Why you need an inclusivity architect
Summary: A one-hour DEAI training will not create the change you’re looking for. I guarantee it. Instead, you need to design the way you lead. For this, you need more than a trainer, a consultant, or a coach. You need an architect.
The DEAI market is booming. At some level – be it for the bottom line, a moral imperative, or simply because they don’t want to look bad – leaders understand the importance of creating more inclusive workplaces.
But hang on, what does it actually mean to create an inclusive workplace?
Let’s start with what creating an inclusive space does NOT look like:
1. Putting the responsibility for change on the non-majority group. It’s not their job to make your company safer for them. It’s leadership’s job to design an environment where people from any background, of any identity, gender, race, ethnicity, can feel safe to come to work.
2. Treating inclusivity as a secondary target. Doing so makes it an afterthought that we have to fit into existing structures. If we really want to create an inclusive environment and reap the benefits, we must design our business strategy with inclusivity as a key component.
3. Wasting time, money, and energy on going for the “low hanging fruit.” That one-hour DEAI training you did some time last year isn’t going to create the change you are looking for. It’s not enough and it isn’t how change works.
Creating an inclusive environment requires taking intentional actions to design an environment where everyone feels psychologically and physically safe. Physical safety often seems obvious (we want to limit accidents, avoid physical altercations, prioritize safety protocols), but what is psychological safety? And what’s the science say about it?
In the late 1990s, Dr. Amy Edmonson introduced the concept of psychological safety as “the belief that one can speak up without risk of punishment or humiliation.” Research shows that psychological safety leads to improved employee satisfaction, engagement, creativity, learning, and performance (Frazier et al., 2017)! Sounds pretty good, doesn’t it?
If an inclusive environment is one where people feel both physically and psychologically safe, what does that look like?
It looks like…
· feeling safe to speak up and speak out
· prioritizing safety and well being
· allowing room for mistakes
· asking for help without judgment
· working as a cohesive team
· leaving room for others to share their thoughts and ideas
· feeling valued
· accepting and celebrating what makes us unique
Designing a workplace that cultivates these feelings and actions is hard and it isn’t something that occurs accidentally. You won’t just happen upon inclusivity.
You need an inclusivity architect to help you design the way you lead.
Ready to design your inclusive leadership approach or want to learn more? Let’s chat! Connect with me here.
Frazier, M. L., Fainschmidt, S., Klinger, R. L., Pezehkan, A., & Vracheva, V. (2017). Psychological safety: A meta-analytic review and extension. Personnel Psychology, 70(1), 113-165. https://doi.org/10.1111/peps.12183