Buddhahood and the quest for Inclusive Leadership

Buddhahood and the quest for Inclusive Leadership

In the Lotus Sutra, one of the key teachings of Buddhism which is, in fact, considered to have been expounded by Gautam Buddha during the last eight years of his life, every individual possesses within themselves the innate potential to become a Buddha and attain enlightenment in his or her present form.

A Buddha is one who recognizes and understands this truth, but also deeply appreciates that the same potential for Buddhahood exists in every other individual too. A prime condition for such recognition to take place is to minimize one’s own prejudices and doubting another individual’s potential for attaining enlightenment.

Upon closer look, we see that there are many parallels between this approach of Buddhism and Inclusion, an idea which I have introduced in another piece. The condition for effective inclusion also requires individual members to overcome and constantly challenge the biases and stereotypes they hold of diverse groups.

Here, I would like to explore the qualities a leader can cultivate to not just become inclusive, but also find their Buddhahood and operate at one’s own higher potential.

Buddha Quality of Courage:

A Buddha, first and foremost, needs to be courageous. The process of attaining Buddhahood will require one to encounter and overcome their own negative tendencies. This includes any act of behavior that hinders one from operating at a higher potential, such as laziness, arrogance, disbelieving in one’s own self, etc. This list can be quite long!

From the inclusion perspective, an individual should possess the courage to:

  1. a)     To embrace differences- the visible dimensions of diversity (gender, disabilities, age etc.) as well as the invisible dimensions (religion, sexual orientation, diversity in thought etc.)

For example, in case a leader who is very right-brained in her or his approach is publicly challenged by a team member who is left-brained, having courage as a quality will help the leader to bring on board diversity of thoughts. This can happen only if one has the courage to accept and overcome one’s own biases.

  1. b)     To accept vulnerabilities in the self as well as that of others

Examples could be admitting one does not always have all the answers all the time, or accepting that in certain situations, one has also felt discriminated against, or felt out of place in a certain context. Such kind of self-acceptance will enable a leader to accept these as normal qualities in her or his team members as well, making the way for creating trust and a learning environment for all.

Buddha quality of Compassion: 

This, to me, is at the heart of the teachings. The Buddha has immense compassion, which is the ability to accept another individual wholly and completely without judgments, and to deeply believe in the innate potential of every human being. And very importantly, once a person recognizes this, he or she will actively work on helping others learn this truth too. A Buddha is action oriented.

Empathy is much discussed quality in a business leader. Compassion is nothing but action-oriented empathy.

To understand this with an example, suppose a member on the team comes out of the closet. Rather than just accept the individual’s reality, a Buddha leader would also find ways and means to ensure that the right environment is created for the person to be authentic. This means taking active steps to influence policies, and championing the cause of inclusion within the entire organization, and not just in the immediate team.


Buddha quality of Wisdom:

This is the most interesting quality, and probably the most difficult one to practice. The Buddha is deeply aware and is able to perceive the reality of a situation. For example, the Buddha always used various ways and means to accurately present his teachings, depending on the person in front of him. It is all about having the wisdom to accurately see a problem, and find the most appropriate win-win solution.

To cite the same example as above, the Buddha’s wisdom will tell the leader that if one person has come out of the closet, there might be others too, not only in the team but in the organization too. Practicing this kind of wisdom will spur the leader into taking actions that ensure that discriminatory behaviors are kept in check.

Another example could be the case of an individual who is slow to grasp or is overtly shy in the office. An inclusive leader would have the wisdom to know that the slow person may have learning or intellectual disabilities, which are invisible. Such recognition will help the leader to engage in a constructive dialogue with the person, work with him or her by offering appropriate projects, and not simply labelling the slow person as ‘low potential’.

So in order to develop these qualities, does one have to go away to the mountains or the sea to gain the enlightenment?

Not at all. The idea is to become a Buddha in the present form.

