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We all want our teams to be more inclusive. More diverse and inclusive teams perform better and are just more pleasant and rewarding. Whether it’s team productivity, innovation, or even decision making, a more diverse team will do better.
When you think of increasing inclusion, you probably first think about workshops, discussions, and books.
But if you really want to know how inclusive your culture is, start with meetings.
Meetings are a team’s culture barometer as well as the main digital workplace for building culture, so they are the ideal place to build inclusion.
Keep reading to learn how to host inclusive meetings and create the kind of team culture you dream of.
Intersections of inclusion
If you haven’t noticed yet, people are different. And those differences get brought to work everyday.
Some differences are demographic and lifestyle related such as ethnicity, religion, culture of origin, socioeconomic level, gender, and sexual orientation to name a few.
Other differences are related to how our brains work. There are neurodivergent factors, verbal and written processors, extroverts and introverts, quick and slow processors, and more.
Added, there are issues of visual, auditory, and mobility ability to consider.
Historically, a meeting is a place where the people who do the best are able-bodied, extroverted, quick, verbal processors. They also tend to come from demographic groups that don’t deal with what W.E.B. Du Bois called, “double consciousness”, meaning always looking at yourself through the eyes of someone else.
It’s not about being perfect
With so many intersections of diversity, aiming for perfect inclusion at every meeting is not likely.
Instead, make sure that
- Everyone on the team knows that you care about including them, and
- You demonstrate the willingness to make actual changes to make it happen
If you start here and are willing to own up to mistakes and try something new, you will be off to a great start.
How to lead inclusive meetings
Here are some practical ways you can start making more inclusive meetings without having to wait for someone else to explain it to you.
Scheduling
- Don’t schedule meetings when someone else has an event already scheduled unless you ask first. Don’t assume they can adjust because they are junior to you.
- Be aware of time zones. The meeting shouldn’t always be at a convenient time for your time zone. Share the load.
- Check for major cultural events such as Rosh Hashana, Eid Al-fitr, Diwali or others. Make sure people have time off and ask them to explain the significance of the event while looking for games to play on Zoom with coworkers.
Accessibility
- Use virtual meeting platforms that have built-in closed captioning for folks who may use hearing aids or have a language barrier.
- If you are going to require everyone to be at the same location for a particular meeting, make sure it’s wheelchair accessible.
- Pick ground rules for meetings that fit your team, particularly around the use of cameras. Many folks need the extra fidelity that video gives to be able to interpret what someone is saying.
- For people who struggle with hearing, make sure there is a whiteboard or Google Doc up where you record the conversation as it progresses. If they have visual impairments, explain what you are showing on your screen.
Invitations
- Don’t just invite the same people all the time. If you aren’t sure if someone should come, send them an invite and make it optional. Let them decide if they need to come. Keep information accessible and work in public as much as possible.
Do a check-in round
- Check in rounds are wonderful ways to start a meeting. You not only learn something unique about your teammates, but they also ensure that you hear from everyone in the first part of the meeting.
- Even something as simple as “Where are you signing in from?” gives people a chance to share more about themselves, such as, “I’m signing in from Sydney, home of the Gadigal people.“ The question is a double whammy because it gives everyone an opportunity to speak and also demonstrates that you’re not here to whitewash history and erase Indigenous cultures.
Don’t rush the decision
- Many decisions get made in meetings because the two loudest people agree with each other. Before you get anywhere near closing a decision, individually ask everyone what they think and assume that they will have a different opinion.
- Many people need a little more time to sit on a decision. Don’t assume that because they didn’t raise any objections, they are on board. Simply say, “It seems like we are leaning towards option B. I’m going to post that into our discussion board and let it sit for a day. If you have a different thought, place it there before Wednesday.”
Track the mic share
- Find a tool like Talk Time that lets you track the percentage of time everyone speaks. Review it at the end of the meeting to see who is taking up the most time and who you aren’t hearing from.
Watch out for microaggressions
Meetings are common places for microaggressions to come out. In particular, watch out for gendered or racialized language (e.g. bossy, feisty, emotional, blacklist, jipped), and gaslighting.
Some instances can be addressed immediately in the meeting. Some you may need to approach the person afterwards to gain more context and ask them to stop using that language.
Assigning tasks
When it comes time to assign tasks to people, watch out for who gets the work. Typically, those who get the work are more likely to get the promotion later on.
- Let the person decide how much they want to do. Someone with a new baby, or who just lost a loved one may need to step back from full-throttle work for a while. But that’s their call to make, not yours. Don’t assume you are doing someone a favor by not giving work to them.
