But Have You Built an Inclusive Culture?,”

 Tue 07 Sept 2021

An Inclusive Team Acknowledges Differences and Similarities

​​It’s one thing to build a diverse team. It’s another to build an inclusive one. To effectively do the latter, you must recognize people's similarities and differences, both of which are essential to building strong, meaningful relationships at work. 

We each have a collection of characteristics, which includes observable attributes (like gender identity and race), less observable but well-known attributes (like functional expertise), and invisible attributes (like personality types and value systems).

(1)  Don’t make the mistake of trying to just emphasize what everyone has in common. Pretending that differences don’t exist is a surefire way to make people feel excluded. 

(2) Instead, create climates that encourage differences to come out.

(3)  At the same time, work to uncover common ground. Similarity and shared interests are the bases for close relationships.

(4)  And commit to having difficult conversations instead of avoiding them. 

These conversations, while difficult, will enable your team to discover and respect each other's differences and discover surprising common ground — the foundations of trust and inclusion.

This tip is adapted from “You’ve Built a Racially Diverse Team. But Have You Built an Inclusive Culture?,” by Jill Perry-Smith