Inclusion Part 2: Communicating Virtually in an Inclusive Culture

In our first blog Driving a Virtually Inclusive Culture , we explored our passion for leaders to pay extra special attention and focus on inclusivity, right now, when we are physically separated and working virtually. The challenges of inclusion and diversity do not go away just because the working landscape has shifted to be virtual. In fact, they become more difficult. We challenged our readers to absorb the concepts of two great books, The Loudest Duck – Moving Beyond Diversity While Embracing Differences to Achieve Success at Work by Laura Liswood, and The Fearless Organization – Creating Psychological Safety in the Workplace for Learning, Innovation, and Growth” by Amy C. Edmondson. We examined the books’ synergistic concepts around the organizational and cultural dynamics that hinder inclusiveness, and how leaders must create an environment where people are comfortable speaking up, which is critical to gaining the true value of business inclusion and diversity of thought. We also spent time looking into our past work lives to delve into authentic examples of how communication and leadership styles and approaches can positively or negatively affect your company’s inclusive culture, which you can listen to in our Podcast.

Now that these concepts have been identified, we would like to thrash out, in a little more detail, the importance of communications. We all understand that communications are critical, but what are the possible barriers, opportunities and actions we can take to be inclusive and diverse in this new virtual working environment?

Due to COVID-19, we have shifted how we communicate and not by choice. Citing “The Loudest Duck”, there is always a dominant group, the elephant, and a non-dominant group, the mouse, in every virtual engagement. As such, everyone brings with them their unconscious biases, their ‘Story’. The elephants are not necessarily in their comfort zone, now, and the mice are not able to rely on their usual observations to gauge the elephant’s behavior. And relative to their unconscious biases, during this time, there will be a lot of ‘stories’ that people will surface and newly create as a result of this new reality of virtualness.

When it comes to communication, inclusive behavior is just harder right now

Inclusive behavior is much more difficult remotely, because you cannot always see or sense the body language in the room. This is a valid concern. However, our technology is much more advanced today, making remote communications with high integrity not only possible but highly effective. As we use technology in our current virtual world, there is a need and an opportunity to integrate certain practices for inclusivity. Here are some recommended inclusive actions:

1. Schedule check-ins:Organize a daily routine as a group or with individuals to set the tone for the meeting and inquire if there is anything to address or take on that is impacting the team.
2. Inquire with individuals you don’t know very well:Use this time to get to know people and what makes them tick, what they are motivated by and passionate about. You will learn that there are many things about this person that you never knew and never would’ve known, had you not inquired with deliberate intent.
3. Listen and provide opportunities: Connect people to opportunities of inspiration. Create diverse teams with different skillsets to achieve goals that your organization hadn’t considered before. Don’t allow the elephants to drive the path forward but provide a platform for all to be heard and included. Purposefully include the mouse in your team’s collaboration.

Communication can mean different things to different people

We all know that communication (style/approach/frequency/etc.) is an aspect that could either promote or hinder inclusiveness. However, there is an opportunity to bring people together with the intention to provide clarity in expectations, define purpose and connect people to possibilities based on their passions, which was learned from the check-ins and inquiries from individuals. Here are some recommended actions:

1. Provide training and virtual learning to enhance inclusiveness:There will be people with different levels of knowledge on utilizing virtual platforms. Now that this is an expectation, people will have a variety of acceptances and possibly fears to this new request based on their ‘stories’, and understandings. If possible, utilize a current employee to share knowledge and conduct the training. Have clear expectations for inclusive team participation.
2. Create connectedness and moments for sharing: Not all virtual meetings have to be solely on organizational tasks. Schedule time for people to share, connect, and have general conversations in bigger groups or one on one.
3. Seek out what others are doing at this time around communication: Specifically seek individuals willing to explore what other organizations are doing within or have done in their organizations to ensure team success. No need to reinvent the wheel.

Communicate with transparency and be inclusive. What does success look like?

This is a time of uncertainty, not only at work, but at home. Everyone is impacted by COVID-19 in one way or another. There are fears of the unknown. What success looked like two weeks ago, may not be what it looks like now. Therefore, transparency is key with the absolute need for overcommunications. Opportunities clearly exist in this current reality shift to a virtual working environment and inclusivity of people’s differences will play a big role in capitalizing on these opportunities. Here are some recommended actions:

1. Be humble and dig deeper: Host conversations with truth and honesty about the current state of the organization. Declare what is needed from individuals. Share ways to make it happen. Ask everyone in your team to take this stance as well.
2. Be inclusive on what we are willing to do for the best of everyone: Elephants and mice together; what are we willing to give up or contribute to keep everyone engaged? This means knowing everyone’s needs, possibly economic or non-economic, balanced with the strategy of the company and looking outside the norms.
3. Generate thoughts to drive the future: Ask the question, when all of this is over, what do we want our people to say and feel about our organization? Do we want people to look back and say, “Man, they really took care of us; I really felt appreciated and included; I will work here forever?” Where does our character lie in how we handled this?

Clearly, these times are unprecedented and not “business as usual.” The lack of normalcy has people fearful of the unknown. However, there is also opportunity to set the stage for a culture where everyone is heard and included, where walls of the old (the way we have always done it) are torn down and organizations can foster a culture of new.

Please check out our Podcast and stay tuned for our future blog on Leadership in an Inclusive Virtual World.