Given below are some suggestions for developing these qualities:

  • To develop courage from an inclusion perspective, an individual can consider taking up courses or activities that will help shake off certain fears. For example, the fear of being laughed at. If dancing makes you uncomfortable, enroll for a dancing course. Seeing and experiencing oneself as the minority, of being a non-dancer amongst dancers, will help the person develop appreciation for diverse and minority groups. Or any other activities that pushes one out of the comfort zone. Only if one is able to accept one’s own vulnerabilities, can we accept the same in others too.
  • Compassion can be developed by participating in community work. Volunteering on a sustained and on-going basis for various causes will give the sense of contributing to a larger cause, which will have a spill-over effect at the workplace as well.
  • To cultivate wisdom, a leader should constantly be wearing the self-reflection hat- to consistently recognize the impact their own actions are having on their teams and the individuals they interact with. Taking the long-term view and going beyond the current situation will also help cultivate wisdom.
  • Taking solo-trips can be a very enjoyable activity to take up. This will help bring in centeredness, and the ability to enjoy one’s own company. In order to know that others also possess potential to become Buddhas, it is important for the individual to know that he or she is also a Buddha!

A common counter argument to this approach would be the lack of time to engage in these activities. However, it is critical for one to recognize that when investing in cultivating the Buddha qualities, the first beneficiary is the person himself or herself. The benefit will be two fold- of operating at a higher potential himself or herself, and secondly, encouraging others to do so as well.

So, go ahead and reflect on other ways in which you can work towards becoming a Buddha leader. Would love to hear your thoughts!

 

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Maternity Leave: The Supervisor’s Perspective

“‘When are you planning to go on your maternity leave?’ That was his first question to me!”, Nikita lamented. “I had just announced my pregnancy news, and that is all he asked me. Such an insensitive person!“ 

Each time we have conducted an insighting or a diagnostics study on gender diversity in an organisation, at least one woman has related an incident similar to this. A discussion with the supervisor, however, reveals the other side of the story. 

The new motherhood phase is one of the most challenging phases of a career woman’s life. Much has already been talked about this. 

While, of course, it is a joyous event, it also brings with it its own set of concerns and dilemmas for the mother-to-be- effectively balancing career and personal obligations, seamless integration of the responsibility of a new born into her current lifestyle, a job role that enables her to be deeply involved with the upbringing of her child while pursuing her own career aspirations, and many other similar dilemmas. 

It is but natural that a woman seeks additional support from all corners, and all the people involved in her life. A supervisor plays a very crucial role in a person’s career, and his or her support during this phase can be life-changing. Sometimes, women give up lucrative careers, post the arrival of the baby, due to the ‘perceived’ lack of support and understanding from their immediate supervisors. 

Let us just flip the coin, and hear the version of Nikita’s supervisor, Ramesh. 

“I am really happy for her. But our project will be in its most critical stage in the next few months. This will be the same time that she will be proceeding on her leave. She is playing a pivotal role in it, and her presence during that stage will become even more important for us.” 

Upon further probing, we recognized that Ramesh had recently been promoted to a Team Lead position, and was under tremendous performance pressure. The project that his team was handling was a critical one in the organisation, and its success would lead to great billing opportunity in the future. And Nikita’s role was important in it. 

“Should I hand this project over to someone else, who will be available to see the project through to its completion?” 

He was finding himself in a Catch-22 situation. Neither could he hand over the project to another employee, nor could he continue having Nikita work on it. 

Ramesh’s dilemma is real. Agreed that Ramesh could have received the news with more enthusiasm. However, in his lack of doing so, labeling him as an insensitive leader would be equally unfair.

An inclusive environment can be effectively built only when differing perspectives are recognized, appreciated and understood. In the above case, Nikita’s expectation, though valid, seems to be one-dimensional. She was very quick to judge Ramesh, and put him the bracket of ‘insensitive male’. 

Just as Ramesh is required to display enthusiasm, she should also be required to appreciate his dilemma. The success of this project would have a long term impact on both their careers. 

