Lead at Any Level®

Essential Skills for Inclusive Leaders

diversity and inclusion

When Remote Work Stops Being Inclusive

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Remote work has evolved from being a trendy workplace dynamic to a full-fledged business strategy. However, another prominent – and unfortunate – trend is a lack of diversity in the workplace. Diversity is a critical success factor, and many business leaders may think that having a remote workforce is the be-all and end-all of this. Since location matters very little, companies are not limited by geographic constraints. This gives a guise of hiring diversely – but diversity is not exactly akin to inclusivity.

Spotting the Signs of Exclusion

With remote work having little to no physical contact, it may be harder to spot employees who are feeling lonely and isolated. Workplace loneliness is a very real possibility, and according to a study by Ozcelik and Barsade, employees who are lonely may have a drop in job performance and more inconsistent outputs. Your company likely has its preferred communications channels, so look out for those who don’t always reach out or who are reluctant to accepting assistance. When you hire new employees who you have yet to meet in person, you also have to be particularly attuned to this from the start of the onboarding process.

Crowdsourcing Matters

On ‘When Do You Feel Included?’ we emphasized the importance of the Platinum Rule – treating others the way they want to be treated. The definition of employee wellness differs from company to company. You will be able to understand your organization’s own interpretation of this if you simply ask your members. Pain Free Working has collated tips for employee wellness strategies from existing organizations, with one being the implementation of programs that team members specifically ask for. It’s important to get a general pulse of where everyone is at – how they have been managing and what they need to show up and perform better. The only way you will know what will work is to regularly conduct employee feedback through surveys and Casino en ligne bonus.

Allyship and Remote Work

For new employees, create a more personal onboarding processes by assigning buddies or mentors who can help with assimilation. In fact, assigning everyone a partner with whom they can check-in on could be a permanent practice in your company. This is related to what CEO of The Memo LLC Minda Harts describes as allyship. Having colleagues who vet and advocate for one another is a clear sign of inclusivity. Don’t forget to show your gratitude once in a while too. It does not take much to acknowledge, commend, and give credit when and where it is due. Employees need to know that their work is being valued and that they are critical members of your team. Therefore, expressing your feedback is a critical step toward ensure that they feel included and seen.

The modern workforce brings with it with modern challenges, ushering in the need for people who can lead with empathy. This is the opportunity for leaders to step up and truly analyze how well they have been treating their employees. You can never go wrong with constantly willing yourself to improve. When you couple sincere intentions with clear-cut strategies for inclusion, your business can succeed like never before.

When Do You Feel Included?

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Recently, I had a conversation with young woman from the United Kingdom. She asked me about the stickers I use for my Network Beyond Bias program. The stickers look like name tags. They say “Hello! I feel included when…”

Hello. I feel included when...

Usually toward the end of my programs, I prompt the audience to ask one another, “How can I help you feel included?” or “When do you feel included?”

This is something that gets lost in our day-to-day work. It’s very rare for a manager to ask this question when someone new joins their team. It’s a simple question. How can I help you feel included? What makes you feel included? This question has tremendous power because it helps you understand very quickly how to show respect and appreciation for another human being.

If you’re a leader, whether you have a management title or not, it’s your responsibility to make sure that the people around you feel welcome and feel included.

This prompt, “I feel included when…” is one to which people respond all sorts of ways. Some people feel included when someone asks their opinion. Sometimes I’ll have people say to me, “I feel included when I get invited out for happy hour.” And usually I ask, “Do you go?” And they say “Never, but I want to be invited.”

Sometimes I have people say they feel included when there’s clear communication. Or when they’re involved in important decisions that affect them. Some people feel included when you ask to see pictures of their children. For others, it’s when you don’t mention their families. For each person it’s different. It’s important because when we have different dynamics on teams, we often talk about treating everybody the same. Instead, we need to realize everyone wants to be treated a little bit differently.

