It’s ingrained in all of us to want to be understood. I learned about unconscious bias last year, but this is much deeper. Seek to understand before being understood.Īs leaders, we have a long way to go to seek to understand before being understood. By focusing on inclusivity, I believe we can all come together and help each other in times of need to become a truly global community where we support each other and embrace each other for who we are. We need to embrace this diversity among us. I didn’t know much about my freedom of voice and had learned to suppress my own feelings and not hurt others’ feelings - but at the cost of my own emotional health.Įach of us is differently abled, and this is our superpower. Personally, I’m fortunate to have a loving family, friends and co-workers to support me through my healing from stress and anxiety. We are in a global workplace today, so how do we overcome challenges and stop comparing ourselves to others? How can we, as leaders, help our team members to be their own true selves? Stop comparing to others, and embrace being different. It’s amazing when different perspectives come together to build a product or solution that is inclusive, that genuinely cares about the user at their level. What we see or hear may not be the truth, so take the time to learn and understand. Listen and allow your employees to vent or ask for advice or brainstorm together. We need to focus on not only solving a problem but asking what help is needed. It’s not “disability.” It’s “differently abled.”Īs leaders, we need to be more compassionate and practice empathetic listening. It opened my eyes to see that disability is a superpower. I was lucky to experience a virtual event that focused on breaking down barriers. Everyone is struggling with something, and at work, we need to respect each other’s boundaries. We tend to judge each other so quickly and so fast. The University of Michigan published a great explanation of diversity, equity and inclusion (DE&I): “Diversity is where everyone is invited to the party equity means that everyone gets to contribute to the playlist inclusion means that everyone has the opportunity to dance” According to one report (download required), “For every 100 men promoted and hired to manager, only 72 women are promoted and hired.” Equity is also a value companies need to place focus on. When I started to learn more about D&I, I learned there is a third friend: an “E,” which stands for equity. As stated by Built In, “Not only is inclusivity crucial for diversity efforts to succeed, but creating an inclusive culture will prove beneficial for employee engagement and productivity.” There are many companies investing in D&I at the workplace today - not just because of the benefits diversity and inclusion can bring to a workforce, but also because it’s the right thing to do.
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Roberson that states, “Diversity focuses on organizational demography, whereas inclusion focuses on the removal of obstacles to the full participation and contribution of employees in organizations.” There is good research on diversity and inclusion (D&I) by Quinetta M. Ask yourself why this is the way it is, and don’t be afraid to change things. I think you will be surprised by how much better the conversation will go and how much more connected you will feel at the end of it.We need to be mindful of the questions we ask candidates in a job application, and not only ask because we have always done so. Listen with the hope of really understanding your partner. What are the needs being expressed? Is there more they want to share? Why is this important to him/her? I would recommend, even just once this week, giving it a shot. So instead of always listening so you can be heard, listen to actually hear your partner. After years and years of this, it can be hard to find our way back if we feel the person isn’t safe to share with. This results not only in a lot of conflict but also in disconnect because individuals perceive opening up as an invitation to be hurt. How you feel is important but if you set up the habit of both people always prioritizing their own feelings over their partner’s, neither person gets heard. How often are we listening only to craft our own response? How often, in your relationships, have you reacted before really getting the full story? Understanding someone takes patience and requires an investment in asking questions and, honestly, often biting your own tongue. He believes communication is the most critical skill we need in order to be successful and in many ways I agree. Stephen Covey first wrote about this in his 7 Habits of Highly Affective People.
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