A supervisor has many dilemmas of his / her own upon hearing the news of a team member becoming pregnant: 

·        How will deadlines be managed in the absence of the team member? 

·        What will happen to her role while she is on the break? 

·        Will they find an equally effective replacement, even if it is for a short duration? 

·        How should work be allocated among the already stretched team? 

·        How much of the work will the supervisor have to handle in her absence? 

·        How will they balance performance expectations with care and affection during this sensitive phase? 

Some ways in which the organisation can support them through these dilemmas are: 

1.      Sensitize the supervisor and the expectant female employee on each other’s perspectives and dilemmas 

2.      Equip the supervisor with knowledge of handling delicate situations; for example, ways in which they can provide support if the female employee falls ill during a team meeting 

3.      Help the supervisor recognize ways in which they can offer additional support, such as not fixing late evening meetings, which she may find difficult to attend 

4.      Create open communication channels between employee and supervisor, to ensure that one does not build stereotypical images of the other gender

5.      Educate the supervisor on the maternity-related policies the organisation has to offer 

An organisation that is keen to build an inclusive culture can ignore neither the dilemmas of the supervisor, nor the concerns of the mother-to-be. A balanced view of both their concerns will help retain talent, especially among women employees, and sustain the inclusive spirit of the organisation.  

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Is Your Team Inclusive Intelligent

is your team inclusive intelligent

Think about it. An organisation may have great policies and initiatives to drive the diversity and inclusion agenda. However, where does an employee first experience the feeling of being included? Where does an employee have the daily experience of being part of an inclusive organisation?

It is in their immediate team.

Imagine this. An organisation-led maternity policy allows shorter duration of work hours up to a certain duration after a new mother returns to work. However, it will be lost in transit if members of her team keep making consistent calls to her for clarifications or queries, long after she has left the workplace. This will then be a great policy that is known to the returning mother, but not ‘experienced’.

And herein lies the importance of creating teams that are ‘inclusive intelligent’.

This goes beyond conducting sessions on unconscious biases or team building. In order to have a transformative impact on the daily experiences of a minority employee, certain conditions should be fulfilled at the team level.

  • The presence of a safe environment: The workplace should be a space where any individual member does not feel a loss in position on account of their difference. For example, when offering a view point largely different from the rest of the team (cognitive diversity), or when coming out of the closet (sexual diversity). In short, whatever the circumstances be, the employee needs to feel secure.
  • Deep levels of trust within team members: This means that members have to feel deeply respected for their views, contributions etc. A team that fosters trusting relationships amongst its members will actively work to be sensitive of each other’s emotions and be there to support each other. Knowing that one’s mistakes will not become a judgment of one’s potential, for example, is one such important aspect of trust within the team. 
  • High team awareness: By this, we mean that the team as a whole is highly cognizant and mindful of how it is functioning, and the impact of team dynamics on not only the individual members, but also those who are outside of it. This, in effect, means that everyone is aware of how the actions and behaviors taken individually as well as a team impacts other people. Such kind of an awareness of others shows ‘intent of inclusivity’ rather than taking on a ‘them vs us’ stance. This can be best observed during cross-functional meetings.
  • High sense of team identity: Teams take on their own personality and identities too. This, of course, is often influenced by the team leader. Some teams, for example, are considered to be supportive, some the exact opposite, and some may have the identity of being proactive. If there is dissonance here and an employee does not feel in sync with this identity of the team that she or he is a part of, it will impact their sense of belongingness, which in turn will impact inclusion.
Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Is Equal Treatment same as Inclusion

equal treatment

“I don’t understand. I treated her the same as the other members on my team. I have been giving her equal treatment!” Kumar (name changed) was obviously bewildered and visibly upset too.

His team member, Vandana (name changed), had raised a sexual harassment case against him for using extremely foul language during a review meeting.

“I even offered her to step out, should she find my language offensive. She had chosen to remain in the room. Then where is the basis for this complaint?” Kumar’s voice was rising.

