Effort,
significantly reduce Discrimination and/or Harassment.
These are the outcomes The Diversity Council of Australia (DCA) has once again confirmed, are the business outcomes and human impacts of an Inclusive Workplace.
Where do I begin, to reap these substantial rewards?
DCA confirm there are 3 elements which each play a unique role in creating an Inclusive Workplace experience:
The Organisation
The Leader
The Team
Organisations need to create the structural foundations for Inclusion, with equitable and fair workplace policies and practices for everyone equally.
Leaders create the day to day workplace experience which enables everyone equally to contribute their unique skills and perspectives.
Teams are the biggest contributor to the all important questions:
Interestingly DCA finds organisations and teams are more inclusive than managers. (40%, 49% & 31% respectively)
Herein lies the BIG OPPORTUNITY!
What do Leaders need to Do Differently?
McKinsey recently made the observation, “The more collaborative our work, the more opportunities we have for interactions that make the workplace feel inclusive or not.
We think there’s a whole new tranche of ideas… based on the team environment”.
During my time at global tech company, SAP, working as an integral member of the small business and leadership transformation team, I learned the power of modern collective leadership over the traditional command ‘n control style.
There’s a fundamentally different mindset and skillset between the two.
Over 4 years I personally asked hundreds of leaders what impact a modern leader had on their personal and professional outcomes - and the answer was always consistent:
the ability to increase their impact at work by a multiple of 2.
So profound was the realisation, (together with the positive impact on the Leader’s own personal wellbeing), it was sufficient motivation to take conscious steps to become a modern leader fit for our times.
DCA’s research has further expanded on this data set, and so I ask YOU - what would it mean if YOU could:
double the output and impact in your team?
increase innovation 10x and customer connection 6x?
increase retention 4x and engagement 10x?
increase wellbeing 4x & belonging 1.5x?
Would that be sufficient reward for you to commit to learning how to become an Inclusive Leader?
What do Inclusive Leaders do Differently?
During lockdown in 2020, I had the opportunity to research deeply and widely on this very topic and what I discovered was surprisingly simple:
1 Mindset and 4 Leadership Behaviours make an outsize difference to increasing innovation and performance, wellbeing and belonging.
Assess your Appetite for Change in 2022
The upcoming holiday season is an opportunity to farewell what has been an incredibly challenging year, and begin to consider how you might make 2022 an opportunity to regroup and recommit to creating a New and Better Normal - for us all.
May I suggest asking yourself these 5 simple questions over the break?
Am I an Explorer or an Expert?
Am I the smartest person in the room with all the answers (unconsciously excluding the deep well of valuable intelligence in my team), or do my team collectively have the ability to outsmart me?
Who am I Connecting with in my Team?
With whom do I need to set aside my Conscious or Unconscious Biases and connect with equally - to ensure they feel safe to contribute their unique experiences and perspectives at work?
Am I Asking or Telling?
What is the impact on commitment and contribution when I ask great questions vs. giving great answers?
Are we ALL Collaborating and Contributing equally?
Who am I hearing from less because they do not feel safe to bring their unique skills, experiences and perspectives to our biggest challenges?
How Safe is it to Challenge the Status Quo in our Team?
What am I not hearing? What opportunities might I be missing out on? What is the potential impact of this enforced silence?
If you’d like to reap the power of the material personal and professional rewards Inclusive Workplaces offer in 2022, as an Inclusive Leadership and High Performance Teams specialist, I can act as your guide.