Nurture Inclusion and Belonging
Welcome to April!
Since January, I have elaborated on each of the “Six Tips to Elevate Your Leadership & Retain Talent”, a free resource you can download from our home page.
In March I shared tips on how to “Advance Your Reputation”. This month we will explore how to “Nurture Inclusion and Belonging”.
Inclusive leadership is critical to business success. The foundation to inclusive leadership is treating others with fairness and respect. When individuals feel their uniqueness is known and appreciated, they feel valued and a sense of connectedness. In other words, they feel a sense of belonging.
Inclusive leaders create the conditions for high performing teams when they foster a culture of trust where individuals have confidence to speak freely and are empowered to make decisions. Nurturing inclusion and belonging inspires individuals to show up as their whole selves and do their best at work.
Let’s explore these tips further.
1. Invest In Meaningful Engagement With Others Beyond Roles
Investing time in building relationships shows you value others and helps to build trust. Make it a point to greet your team members with genuine enthusiasm and create space to engage in conversation to get to know them personally.
Remember meaningful information they shared with you (i.e., family member updates, milestones, challenges) to follow up with them at a later time. This demonstrates you are genuinely interested in them and their well-being, and that you care.
Be intentional about reaching out to them to check in, without focusing your conversation on work.
Protect your 1x1 time. This is an opportunity to deepen your relationships. Help them grow as people, beyond professionals.
2. Demonstrate Empathy By Actively Listening With Interest And Support
The easiest way to access empathy is through active listening. Your role is to be present, observe, and read body language.
While it is tempting, do not try not to control the conversation. Instead, create a safe space that allows others to speak openly without feeling judged. This is your opportunity to focus on understanding.
When there is a pause in the conversation, repeat key aspects of the conversation to confirm or clarify your understanding. A statement like “I heard you say…” followed by “Is that correct?” shows them you are actively listening and are focused on them.
Imagine yourself in their position and how they are experiencing their day.
Wrap up the conversation showing support by asking how you can help and offer to meet for a follow up conversation if you do not have regularly scheduled 1x1s.
3. Embrace Strength In Differences And Create Space For All To Speak Freely
Diverse backgrounds, perspectives and experiences drive creativity, innovation, problem solving, and better decisions. As leaders, you model the behavior that influences the culture in your organization that others will emulate.
Practice person first language, which describes someone by their individuality rather than defining them by their identity. For example, "a person with a disability" instead of "a disabled person”. This emphasizes humanity, promotes inclusivity, and acknowledges and respects a person's identity while avoiding stereotypes or assumptions.
Acknowledge their uniqueness rather than making assumptions or generalizations based on someone’s identity. Take the time to be curious, listen, and understand their individual story. Respect their preferred pronouns, names, and cultural practices. Create a safe space where everyone feels seen and heard, and has the opportunity to contribute to the conversation and share their perspectives. Pay attention to implicit stereotypes, similarity-attraction bias, in-group favoritism, and groupthink and address, where appropriate.
Now what?
Recognizing diversity, creating space for inclusion, managing equity, and fostering a sense of belonging leads to a psychologically safe team culture. The outcome is better teamwork, more innovation and creativity, and learning and growth mindset, leading to higher team performance. Practicing these tips will help to nurture inclusion and belonging.
Next month we will learn how to “Motivate and Inspire Your Team”. I look forward to diving into this topic further with you. Until then, be well and keep shining!
We at Cultivate and Thrive help women leaders by providing guidance on strategy and culture so that they gain clarity, work smarter, improve experience, and optimize their organization’s performance. Book a call so we can learn more about you and how we can elevate your organizational culture and performance.
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