A bit of a background here becomes relevant. Kumar is the Regional Sales Head of a leading FMCG company. Vandana had recently joined his team at a mid-position in sales, as the only female member of his eight member team. Kumar had expressed his reservations about hiring a female for an intensive sales role. However, her impressive track record and the organization’s commitment towards improving its gender diversity had made her the top-of-the-list candidate for this role.

“Just give her equal treatment, and you should be fine”, is the advice the business HR member had given him. Kumar had done just that, never making any distinctions between her and her male colleagues.

It was all going fine until the quarterly review meeting, during which he found that the team was woefully behind their sales targets. Aggression had always worked for him in the past, and that is the approach he had taken with his team, with a view of motivating them to work harder to achieve targets.

And it was after this meeting that Vandana had reached out to the head of the Inquiry Committee.

The committee was facing its biggest dilemma about the best way to handle the case. Kumar had not singled her out in using the language he had. Moreover, he had offered to her that she step out. In choosing to stay back, Vandana had given her silent consent on hearing swear words. It seemed to them that Vandana’s case was quite baseless. However, in wanting to be fair, she was called in to present her perspective.

Quickly moving to the next scene, Vandana’s argument:

“Yes, I was given the option of leaving the room. However, this option was offered only to me, the only female member on the team.” Seeing the bemused look on the faces of the committee members, she continued.

”His option was not an option at all. Had I chosen to leave the room, the team would have perceived me as being too sensitive. The simultaneous message I would have given is that I am not capable of sales. We have these meetings every month. Am I supposed to stay out of our review meetings every month? And moreover, he made that offer only to me. The male members were not put in the same tight spot as me”.

The committee was beginning see her point of view, but was not yet convinced that this case warranted a complaint of sexual harassment.

“The language he used made me extremely uncomfortable. And I would not want to be subjected to it again.”

Not delving deeper into the way the case was resolved, or the appropriateness vs. inappropriateness of the language used by Kumar, Vandana’s case brings up a pertinent point: that of Sameness and Equal Treatment vs Equality in the Inclusion discourse.

I find that often-times, equality is either replaced with or confused with equal treatment. This, in my opinion is almost like pretending that differences do not exist. This interchange of concepts embodies the notion of a certain standard against which sameness or equal treatment is judged. This is detrimental to true inclusion, as at one level, it seems to promote false neutrality, and at the other, it requires the minority group to either deny or attempt to minimize differences with the majority group. 

Equality is about equal access to resources, information and opportunities. It cannot be achieved by treating the minority group same or equally to the majority group. In the case above, it was against a male standard that equal treatment was being offered: if male members are okay with abusive language, then the female member should also be okay or just leave. Of course, notwithstanding that many male members may not be okay with it too.

One could say that equality would have been demonstrated had the manager accepted that his new team member was not okay with his abusive language, and tried to motivate his team in a different way this time around. Or perhaps, the male members could have been given the same option as Vandana, gender not being a case in point all. It is an assumption that all males are accepting of abusive language being used!

For inclusion to take place in its true spirit, managers should be educated about this subtle but crucial difference between Equality and Equal Treatment. In some situations, just equal treatment can be detrimental to inclusion of minorities, and a cognizance of that truth will help create better workplaces for all. 

But how can managers be more sensitive to these homogeneous and heterogeneous needs of minorities?

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
vs2

Integration Vs. Inclusion

int

“We started inclusion in our organisation long before D&I became buzz words,” Vipul said with a certain flourish. He had piqued my interest. Being a Diversity & Inclusion consultant, I was naturally curious and wanted to know more about this success story he was referring to. We were at a facilitation event, and were part of the same cohort group.

Vipul Dharawdkar (name changed) heads the Learning and Development function of an IT company, which is into services and caters to the UK and US markets primarily.