Rethinking the Golden Rule

The Golden Rule says we should treat others as you want to be treated. The Platinum Rule, on the other hand, implores us to treat others the way they want to be treated. That’s an important distinction. If I want to be invited to happy hour and someone else doesn’t want to be invited, you might invite us both to treat us the same. However, you may have made someone else feel excluded by extending the invitation. On the flip side of that, if you ask me about my family, I feel very included. When someone else does not want to discuss their family, you’ve inadvertently created a trust gap between you and that person.

It’s important to get down to the heart of what makes each person feel valued and what makes each person feel special.

When Do YOU Feel Included?

So tell me, what makes you feel included? It may be something simple like people pronounce your name correctly. Or it may be something a little bit deeper and more complex. Either is okay.

The idea here is that we get to know each other a little better. When we show an effort to respect each other right from the beginning, it can make all the difference in the relationships that we build with each other.

After you’ve thought about this for yourself, go to work. Ask your team members, ask your boss, ask the newest person in your department, the people that report to you. “How can I help you feel included?” And then see if you can’t do that thing.

Let me know what you learn!

TL;DR? Here’s the video version:

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How do you measure “inclusive culture”?

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It’s back-to-school time in Indiana, which means new teachers, new classes, and new classmates. Every year, I worry whether my kids will have friends in their classes, whether their teachers will recognize their unique talents, and whether the administrators support a truly inclusive learning environment.

Is being an employee really any different? As our organizations grow larger and more diverse, culture can become difficult to measure and manage. Clearly, our employees worry about whether their teams will be accepting of them, whether their managers will recognize their unique talents, and whether executives support a truly inclusive culture in the workplace. After all, culture plays a critical role in the recruitment, retention, and engagement of our workforce. But how do we measure inclusive culture?

Measuring Inclusive Culture

The Spectra Diversity Inclusion Assessment (SDIA) is the only statistically validated self-assessment that provides data at both an individual and organizational (or team) level. It is particularly useful as an organization-wide or team-based benchmarking tool.

Lead at Any Level® is proud to announce its status as a Spectra Diversity Change Partner. This relationship allows us to administer the survey, provide tailored reports, and facilitate follow-up discussions with your organization’s leaders.

With the SDIA, Executives and HR Professionals can:

  • Understand the fundamental components of inclusive culture
  • Benchmark organizational inclusion across a variety of demographic dimensions
  • Identify contributing factors in employee turnover and customer satisfaction metrics
  • Provide direction for organizational education and training efforts
  • Offer individual reports for employees to assess their own biases and cross-cultural competencies (optional)

If you’re interested in measuring your organization’s inclusive culture, contact us today!

Indiana Diverse Supplier Certifications

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Lead at Any Level® is proud to announce its diverse supplier certifications as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (ACDBE) in

certificate recognizing Lead at Any Level LLC as a DBE and ACDBE in the State of Indiana
Lead at Any Level® is recognized as a certified DBE and ACDBE in the State of Indiana.

the State of Indiana. This recognition allows women-owned companies like Lead at Any Level®, as well as minority-owned companies, to compete with larger, more established firms when seeking contracts with the State of Indiana. In addition, government contractors can meet their own supplier diversity goals by hiring companies with DBE and ACDBE diverse supplier certifications.

“I am excited about the opportunities we’ll have to work with the State of Indiana and the ecosystem of firms that have contracts with the state,” said Lead at Any Level®’s CEO, Amy C. Waninger. “Our training programs can help those organizations build diverse leadership bench strength for a sustainable competitive advantage.”

About Indiana Diverse Supplier Certifications

Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) is the sole certifying agency for the DBE/ACDBE programs in the state of Indiana. These certifications allow a firm to participate as a DBE on contracts with funding through FHWA, FAA, or the FTA. To qualify, a firm must meet two sets of objective criteria, complete a lengthy application process, and undergo an on-site audit by trained government personnel.

