Igniting Authentic Collaboration
Strengths-Based Leaders and Inclusive Teams…
And Creating the Space to Talk
If you want to create a culture of inclusion and belonging, you must first create a safe space for candid conversations. In the absence of this intentional space, erosion of trust will follow. There will be very little authenticity in the environment.
“People are unaware that their differences are keeping them from being effective and having a fruitful conversation about difficult things. If you are not creating space for dialog, you cannot have an inclusive culture.” –Dr. Billy Vaughan, Executive Director of D.E.L.A.
The quote above is what compelled me to attend the 2019 Inclusion & Belonging conference, put on by The Diversity Executive Leadership Academy (D.E.L.A.), and led by Dr. Billy Vaughan himself. It was transformative.
Here’s what I mean…
The work I have been doing for the last five years as a Strengths-based Leadership Coach and Facilitator to leaders, teams, and organizations has been complementary and parallel to the efforts of diversity and inclusion training. It was time to combine them.
But first, we need to be able to talk about this topic, openly, candidly.
Here’s something interesting — Diversity & Inclusion work is evolving into Inclusion & Belonging. This is a big deal.
Language ignites unconscious perspectives, beliefs, and emotions. “Belonging” sounds like the right word, from a linguistic perspective, to take D&I work to the next level.
But, the word “inclusivity” does not speak to the desperate human need to belong that we all have.
A person may be “included,” but still not feel like they belong.
And is it possible to truly feel like you ‘belong’ and make meaning from being a part of a workplace environment?
Does that constitute the kind of emotional membership or belonging that comes from being part of a vibrant church or neighborhood or culture?
Leading up to the CDP training, I had been asking myself, what good is it if I facilitate breakthroughs of unconscious barriers to better collaborate and communicate via strengths-based Leadership and teams if there are unaddressed biases and beliefs still in the way?
I began to recognize there are other, equally important conversations that need to happen to create social connectivity, coherence, and authentic collaboration.
What if we sought to have ALL the conversations necessary to create social coherence and collaboratively achieve results?
Addressing whatever is in the way of achieving next-level diverse, resilient, and authentic whole-self leaders and teams motivated me to join the ranks of diversity professionals.
As a Gallup Certified Strengths Coach and Culture Consultant, I have seen how individual biases connect to our genetically coded behavior patterns, called “talents themes” by Dr. Don Clifton’s renowned CliftonStrengths assessment (known as the father of Strengths Psychology, and grandfather of Positive Psychology).
Nature and nurture play into how these talent themes develop over time and show up in the workplace.
We need to take back the unconscious programming that is naturally happening to us and impacting how we use our talents and strengths in relation to others. This is one of the things I teach and facilitate in my strengthen-based leadership and teams’ training.
Strengths-based teams perform approximately 33% better (source: Gallup). Team members are able to see that the behaviors a teammate is exhibiting is based on what is right with them (an not necessarily always connected to a personal bias or belief that is triggering them).
Strengths-based teams shift perspectives, openly inquire about each other’s needs, and capitalize on their newly named and claimed strengths leading to more authentic collaboration. New ways to innovate arise. Trust grows. Confidence leads.
Yet, the reality is that there is still something in the way of even the best strengths-based teams.
It’s this: lack of experience and/or understanding of the power of being in a truly diverse and inclusive team and how deep unconscious biases may be linked to the experiences of having to live with inequalities.
Building a culture of belonging via candid conversations and facilitation is one of the most powerful ways to incite interdependence and next-level collaborative results.
Many D&I experts describe diversity as being invited to a dance and inclusion as being asked to dance. Another way of saying it, according to the 2018 State of Diversity & Inclusion Report is, “diversity can be defined as your mix of people while inclusion can be defined by how well your people mix.” This illustration captures the opportunity and the challenge of this work.
Belonging on the other hand, means that compassion, trust, integrity, and authenticity among people naturally create diversity and inclusion.
Contrastingly, an organization can have a diverse workforce, but if those diverse people aren’t having their voices heard and their perspectives included in business strategy, their presence is likely part of the 66% disengaged workforce reported by Gallup in 2018.
The same goes for the “strengths” on a team. I have seen well-intended leaders, business partners, and managers block a “strength contribution” from a team member creating fertile soil for disengagement, or worse, active disengagement. The leader didn’t see that what they are doing or saying (like all of us), was rooted in their own strengths’ needs to feel safe and comfortable to perform. Stifling the strengths of their team members is common for many leaders and managers. Strengths-based Leadership training and coaching can remedy this.
Might one person’s speaking their truth alienate someone else who is not ready to hear it?
A safe space to intentionally nurture belonging for all is critical, and so are candid conversations. Building the framework into workplaces, given the complexities of power and personality is what I love to do. Candid conversations, enabled by effective listening skills, can be freeing if humans are taught to deal with their insecurities, fears, and lean on (and access) compassion (for self and others), non-judgment (for self and others) and a growth mindset.
Many are understanding that diversity is capital, impacting the bottom line for businesses and organizations. Designing and harnessing the power of a culture of inclusion and belonging enabled by strengths-based leadership requires a commitment. It is not easy, yet it is possible. It has to be more than a training session. Ideally, it becomes the language and part of the values of the culture.
I want to be part of the solution to develop talents and create a diverse, inclusive, and resilient workforce and culture where everyone is seen, heard, and appreciated. (How about you?)
In the end, culture work is connected to employee wellbeing as much as empowering employees to meet organizational objectives. Because it’s all interdependent, the broader work of employee wellbeing has been making its way to the top of organizational consciousness.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) — Europe’s largest professional institute for people management and development, with over 135,000 members across 120 countries — define it as:
“Creating an environment to promote a state of contentment which allows an employee to flourish and achieve their full potential for the benefit of themselves and their organization.”
We specialize in helping teams and organizations understand and implement practices that cultivate the power of interdependence.
The Wellsiliency™ Institute has developed a series of interdependent courses to comprehensively address the knowledge and skills leaders and teams need to build strengths-based values-driven performance cultures where all experience belonging.
Is cultivating a deliberate culture that leaves a lasting legacy of positive impact in the lives of others important to your organization?
Our institute has designed five program pillars to help leaders be well and lead well through a skill progression from Whole-self Intelligence™ integration to boost resilience and confidence, strengths-based wellbeing, strengths-based team building, strengths-based leadership, and psychological safety to unleash collaboration.
We don't believe in providing superficial programs; instead, we strive to become your collaborative partner by equipping your leaders with the skills they need to create meaningful, enduring outcomes. Our ultimate goal is to help you build a legacy of leadership excellence that will make a real difference in your organization's success.
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