“Sounds so interesting. I would love to know more and learn from some of your best practices, especially since you say that your journey started so many years ago.” I responded. “Yes, of course. So we hired people with disabilities a few years ago, they are hearing and speech impaired. We also have a non-discrimination policy in order to ensure that in the hiring process an eligible candidate is not denied due to disabilities.”

 

“Thanks for sharing that. What roles did you hire them for?”

“There are about 4 of them at the moment, and they handle data entry.”

I smiled at his enthusiasm as he continued. “Being hearing and speech impaired, we find that they are not disturbed by the noises in the environment, and are able to concentrate as well as focus on their work.”

“What kind of career development programs does the organisation have; and have you included these four staff into the program?” I asked.

The surprised expression said it all. “Inclusion into the career development program? But they are already doing a role they are best suited for.” He explained.

It soon became obvious to me that the organisation had not yet considered that their speech and hearing impaired employees could be suited for any other role than the ones they had been hired for. Moreover, it had not yet occurred to them that additional training or developmental support could be provided to these employees that would help them explore opportunities beyond their current roles. The conversation revealed to me another very interesting element- all the hearing and speech impaired employees were being treated as one big group, with very little consideration being given to individual performance or individual career aspirations.

I could see that the words ‘integration’ and ‘inclusion’ were being used interchangeably, and interestingly, it is not the first time I have seen this take place. It is critical that a deeper understanding of the word ‘inclusion’ be built, else we are in the danger of effecting minimal impact. After all, it is inclusion that brings diversity to life. Therefore, expanding the definition of inclusion becomes critical.

Just hiring people with disabilities or a person who identities himself or herself as a transgender, and increasing the gender diversity numbers, etc. surely cannot be considered as inclusion. That is integration.

True inclusion in spirit takes place when every employee in the organisation feels that she or he or they (as some transgender members prefer to be addressed) have access to the critical processes of the organisation, information and interaction networks, feels safe to bring and exercise their individual and whole selves at work, and most importantly, feels a sense of belonging in the organisation.

Inclusion does not stop with creating job opportunities for the disadvantaged or the minority groups. In fact, that is only the first step which has to be supported equally by the policies and the culture of the organisation, surfacing the need for changing mindsets, and very importantly, addressing both the homogeneous and the heterogeneous needs of the groups. 

In the above case, for example, a non-discrimination policy exists, however, the culture does not support the ‘true’ inclusion of the four employees in question. And for that to happen, mindsets about sexualities, disabilities, or any other diverse group for that matter, will need to be tackled.

How can this happen?

To know more, do follow my upcoming articles and stories, where I will be sharing my views, suggestions and experiences in the field of Diversity & Inclusion. In the meanwhile, do leave behind your comments. It will be great to engage to in a dialogue on this topic.

 

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter
howto

How to make our Internal Complaint Committees work better

howto

“My blood is boiling!” Swapna looked like she was ready to kill someone. It was an expression that was not familiar on her face. 

“I really wish Advait would stop staring at me. It is so annoying!” She was referring to a colleague, who was not part of her team but worked in the same organisation. She shared her work space with him. “In spite of telling him, he continues to watch me all the time!”

I made an unhelpful but the most obvious suggestion that came to mind. “Tell him again. More assertively this time.” 

She gave me an exasperated look. “Well, he denied that he stares. Also it is so awkward to keep telling someone that they have to stop staring! But I feel very self-conscious when he is around, especially when I am dressed in skirts.”

“You know, if he is making you so uncomfortable, you would be within your rights to raise a complaint of sexual harassment against him- especially since you have told him to stop.”

“Really? One can raise a complaint for staring?”

I smiled. “Yes. The staring is obviously very unwelcome, so, you are within your rights to raise a complaint. If you don’t want to raise a formal complaint, you can probably unofficially speak to one of the POSH committee members in your organisation, to understand more about your rights and the various options that are available to you.”

“I will never do that!”, Swapna replied vehemently. Seeing my surprised look she said, “If you knew the committee members in my organisation, you would never suggest this. I don’t think any of them has the maturity of dealing with this. I can just see them ridiculing it.” 

