Mass protests and a pandemic are swirling together to making 2020 one of the most difficult times to focus on work in modern history. Business leaders can help, and there are some often underappreciated tools they could be utilizing to help their teams thrive through the tough days ahead: diversity and inclusion.
Stefanie K. Johnson, an associate professor at the Leeds School of Business at 彩民宝典, is an expert on leadership and diversity. Her new book, Inclusify, shows how leaders can build innovative teams through diversity. She says that process can yield major benefits for teams during normal times. During the current era of COVID-19 and civil unrest, it鈥檚 critical.
Though her book was written and its launch planned prior to the George Floyd protests and the COVID-19 pandemic, Johnson offered some tips to help businesses navigate the diversity issues they present.
Meet with the team
Employees will be dealing with varying emotions鈥攁nd even trauma鈥攆ollowing the deaths of George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery.
Stefanie Johnson will host a virtual book launch, featuring thought leaders and chief diversity officers from MetLife and Brown-Forman at 5 p.m. MT, June 2, 2020.
Johnson advised managers confront the underlying issues head-on, using Floyd and Arbery鈥檚 names in the conversation.
鈥淎sk team members to talk about how they鈥檙e feeling, or give them time off of work to deal with the pain that they are experiencing,鈥� said Johnson.
Ignoring the deaths and subsequent protests will signal indifference, according to Johnson, potentially compounding issues that could escalate team conflict.
鈥淓ven if you start with 鈥業 don鈥檛 know what to say. I don鈥檛 know how you feel,鈥� The most important thing is to say something,鈥� Johnson said.
It鈥檚 all right that managers don鈥檛 have all of the answers. Listening and showing support is a critical step.
鈥淵ou don鈥檛 need to pretend that you know how your colleagues of color are feeling,鈥� she said. 鈥淵ou just need to show that this matters. George Floyd and Ahmaud Arbery matter.鈥�
Making the most out of remote work
As business leaders also cope with a global pandemic鈥檚 impacts on business, from tight budgets to combatting Zoom fatigue, diversity and inclusion shouldn鈥檛 be overlooked.
鈥淭he COVID-19 outbreak has important implications for diversity and inclusion outcomes as it is likely to disproportionately affect some groups such as parents, women, persons with disabilities,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淟uckily, there are things leaders can do to build inclusion in a remote workplace.鈥澨�
To get the most out of their workers at any time, Johnson advises, managers need to make people feel like they鈥檙e part of the team. To do that, according to Johnson, leaders need to address something everyone wants: making them feel unique and that they belong.
Stefanie K. Johnson, author of "Inclusify." (彩民宝典)
鈥淧eople are much more likely to feel a lack of uniqueness and belonging while working remotely. When you are not seen as unique, you feel incomplete,鈥� Johnson said.
To help workers feel fulfilled, connection can go a long way.
鈥淢y research shows each employee should spend four hours a week in face-to-face, albeit virtual, interactions with their team,鈥� said Johnson.
She recommends that supervisors have frequent individual chats with their team members. In those conversations, leaders should be sure to demonstrate empathy.听
Supervisors should also make a point to learn about the challenges and successes their workers are encountering. And they should reinforce their trust in the employees to do assigned work in their own unique ways.
In group meetings, Johnson recommended, leaders should make a special effort to hear all voices.
鈥淚magine that someone in that room, or chatroom, has all of the answers you are looking for. You don鈥檛 know who it is, but your job is to bring it out,鈥� she said. 鈥淟isten to everyone very carefully, because they might have the answer, and you want to learn it.鈥�
In divvying up team tasks, Johnson said managers need to ensure they鈥檙e doing it fairly because of the human tendency to make biased decisions under stress, such as relying on some team members more while possibly ignoring others.
And every now and again, managers should find inclusive ways to cut loose. Johnson suggested coffee hours鈥攊n addition to happy hours鈥攖o include those who don鈥檛 drink.听
鈥淭alk about all of the fun things you want to do as a team when the world gets back to normal.鈥漟
Increasing diversity when returning to work
As states relax COVID-19 restrictions, some workers will return to the office, which creates a great opportunity to build a more inclusive workplace 鈥渋f you know what to do,鈥� she said.听
One silver lining of work-from-home guidelines is that they鈥檝e allowed workers to bring their true selves to work. An integrated work day has included spending time with children and spouses or taking the dog for a walk amid the tasks of the day. Johnson has heard from managers stunned to learn about their workers鈥� daily realities for the first time.
Embracing that new awareness of employees鈥� lives in the return to work can encourage people to do their best work during a difficult transition.
鈥淐ontinue allowing flexibility鈥攚ithout stigma鈥攆or employees,鈥� said Johnson. 鈥淩ecognize that we might be more prone to in-group bias, and therefore it鈥檚 important to intentionally create diverse groups of employees when they are re-entering the office.鈥�
Johnson said business leaders can also utilize diversity to better innovate through challenging economic times ahead. To do so, they need to keep voicing support for diversity initiatives. It might even be a good time to stand up new efforts.
鈥淐reate a task force of diverse team members to come up with strategies to build inclusion, and encourage everyone to participate in the efforts so you are bringing new people into the diversity and inclusion conversation who have not been there before.鈥�
