On Being Consciously Inclusive
Rhodes Perry, in his book, “Belonging At Work” outlines everyday actions you can take to cultivate an inclusive organization. He writes, “An inclusive leader communicates the feeling of belonging by offering their stakeholders a sense of purpose. They have the ability to connect their organization’s mission and values to those they lead, and they ignite a sense of meaning for each and every stakeholder.”
Here at SunShower, we share Perry’s perspective on the need for belonging. Everyone is familiar with the research about salary as being only one of the factors that employees consider. They also want to be valued and want to belong to the mission. What a surprise! Being valued, respected and made to feel like you belong is a head and feeling thing. It requires emotional intelligence.
As Jonathan H. Westover writes in Forbes “As we strive to become consciously inclusive leaders, I believe it is important to acknowledge that it isn’t rocket science. In fact, it is quite the opposite; often it is rather commonsense approaches that can help us be more inclusive. In large part, it is simply a matter of consistently treating yourself and everyone around you with dignity and respect.
Everything you do should demonstrate your awareness and understanding of the ambiguities, messiness and complexities of the world around you. Help those on your team understand and feel that you sincerely see them and hear them; that they are truly valued, needed and wanted; and that they have a meaningful opportunity to contribute to the organization’s successes and future strategic trajectory. Make your organization a place where everyone wants to be and where they can flourish.”
We invite you to consider our Defeating Unconscious Bias and Inclusion in Action courses – leaders can work on their own implicit biases and then learn and practice 9 skills for inclusion. The Inclusion in Action elearning course is a foundational course that can start your DEI journey, or accelerate your learning as an organization.
More From Our Blog…
Ava Duvernay on Microaggressions
Netflix is out with a new show on Colin Kaepernick’s early life, produced and directed by award-winning filmmaker Ava DuVernay. She explains what motivated her to do a story about a famous person, which is, in her own words, “not my thing”. She discusses how she got...
Shrill
You don’t have to be a keen observer of culture to notice that certain words and descriptions have become code-words to criticize and marginalize women and dismiss their ideas. To monitor how your own unconscious biases may be at play in your communications, you’ll...
“I congratulate you and your people”
In a Congressional hearing to confirm President Biden’s nominee to the 9th US Circuit of Appeals, US Senator Grassley welcomed the Honorable Lucy H. Koh by saying, “If I’ve learned anything from Korean people, it’s a hard work ethic. And how you can make a lot out of...
Allyship: Key to Inclusion?
"Remember to look for opportunities to be an upstander or ally.” You’ll often hear words like this at the end of a diversity workshop. In fact, I’ve emphasized the importance of being an ally in many of the courses I’ve produced. Dr. Derald Wing Sue, in Disarming...
Inclusive Hiring Practices
These days, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to recruit, hire and retain employees. The pandemic has shifted the goalposts for millions of people, if not relocated them to entirely new playing fields (sorry to stretch the metaphors). That’s why...
When Unconscious Bias Training Does More Harm Than Good
When I talk about our unconscious bias Workshops via Zoom or Defeating Unconscious Bias, our online e-Learning course, I always emphasize that our approach starts with raising awareness and then adds skills that everyone can practice to interrupt bias. So it was...
Death by a Thousand Cuts
What are the historical roots of microaggressions against Asian Americans? In this important article, published in “Health Matters,” psychiatrist Dr. Warren Ng lays out what microaggressions are and what its history is. The article is, unfortunately, timely because...
The Business Case for DEI: Why Organizations Fall Short
It seems like there are new articles everyday announcing an organizations’ commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion. You can see the statements on their websites. “We stand for….” or “Our commitment is to…”Many believe that creating a more diverse and inclusive...
14 things people think are fine to say at work — but are actually racist, sexist, or offensive
A recent article at Business Insider uses recent news from Salesforce to highlight the microaggressions that so many American workers face everyday. “In less than one more, two employees have publicly resigned from Salesforce, citing discrimination and a culture of...
SunShower has just released a new course based on Dr. Derald Wing Sue’s Work – Disarming Microaggressions
SunShower’s latest e-Learning course, Disarming Microaggressions, is based on Dr. Sue’s work. You can preview it by filling out the form here. When he reviewed the course, Dr. Sue wrote, “Joel Lesko and SunShower Learning have produced the gold standard of...