This conversation with Swapna kept playing in my mind and gave me an interesting insight: While organisations have put in place a committee in place, as per the mandate of the Prevention of Sexual Harassment Act, many of them seem to have done this on paper and not in spirit. 

The Act has been put in place to provide protection against sexual harassment at the workplace, and the POSH committee is to be the facilitator of this process. However, if employees of an organisation share views similar to that of Swapna, and in case the committee members are not perceived to be someone who will help resolve issues, employees will not approach them. The very purpose of forming the committee will then be lost. In such an environment, only very serious victimization cases would be brought to light. The milder and the simpler ones will remain unnoticed, and women will continue to suffer in silence the likes of Advait and his stares! 

As per the mandate, organisations are conducting training on investigative skills for their committee members, to equip them with the ability and wherewithal to handle complains and, of course to bring the cases to a conclusion. However, not enough impetus is being given to the manner in which the investigations are carried out. 

Hence, I have listed below some characteristics that are important for ICC members to cultivate in order to create the right environment and a harassment free culture. 

  • Ability to listen with an open mind, and resolve informal complaints
  • Being approachable, and being able to put the employee at ease while discussing or recounting an uncomfortable situation or experience
  • When the harassment is not of a serious nature, being able to provide advice to the employee on the various options that are available to her or him
  • Credibility, fairness & neutrality in conducting investigations
  • Providing necessary support to all parties involved
  • Ensuring that the dignity of the complainant and the respondent remains intact, especially during the investigation process
  • Sensitivity & open mind to not admonish the respondent early on in the case, or reprimand the complainant for taking action at a late stage, or be assertive enough against the harasser
  • Tuning into Emotional Intelligence and high levels of empathy to handle emotions that may be running high on both sides

Training in counselling skills will be helpful to enable the ICC members to build on the above mentioned characteristics. Care, however, will have to be taken that the committee does not take the role of a counsellor, but only learns the skills of a counsellor: maintaining distance from the parties involved in order to make a fair and reasonable judgement of the situation, remaining objective through the process, and actively listening and responding with empathy. 

Taking such steps will make the difference in implementing the POSH Act not just on paper but also in spirit, and making the workplace a safe space for all.

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

How to make Inclusive Intelligence part of your team’s DNA

In our earlier article, we had shared the importance of building ‘Inclusive Intelligent’ teams in order to enhance the daily lived experience of employees and promote a sense of genuine belonging. 

A quick summary of the conditions that need to exist for ‘Inclusive Intelligence’: 

  • A safe environment 
  • Deep levels of trust 
  • High team awareness 
  • High team identity 

Now we are exploring some ideas on how these conditions can be created. But an important question before that: what are the circumstances in which one will feel truly included within their team? 

Of course, here I am not talking about physical inclusion, but psychological inclusion. Psychological inclusion is felt when: 

  • They are able to express their opinions freely without the fear of being judged 
  • They are able to be themselves without the pressure of trying to unnecessarily ‘fit in’ 
  • They feel proud to be part of their team 
  • They recognise that there is a larger purpose to the work they do, individually and as a team

So now that we are clear what we are aiming for, here are some ideas for us to create these circumstances: 

1) Active perspective taking and sharing

Proactive measures should be taken for people to exchange ideas and reveal their patterns of thinking. The same situation may be viewed differently by different people, depending on their individual biases and experiences. 

A few months ago, we had participated in a ‘Crossroads’ facilitation process. A problem statement was given with five options for solutions. Each participant was required to pick the solution that they thought best addressed the problem, and explain their reasons for the choice. After a few of such rounds of problem statements and sharing of ideas on solutions, patterns of thought were slowly revealed. It soon became evident that members were picking solutions either from an emotional or practical standpoint. 

While of course, differences in opinion were allowed to be shared freely and several arguments ensued, this kind of open, active perspective taking and sharing brought to the table so many different ideas. And most importantly, each member felt heard and spoke freely without any judgements being passed on their thinking process. 

