Handout of Key Concepts

Prepared by: Elizha Corpus from the webinar-workshop on Zoom, April 21, 2020

Leading with Inclusion

(2 of 3 in a series of webinar-workshops on Managing Virtual Teams )

I. The “business case” for inclusion – why this matters in a crisis and in our virtual
way of working

What is Diversity & Inclusion

 Diversity = “a mix: differences in gender, ethnicity, ability, sexual orientation, faith,
age, weight, height, etc.” (Yates, & Sachdev, 2016)
o The aim in measuring diversity is to reflect the groups from the wider
population
 Inclusion = “how diversity plays out and is managed. It is about how much people feel
included and part of something” (Yates, & Sachdev, 2016)
 Think of a house…
o Diversity says, “You’re welcome!”
o Inclusion says, “You belong!”

Why do we talk about Inclusion NOW?

Because this is something we can tie to Culture Transformation. Our present condition is
primed for Culture Transformation to take place in many organizations.

Conditions for Culture Transformation

There exists in the organization a…
1. Need to change systems, processes, and structures
2. Push to shift behaviors and mindsets
3. Threat that becomes the case for change

These are all existing in our current situation. The Enhanced Quarantine Measures forced
organizations to adapt work from home practices. This created a need to change systems,
processes, and structures to allow for virtual work. This also pushed employees and leaders to
shift their behaviors and mindsets to adjust to the new way of working. The importance of
safety is suddenly in the forefront and this too is changing behaviors and mindsets (ex.
people are mindful of social distancing, washing their hands, not shaking hands, etc). The
threat that is creating a case for change is also one that is grave. The pandemic is happening
worldwide. This created a unique situation in that EVERYONE is experiencing the same threat
and are looking for the same interventions.

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A full-blown Culture Transformation initiative is not the goal for this period. Many companies
are still in “survival mode”. However, we recommend anchoring your initiatives to something
bigger than just “surviving”. By paying attention to Culture Transformation now, you are
planting the seeds for future initiatives. This also enables you to tap into the purpose, values,
and future needs/wants of the organization so that your recommended solutions will be
consistent, aligned, and relevant to the organization and its employees.

FOR NOW, we can do the following to transform our culture:

1. Have a narrative
2. Set agreements for only essential processes/systems, and behaviors & mindset
changes
3. Be the source of safety that counteracts the threat

Practicing Inclusive Behaviors is your MOST USEFUL TOOL when it comes to trying to
do all these steps that you can do for now to transform your culture.

Why is INCLUSION your most useful tool?

Because this is directly tied to our feelings of safety.
o It feels unsafe to be excluded
o Social pain (being excluded) is equal to physical pain (Azab, 2017)
o The same areas of the brain light up when we are hurt physically and when
we are hurt by exclusion
o This is from a study done by UCLA scientists. “To induce social pain in
participants as they remained still in the fMRI scanner, the researchers had
them play a Cyberball computer game, tossing a virtual ball to other players.
The participant was sometimes included in the Cyberball game and other
times excluded — similar to being rejected from a social group. And in fact,
being excluded from the game was associated with increased activation in
the dACC (dorsal anterior cingulate cortex) and the AI, the very same areas
involved in physical pain. Similar results have since been shown in other
studies conducted in different labs. How did the researchers know that
participants felt rejected when they did not get the virtual ball? They asked
them; and the stronger a participant felt social pain (e.g., "I felt
meaningless"), the greater the activity in the brain areas associated with the
affective component of physical pain. This positive correlation between
greater activity in the dACC and/or anterior insula and greater self-reported
social distress in response to social exclusion was also found in subsequent
studies.” (Azab, 2017)

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What is the relationship between inclusion, safety, and organizational success?
 When people feel safe, they can perform and learn better.
 Increased safety perception creates the conditions that allow for sustained/higher
performance outcomes and allow for organizational learning to happen
 “Organizations are much more likely to be innovative in the face of this crisis if they
seek input from a diverse group of employees who approach problems from a variety
of perspectives.” (Tulshyan, 2020)
 When there is an increased feeling of inclusion, there is also a higher perception of
safety (both physical and psychological). This leads to more openness for learning.
Organizational learning creates opportunities for creativity & innovation to thrive.
Especially in our current situation, we need companies and their employees to be
creative and innovative to figure out what the appropriate next steps should be to
deal with this current pandemic and all the future challenges that will come.

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II. The most pressing concerns in our Philippine setting

III. Inclusive Practices we can try with our own teams

What “stops” us from being inclusive?