Criteria 1: Ownership Requirements

The firm must be at least 51 percent owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals (women and/or ethnic minorities) who:

  • Are US citizens or permanent residents
  • Possess expertise in the field
  • Control the daily business operations
  • Fall below personal net worth thresholds

Criteria 2: Business Size Requirements

A small business, as defined by the Small Business Administration (SBA), which means:

  • The firm’s average annual gross receipts may not exceed Small Business Administration size standards
  • In any case, a firm’s gross receipts may not exceed a $23,980,000 average over the previous three fiscal years

Lead at Any Level®’s Other Certifications

Lead at Any Level® is proud to participate in a number of supplier diversity certification programs.

  • In September 2018, Lead at Any Level® was recognized as a Women’s Business Enterprise by the Great Lakes Women’s Business Council (GLWBC) and the Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC).
  • The following month, the company received certification as an LGBT Business Enterprise (LGBTBE) by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC).
  • In July 2019, Lead at Any Level® was certified under the Buy Indiana Initiative, which sets a goal for state agencies to procure 90 cents ($.90) of each dollar from Indiana businesses. The company qualified due to its status as a business whose principal place of business is located in Indiana.

Is Your Company Leaving Talent on the Table?

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Half of your LGBTQ employees are still in the closet at work. (Source: Human Rights Campaign)

Why should you care?

Employees need to bring their full selves to work if they are to contribute at the highest levels.

Perhaps you’ve already created Resource Groups or a Diversity Council to provide a sense of community and safety for underrepresented employees. Even so, most companies’ LGBTQ professionals are still holding back, struggling to present themselves authentically, and leaving trust (and talent) on the table.

What can you do about it?

Bring in experts to work with your Pride ERG and other emerging LGBTQ leaders!

In a new collaboration, John Tedstrom (Tedstrom Associates), Erin Passons (Passons Consulting), and Amy C. Waninger (Lead at Any Level®) have combined their decades of leadership experience and thought leadership to help your LGBTQ employees be “Out & Outstanding” at work!

Out & Outstanding is a unique leadership development program designed to enhance the abilities of your corporation’s LGBTQ professionals to contribute and lead.

Together, we’ll uncover hidden leadership strengths of your LGBTQ work force, build a trusting and supportive professional cohort, and empower your leaders to tackle new, more complex and demanding assignments that have greater impact on your bottom line.

Read more about our new Out and Outstanding program here or contact us for more information!

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John Tedstrom, Founder & CEO of Tedstrom Associates, has held senior leadership positions in government, academia and business, integrating issues of national security, economics, and social justice. He served in the White House where he advised President Clinton on Russia and Ukraine, founded and led major international organizations fighting AIDS and other global maladies, and directed research and taught economics and national security policy at RAND and Columbia University.  Most recently he founded NextGen Leaders, to support the career advancement of younger LGBTQ professionals.

Dr. Tedstrom serves on the Boards of the Victory Fund, Equality California, and the Global Business Coalition for Education. He is active in Democratic politics and served on the Foreign Policy Committee, LGBT Policy Committee and National Finance Committee for the Obama for President campaign in 2008. He has lived in Munich, Moscow, and Kyiv and earned a Ph.D. in international economics and Russian studies from the University of Birmingham, England. He is the author of dozens of articles; his book, Socialism Perestroika and the Dilemmas of Soviet Economic Reform, was published in 1990. He is certified to teach Primordial Sound Meditation.

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Amy C. Waninger, CEO of Lead at Any Level®, works with organizations that want to build diverse leadership bench strength for a sustainable competitive advantage. She is the author of several books, including Network Beyond Bias: Making Diversity a Competitive Advantage for Your Career.

Amy is a Professional Member of National Speakers Association and a Prosci Certified Change Practitioner. Her other credentials include two degrees from Indiana University and a World’s Best Mom coffee mug.

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Erin Passons is the president and founder of Passons Consulting.  She has spent her career helping business leaders, managers, and employees improve their performance and effectiveness, and is an expert in coaching and facilitating workshops using StrengthsFinder.

Erin is also the founder of StrengthsNetwork San Diego, an association for StrengthsFinder professionals and followers in the Southern California region.  Erin earned her bachelor’s degree in sociology from the University of California-Santa Barbara and received her MBA from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C.