2) Team Values and Individual Values

Values are a very important indicator of the way we behave and the choices we make. When the individual values are in clash with team values, it might lead to a dissonance. 

For example, if I pick independence as my topmost value, and the rest of my team picks collaboration, it is a clear indicator that my style of working is different from the others. My independence may drive me to take decisions quickly without checking with others, which may not sit well with them. Just a simple recognition of this fact can help us understand each other better. 

On the other hand, if most values are the same, then we know that diversity of thought may not really exist, leading us to have a good equation, but negatively impacting innovation. In the same breadth, too many different values in the team will have its own set of consequences. 

A really simple exercise that could have a profound impact on the team’s ‘Inclusive Intelligence’ would be to ask members to write down their topmost and least important value, followed with a discussion on how it impacts their day to day choices and behaviors. 

3) Leveraging Individual Strengths

Drawing upon Gallup’s Strengths Finder, when we are aware of the key themes of strengths that the individuals in a team possess, an environment of true trust can be created. 

From my own example, I have Strategic as my top strength and Analytical amongst the last ten themes. And the rest of my team has Analytical as the top 5. Now, when we know this about each other, all we need to do is draw upon each other’s strengths to help us fill in for the lack of it. Such an understanding can be a real game changer in team dynamics. 

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

Homogeneity and Heterogeneity: Perspectives for Inclusive Practices

HOMO

An important perspective for Inclusion champions and Inclusive management to be familiar with are the concepts of homogeneity and heterogeneity.

By simple definition, homogeneity is the quality of being similar or uniform. In D&I terms, such an understanding of homogeneity in a certain minority group helps to identify the needs of this certain diverse group, which will be completely unique to them. 

For example, maternity leaves and maternity support will be applicable only to a female employee. Or infrastructure and accessibility options will be made available to persons with disabilities. A sex re-assignment surgery leave is relevant only to a trans person.

This is the part that is easily understood. Organisations that are keen on creating inclusivity within, often begin their journey by addressing these unique needs and put in place relevant policies and support interventions.

However, oftentimes, it stops with just addressing the unique needs of the diverse group and putting them all in the same bracket.

The existence of heterogeneity within the homogeneous group is missed and even overlooked more often. Due to this, similar behavior patterns are expected from the entire minority group. For example, in case a returning mother decides to take a longer duration break from work for her child, a supervisor may conclude that all women going on a maternity leave will have a change in their priority.

Such overlooking of the heterogeneity within the homogeneous groups may be seen in statements such as:

“Geeta (fictitious name) worked right through her pregnancy and was even following up on closures while being wheeled into the labour room. I don’t see a similar commitment from Saumya. I think it will be better to find a back-up replacement for her.”

The homogeneity: women taking maternity leave. The heterogeneity: Geeta and Saumya may just have their own unique ways of expressing commitment to work and family.

Or consider this example:

“I had a gay person on my team once. And he was very creative. So, yeah, when I need creative work to be done, I will for sure be happy to hire a gay person on my team.” 

Well, obviously, the point here being that not all Gays are creative. Each person will have his own unique talents, and creativity may not be the top one. It just might be driving the bottom line!

“I hired a person on a wheel chair, believing he will be here for the long haul. But he left within six months. I am not very open to hiring people with disabilities. They just leave. And I don’t even know why.”

Can one person within a diverse group really be the spokesperson for the rest of the group? Need I go on with more examples?

The key point that I do wish to leave you, the reader, with is this: homogeneity needs to be considered to create the relevant policies. However, a pure focus on the homogeneity will impact the uniqueness of the individual, taking away their authenticity, which will in turn impact the productivity. Both need to be understood and be placed in the appropriate perspective for longer term benefits. 

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter

De-mystifying inclusion for beginners: A practical guide

DY

Globally, corporate organizations are recognising the business benefits of having a diverse workforce. Because of which, interventions and policies that support and celebrate diversity are on the rise. Participation in Pride events, observing international days dedicated to certain diverse groups, instituting non-discrimination policies and hiring targets for diverse talents are some of the ways in which organisations begin their diversity and inclusion journey. 

