Are you an inclusive leader? Some advice for taking stock and then taking action
By Katherine Lewis
Cultivating a diverse workforce has always been important. But after the death George Floyd, America’s reckoning with racial injustice and inequity accelerated the need for businesses to reexamine their practices and their contribution to foster diversity, equity and inclusion.
At Lewis Rush Associates, we recognize that the strongest teams are the most diverse and inclusive. So, I wanted to share insights from my fellow LRA coach Misa Fujimura-Fanselow, based on her experience as a diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) trainer and consultant for organizations. I hope our conversation enlightens and reveals practices you can adopt right away to become a more inclusive leader.
Katherine Lewis: Can we break down the overall goals of DEI initiatives? Let’s start with diversity.
Misa Fujimura-Fanselow: The “D” in DEI is really about acknowledging that when there’s more diversity in the room, it’s a valuable experience. There is tremendous research, like this report from McKinsey and Co., showing that more diversity leads to better business outcomes because you can bring in more rich and varied voices and ideas.
In the United States, there is a tendency to use diversity as an umbrella term for people of color. But diversity is a state of being. It means not just racial diversity, but other forms of diversity – like gender diversity and ethnic diversity and people of all backgrounds creating a workforce that is not homogeneous. It’s highly contextual. Depending on your company or which part of the world you’re based, the status quo is going to look different. Each person needs to ask: What would make our workplace more diverse? That said, corporate America is overly dominated by white men. In that sense, the focus often becomes on increasing the representation of women and people of color.
Q: Can you tell us more about the equity and inclusion pieces?
A: If you have a lot of diversity in the room, but people don’t feel included or have the psychological safety to express ideas, then you miss out on actually leveraging the diversity that you have. You also have to make sure that people’s experiences, opinions and contributions are seen in an equitable way, that there are no different treatments. The goal is to value these differences and make sure there are processes and cultures set up to support that diversity.
It comes in many forms. The mom for whom a 7 a.m. meeting might be inconvenient. The employee who lives out of state whose parent is having health issues that require him to travel weekly. The Asian employee who is concerned about encountering racial discrimination on the subway as she prepares to return to the office. Inclusive leaders create team norms that facilitate honest conversations among all members.
Q: Can you share some specific tips for becoming a more inclusive leader?
A: Yes, I will share five practices to cultivate. Taking action is more straightforward than you might think.
1. Create psychological safety. Team members who feel “safe” with one another not only speak truthfully about what’s on their minds but feel like their voices are equal. One landmark body of research from Google, Project Aristotle, showed that a common thread among the most successful teams was a sense of psychological safety. To encourage it, there is nothing better than one-on-one teambuilding. Get to know each individual and what’s unique about their experience.
2. Establish team norms that value all voices. Having an inclusive environment where all voices get heard is closely tied to psychological safety. Ask yourself how you are paying attention to different voices and whether you are paying attention to them in the same way. In Zoom meetings, leverage chats or breakout rooms to make sure that extroverts and introverts can all feel heard. Suggest pausing for five minutes so people can collect their thoughts or take notes. Think about different tactics to use when leading meetings to create those norms.
3. Call out imbalances. Something that is often brought up in conversations about gender dynamics in corporate America is that a woman makes a comment and is dismissed, and then five minutes later a man says the same thing, and everyone thinks it’s a great idea. That type of experience can be really jarring, especially when no one acknowledges that the group, unintentionally or not, essentially dismissed their comment. To be an inclusive leader, you not only must amplify the voices of everyone but call out those situations when someone’s input is minimized. You don't need to agree with everyone but to create an environment where everyone feels like they can be heard and acknowledged.
4. Think about what’s missing. Leaders need to think about what voice or perspective is missing from the room. You can even ask the group when you’re engaged in discussions to pause and think about what’s not being said, so different perspectives can be represented.
5. Do regular check-ins and demonstrate empathy. Part of creating psychological safety means establishing routines so that employees feel comfortable sharing things at work and outside of work that are impacting them. Being an inclusive leader means thinking about things that employees may be carrying, and directly asking how they’re doing. They could have family members with serious health issues or be struggling with caregiving burdens. A Black employee might walk in one day hurting over a police shooting, or an Asian employee might feel distressed about recent violence. When it feels like everyone else is business as usual, it can be really isolating. As a leader, you don’t need to make assumptions, but you can say hey, I’m here if you need time and space this week. The point is to recognize that what people share or show up with is not all there is.
Q: What’s a common mistake that can prevent leaders from being more inclusive?
A: Sometimes managers shy away from giving negative feedback to people whose identity is different from their own for fear of offending them or being seen as racist, sexist or homophobic. That actually hurts those employees’ professional experience because they don’t get the same chance to improve their development areas as other employees. If you don’t provide the same level of feedback to people, you aren’t being equitable as a leader, because you aren’t treating your employees the same.
Q: In conclusion, how can leaders recognize their blind spots and create a more equitable and inclusive workplace?
A: First, think about how you respond to different team members. If so-and-so speaks, do you tend to automatically agree, but when someone else speaks, do you automatically question them? What biases do you have toward your team members? What biases do they have toward each other? Each member of the team needs to ask themselves: When I speak, what do I expect to happen? Then ask the same question about everyone else. What do I expect when so-and-so speaks?
Another thing to consider is the style in which people like to be heard. Certain people may need more time. If I don’t hear from them right away, let me make a conscious effort to ask their thoughts before the meeting ends. Ask each team member what would make them more comfortable in a group environment.
Leaders should be constantly seeking feedback from everyone. Admit missteps and be willing to show your human side. Sometimes your intention was to do the “right” thing, but it didn’t land that way. Also, model vulnerability. If you’re feeling a little distressed before a big meeting, or something in your personal life is impacting you, don’t be afraid to say it out loud. That goes a long way, because it shows people they have the freedom to express their experiences too.