Belonging in the Workplace

Managing diversity and inclusion in the workplace requires more than declaring intent to be more diverse and inclusive. It involves best practices in communication, hiring, delegation, collaboration, creativity, policies, and feedback. Moreover, diversity and inclusion requires understanding; we must embrace other viewpoints and experiences to work toward common goals, which sometimes can make us uncomfortable. Embracing discomfort with an honest goal of fostering inclusive and diverse workplaces better equips organizations to innovate and evolve with manageable complexity. Often, that understanding starts with leadership. The authors of Cultural Intelligence write, “Any group requires good management support, such as material resources, relevant information, and psychological support in the form of goodwill and respect. Cross-cultural groups especially need managers who respect cultural difference and appreciate the potential of diversity to improve the organization’s creativity and performance.” The commitment of managers will determine whether diversity and inclusion take hold or remain nothing more than buzzwords. How do you manage diversity and inclusion? ‪Managing Diversity and Inclusion‬‏ Even still, many leaders talk the talk when it comes to diversity and inclusion, but too few walk the walk. ... Focus on these strategies to start effectively managing diversity and equality within your company. Connect with your employees. ... Set collaborative expectations. ... Keep giving feedback How do you maintain diversity and inclusion in the workplace? To that end, here are six practical strategies for creating an inclusive environment. Educate Your Leaders. ... Form an Inclusion Council. ... Celebrate Employee Differences. ... Listen to Employees. ... Hold More-Effective Meetings. ... Communicate Goals and Measure Progress. What makes a good diversity and inclusion manager? Diversity and inclusion managers can expect to be responsible for the following: Creating and running training sessions on diversity and inclusion. Having an awareness of people's difficulties and helping them overcome these. Being a strong communicator, leader and having interpersonal skills.