While well-intentioned, these activities are only the starting point. And for effective inclusion to take place, more focussed and intentional efforts are required, those that appeal both to the mind and the heart; employees have to not only ‘see’ but also feel and experience inclusion in their daily lives. 

In this article, we will explore the key concepts and ideas on how to accomplish the intended results, when it comes to inclusion. 

 

Understanding Inclusion

Inclusion can be understood as an environment where employees have equal access to opportunities and information networks, where they feel free to express their authenticity as well as have a strong sense of belonging. Interventions should be designed to appeal to both: the cognitive aspect (the seeing) as well as the emotional (feeling and experiencing). 

As shown in the image below, the stage of integration- creating opportunities and increasing workforce participation is an important step but does not naturally translate to inclusion. Often, organisations begin and stop at this stage, which makes the interventions short-term in their impact and reach. Catalyst report, the day to day experiences of workplace inclusion and exclusion, also highlights that employees feel included when they experience both a sense of uniqueness and a sense of belonging. 

 

integration vs Inclusion

To achieve this, barriers have to be removed to not only increase workforce representation but also create engaged employees. 

Here are some ways: 

  • Creating physical accessibility: Instituting policies as well as infrastructural accessibility is critical. The needs of different diverse groups should be taken into account while doing this; some of these may require only minor modifications but will go a long way. Examples of policies inclusive of but not limited to same-sex partner benefits, parental leave for male and female employees, adoption leave that is extended to same-sex partners, sex reassignment surgeries amongst others. Examples of physical accessibility include gender neutral washrooms for transgender employees, assistive technology support such as braille devices and assistive listening devices for persons with disabilities. 
  • Emotional Inclusion: This is a very important step and often the most over-looked when it comes to designing inclusive interventions. The sense of belonging comes when employees are able to foster deep connections with colleagues and do not feel the pressure to down-play or hide their authentic selves in order to avoid discrimination. Catalyst Report 2018 reports that 40% of women stay on guard in anticipation of gender bias. A UN Report titled Tackling discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bi, Trans & Intersex people reports that in the US 27% of LGBT employees who are not out said that hiding their identity had held them back from sharing an idea. To commence this journey, a good starting point would be to carry out a listening exercise that focuses on the human elements and captures the subtle biases and fears experienced. Interventions can then be designed on these stories. 
  • Creating Inclusive Leaders: A recent HBR research shows that teams with inclusive leaders are 17% more likely to report that they are high performing and 29% more likely to report behaving collaboratively. In addition to adopting and demonstrating good inclusive behaviors, an organization should also help the leaders address their specific dilemmas and offer practical solutions in handling and overcoming the dilemmas. For example, a common dilemma of a supervisor with an expectant female employee on the team is about managing the workload with an already stretched team. Giving the supervisor practical inputs on resolving this becomes critical if inclusion for both parties is to be achieved.
Demystifying inclusion for beginners A practical guide
  • Robust Communication: Employees from diverse groups often say that they are not aware of any policies within the organization that supports them. Awareness of its existence needs to be communicated, if employees are to see inclusion. In addition, constant messaging on the ideas of exclusion – inclusion and that every person experiences it at some point can be very effective in normalising the conversation. When senior leaders come out and speak about these issues and share personal stories, the narratives become much more palatable and create the way for others to speak up too. Gamification and digital platforms can be leveraged for this. 

In conclusion, inclusion requires a clear and focussed intent to transform the workplace and has to go beyond policies. Interventions should be designed to create the right environment for its employees, one where they feel free to exercise their authenticity while feeling deeply connected to the organisation. This will in turn lead to higher engagement, leading to higher productivity, which will ultimately positively impact business. 

This article first appeared on People Matters.

Facebook
LinkedIn
Twitter