 Most people do not intentionally avoid being inclusive. What happens is that our
stress and busy-ness lead us to automatic thinking. We sometimes let our biases get
in the way because of the stereotypes that are embedded in our brains.
 We have 2 ways our brains form thoughts (Kahneman, 2011)
o System 1: Fast, automatic, emotional
o System 2: Slow, deliberate, more rational
 Heuristics “built in” our brains shortcut our thinking

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What can we try to help us be more inclusive?

Use a mental model. As you practice this, it becomes more and more natural for you.

FOR NOW, what is the most realistic way to practice inclusion?

Use your VIRTUAL MEETINGS. We are all in meetings so much during any given week.
Especially now that we are all virtual, there’s lots of people still adjusting and trying to adapt.
You can use this as an opportunity to practice being sensitive to the individualized needs of
the people around you.

What are some things to try to have more inclusive meetings?

 If they don’t have the right equipment or working conditions – PREPARE SPECIAL
ACCOMMODATIONS
o No laptop… use phone to call in
o No Zoom/MS Teams/etc… set up some team calls on Viber or other lower-
bandwidth apps
o No reliable internet…
o Make sure you have good note-takers during meetings to update
them after
o Make sure you get their opinions/questions before the meeting
o Set up asynchronous working documents (ex. GoogleDocs, Sheets,
OneDrive files, etc)

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  Before the meeting…
o Identify clearly the outcome of the meeting to ensure you know who NEEDS to
be there
o Send invites at least 1 week in advance (especially for REQUIRED meetings)
o Include grace periods when you schedule
o Send out the agenda before the meeting (at least 2 days)
o Make it possible to gather questions and comments (ex. Through
GoogleDocs, email, etc)
o Provide guide questions as prompts (ex. “What came to your mind
when you read this announcement?”)
o For any meetings that are more for bonding, make it optional
o If using tools/apps, send instructions beforehand
o As much as possible, give people a heads up if they will be asked questions
 During the meeting…
o Create room for silences
o Assign roles (ex. Note taker, Time Keeper, Vibes Watcher, Promise Tracker, etc)
o Using camera is a best practice
o But, allow people to do what works for them in order to join the
meeting
o As much as possible, do a Check-in before beginning
o Before beginning, set norms (ex. It’s okay to ask questions throughout, just
interrupt, etc)
o Guide the content (ex. Use a “Journey” slide)
 After the meeting…
o Post the notes somewhere everyone can access
o Encourage people to leave comments or questions on the notes
o Follow-up with your team. Ask:
o What did you like about how we conducted the meeting?
o What could have been done better?
o What would have helped you to participate and engage more
comfortably?
o Is there anything you wish you could have shared but forgot or didn’t?

For more detailed guidelines on conducting virtual meetings:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1XrOnGIhebiEYCuE4Ze14vswwqjNdcFwc

For a decision map on what kind of virtual meeting you should have:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1YCedeAelkRw6x6snPSV8ZGQo_88e9HWK

For tools that can enhance your meeting experience:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=19qb0sJjika5yOORLyrCoe2SFUuvIqXAQu3bpkTF6n4Y

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References

Azab, M. (2017). Is social pain real pain?. Psychology Today. Retrieved from
https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/neuroscience-in-everyday-life/201704/is-
social-pain-real-pain.

Bourke, J., & Espedido, A. (2020). The key to inclusive leadership. Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/03/the-key-to-inclusive-leadership.

Brown, K. (2018). To retain employees, focus on inclusion — not just diversity. Harvard Business
Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2018/12/to-retain-employees-focus-on-
inclusion-not-just-diversity.

Friedman, S., & Westring, A. (2020). How working parents can support one another. Harvard
Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-working-parents-can-
support-one-another?ab=hero-subleft-3.

Heath, K., & Wensil, B. (2019). To build an inclusive culture, start with inclusive meetings.
Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2019/09/to-build-an-
inclusive-culture-start-with-inclusive-meetings.

Jain-Link, P., Taylor Kennedy, J., & Bourgeois, T. (2020). 5 strategies for creating an inclusive
workplace. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2020/01/5-strategies-for-creating-an-inclusive-workplace.

Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Macmillan.

Sumitani, A., & Holtom, B. (2020). Top 10 employee COVID-19 concerns every leader needs to
understand. TINYpulse. Retrieved from https://www.tinypulse.com/blog/top-10-
employee-covid19-concerns.

Tulshyn, R. (2020). How to be an inclusive leader through a crisis. Harvard Business Review.
Retrieved from https://hbr.org/2020/04/how-to-be-an-inclusive-leader-through-a-
crisis.

Yates, C., & Sachdev, P. (2016). Rewire: a radical approach to tackling diversity and difference.
Bloomsbury Publishing.

Connect with Elizha Corpus on LinkedIn:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/elizhacorpus/

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