The 1 thing you need to influence inclusion.

Exclusion means to prevent, restrict, keep out or expel.

“We recognise that exclusion in any form undermines the fabric of this organisation and the communities we serve. We are committed to an inclusive culture, we believe in diversity and creating opportunities for all.” Said every organisation everywhere since around the mid-1960s. As a minor history nerd, exclusion conjures up abhorrent, bigoted, and unapologetic banners brandishing “NO” statements, restricting access by gender, colour, or ethnicity. That style of exclusion doesn’t exist in modern workplaces or at least it isn’t quite so blatant or unapologetic. We no longer exclude in the manner of our predecessors, modern exclusion is subtle and pernicious taking a gentler, more amenable guise, often of simply not meeting the status quo.

Why do we do it?

Rather than point the finger of blame, I’d like to suggest that we all do it to some degree and perhaps here is why:

Your brain craves predictability, and so sorts all the world’s variables into categories of predictable information, for instance, if a person was raised in a particular neighbourhood, educated by a particular school or is of a certain age then mentally, you can create a predictable narrative around who they are, how they work and what risks they may pose to you.

Predictability needs to remove the variables, our thinking becomes: yes or no, right, or wrong, them or us, this, or that… For instance, International Women’s Day is a pro women initiative must therefore be an anti-men initiative. How might it feel to lean into the paradox: YES, AND? Yes, it is a pro woman initiative, and it is built to positively impact men too.

Reality check…

The reality is people who were raised in different neighbourhoods, attended different schools or are of different, ages, genders and races think differently – a wonderful thing worthy of recognition and celebration! When people think differently, they problem solve differently. And let’s be honest, our world has many complex, volatile, and unpredictable problems to solve right now and our systems of exclusion brought us here – in many ways, to a crisis point.

YES, AND?

I adore this “YES, AND?” idea, it is such a useful tool in context to conflict prevention and brainstorming. You can start by assuming that the other person (in the argument or brainstorming session) is always 10% right, no matter how hideous or seemingly offensive their approach. First you must actively affirm the 10% you determine to be right and then expand. Here are some examples:

Hierarchical structures create a sense of order and clarity but inadvertently stifle collaboration and innovation. If you take a YES, AND? approach, hierarchical structures still deliver order and clarity, and could be better if you intentionally empower collaborative and innovative cultures.

Hiring practices designed to find the best candidate may prioritise criteria influenced by unconscious bias and societal stereotyping. Finding the best candidate with appropriate qualifications is important and the process could be better by intentionally prioritising character skills like critical thinking, courage, or determination to mitigate bias and stereotyping.

Pay policies and benefits that were built to meet the aspirations of a bygone era may not adequately reward or support the aspirations of a modern, diverse workforce. Policies and benefits are important and could be better if you identify the gaps with the insight of your workforce to implement more inclusive policies.

I struggle to find the 10% right in workplace cultures that tolerate or perpetuate disrespect, microaggression, and harassment. In many cases this discriminatory behaviour is a result of institutional inertia and unhelpful learned behaviours that perpetuate harmful norms and attitudes. The AND must then involve a concerted effort to develop individual self-awareness and to reward empathy, respect, and accountability.

I would love you to try the YES, AND approach and share your outcomes with me by email!

This one thing is crucial to influencing inclusion is flexibility.

Flexibility is the ability to adapt, change and modify easily in response to changing circumstances, conditions, and requirements. In context to you and your organisation, flexibility could mean a lot of different things:

An organisation that wants to improve problem solving capabilities and adaptability might develop a flexible workplace culture that includes encouraging experimentation and learning promoting openness and rewarding creativity that contributes to organisational success.

Prioritising efficiency might mean facilitating a flexible organisational structure that includes promoting fluid communication, agile and adaptable collaboration, or cross functional teamwork.

The competitive nature of a market might mean an organisation takes a flexible approach to resource allocation (personnel, budget, or equipment) to capitalise on emerging opportunities and drive sustainable success.

Being responsive to stakeholder demands, market conditions or shifting consumer priorities requires flexible decision-making, in other words: being open to new ideas, feedback and change.

But the biggest “flex” an organisation can make to influence inclusivity is flexible working, whether through remote working, flexible hours, compressed work weeks, or job sharing, flexible working gives your workforce choice and control over when, where, and how they work.

Flexible working is the ultimate YES, AND? – yes work is important, and it works for me.

It matters because, we’re not there yet!

At this moment in history, traditional gender roles and societal expectations still place a disproportionate burden of caregiving on women when comes to childcare, eldercare and simply managing a household. There is still an underpinning expectation that women will forgo their professional aspirations to have children. Part-time work still limits access to professional development, pay, promotion, and leadership opportunities.

The World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report 2021 highlights flexible work arrangements as a key strategy for closing the gender gap by enabling women to balance work and caregiving responsibilities more effectively. Source: World Economic Forum, “Global Gender Gap Report 2021”

The imbalance is still exacerbated by policies that limit paternal leave, part-time career progression and that pesky 7.7% disparity in pay – how can men be expected to prioritise equity or participate equally at home if workplace inflexibility gives him the choice of supporting his family financially or being present at home?

56% of working mothers and 50% of working fathers say they find it very or somewhat difficult to balance work and family responsibilities. Source: Pew Research Center, “Balancing Work and Family,” 2019

Flexible working opportunities allow women to pursue their career aspirations without sacrificing their roles as caregivers and homemakers AND men to rebalance the demands of home AND still fulfilling their career aspirations.

It matters because, it’s costing you money!

Workplace cultures that promote high workload, long working hours, tight deadlines, and unrealistic productivity discourage personal time, breaks and vacations are creating systems of chronic stress and burnout. They’re the same systems that lack constructive feedback mechanisms and erode trust and autonomy through micromanagement.

The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) estimates that work-related stress, depression, or anxiety accounted for 51% of all work-related ill health cases and 55% of all working days lost to work-related ill health in 2019/20 in the UK. Source: Health and Safety Executive, “Work-related Stress, Anxiety or Depression Statistics in Great Britain, 2020”

Deloitte estimated that poor mental health costs UK employers up to £45 billion a year including costs of absenteeism and staff turnover.  Source: Deloitte, “Mental Health and Employers: Refreshing the Case for Investment,” 2020

Flexible working enables your workforce to prioritise their self-care, mental health and general wellbeing AND contribute their skills and talents in a meaningful way that promotes greater job satisfaction AND higher rates of productivity.

Surely as a society we’re mature enough to recognise the carrot is more impactful and sustainable than the stick!?

The ABC of Flexibility

How you influence inclusivity through flexibility in your organisation will be unique to you. Here’s where you might start:

• ADAPTABILITY: Adaptable work environments that respond to the changing demands, priorities, and needs of your team improve efficiency and effectiveness.
• BALANCE: Sustainable productivity involves balance between personal and professional priorities ensuring your team maintain consistent energy, focus and motivation.
• CREATIVITY: Explore unconventional solutions, leverage technology and challenge tradition to identify new opportunities for improvement.

When organisations influence inclusivity through flexibility they contribute to a healthier and more equitable society.

Coaching can be a powerful and strategic tool to influence inclusivity and flexibility.

Coaching empowers the individual to take ownership for their personal and professional development, supporting them with the tools and resources to develop autonomy, agency, and self-advocacy. Coaching can help to develop self-awareness, address unconscious bias that may be impacting perception, decisions and behaviours while encouraging a creative and collaborative approach to overcoming barriers, developing skills and confidence.

My tailored approach can be adapted to accommodate diverse backgrounds, experience, and personal challenges while flexibility in delivery enables access regardless of location, schedule, or personal commitments.