Making Inclusive Intelligence part of your team’s DNA

Making 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 & 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 differently 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 kind of an understanding can be a real game changer in team dynamics.

In the next installment, I will explore the idea of team dynamics further by delving into Team Identity and the Individual Identity. If there are any other topics you would like me to focus on, let me know!

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 just 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. In the next installment on this topic, I have shared some ideas on how the above conditions can be created to make ‘Inclusive Intelligence’ part of every team’s DNA. Do check them out & let me know your thoughts.