- Don’t give the role of taking notes to a woman. Instead, take turns doing admin work.
- Keep the calendar in mind. If someone is celebrating Ramadan or Lent, they may not be interested in traveling to Vegas for the conference.
- Assign tasks based on ability, not on assumption. Just because someone is young, black, and female does not make them automatically good at social media. Similarly, just because not all older white men are great at coding a new automation or making a spreadsheet.
Background and cameos
Most people have had the experience of something embarrassing popping up for the whole team to see. But sometimes it goes beyond that.
For example, if someone shows up in Steve’s background and it becomes apparent that he is in a same-sex relationship but you know that Steve has never said that he is part of the LGBTGIA+ community, it’s important to protect his privacy. Include a privacy clause in your online meeting etiquette for the team.
The hard work of inclusive meetings
Creating an inclusive team is work but it’s worth the effort. As you start to take steps towards more inclusive digital meetings, the important part is to do it honestly. Don’t try to be inclusive so that you don’t get in trouble with HR. Instead, do it so that everyone on the team feels like they can be themselves and give their best.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
We all want our teams to be more inclusive. More diverse and inclusive teams perform better and are just more pleasant and rewarding. Whether it’s team productivity, innovation, or even decision making, a more diverse team will do better.
When you think of increasing inclusion, you probably first think about workshops, discussions, and books.
But if you really want to know how inclusive your culture is, start with meetings.
Meetings are a team’s culture barometer as well as the main digital workplace for building culture, so they are the ideal place to build inclusion.
Keep reading to learn how to host inclusive meetings and create the kind of team culture you dream of.
Intersections of inclusion
If you haven’t noticed yet, people are different. And those differences get brought to work everyday.
Some differences are demographic and lifestyle related such as ethnicity, religion, culture of origin, socioeconomic level, gender, and sexual orientation to name a few.
Other differences are related to how our brains work. There are neurodivergent factors, verbal and written processors, extroverts and introverts, quick and slow processors, and more.
Added, there are issues of visual, auditory, and mobility ability to consider.
Historically, a meeting is a place where the people who do the best are able-bodied, extroverted, quick, verbal processors. They also tend to come from demographic groups that don’t deal with what W.E.B. Du Bois called, “double consciousness”, meaning always looking at yourself through the eyes of someone else.
It’s not about being perfect
With so many intersections of diversity, aiming for perfect inclusion at every meeting is not likely.
Instead, make sure that
- Everyone on the team knows that you care about including them, and
- You demonstrate the willingness to make actual changes to make it happen
If you start here and are willing to own up to mistakes and try something new, you will be off to a great start.
How to lead inclusive meetings
Here are some practical ways you can start making more inclusive meetings without having to wait for someone else to explain it to you.
Scheduling
- Don’t schedule meetings when someone else has an event already scheduled unless you ask first. Don’t assume they can adjust because they are junior to you.
- Be aware of time zones. The meeting shouldn’t always be at a convenient time for your time zone. Share the load.
- Check for major cultural events such as Rosh Hashana, Eid Al-fitr, Diwali or others. Make sure people have time off and ask them to explain the significance of the event while looking for games to play on Zoom with coworkers.
Accessibility
- Use virtual meeting platforms that have built-in closed captioning for folks who may use hearing aids or have a language barrier.
- If you are going to require everyone to be at the same location for a particular meeting, make sure it’s wheelchair accessible.
- Pick ground rules for meetings that fit your team, particularly around the use of cameras. Many folks need the extra fidelity that video gives to be able to interpret what someone is saying.
- For people who struggle with hearing, make sure there is a whiteboard or Google Doc up where you record the conversation as it progresses. If they have visual impairments, explain what you are showing on your screen.
Invitations
- Don’t just invite the same people all the time. If you aren’t sure if someone should come, send them an invite and make it optional. Let them decide if they need to come. Keep information accessible and work in public as much as possible.
Do a check-in round
- Check in rounds are wonderful ways to start a meeting. You not only learn something unique about your teammates, but they also ensure that you hear from everyone in the first part of the meeting.
- Even something as simple as “Where are you signing in from?” gives people a chance to share more about themselves, such as, “I’m signing in from Sydney, home of the Gadigal people.“ The question is a double whammy because it gives everyone an opportunity to speak and also demonstrates that you’re not here to whitewash history and erase Indigenous cultures.
Don’t rush the decision
- Many decisions get made in meetings because the two loudest people agree with each other. Before you get anywhere near closing a decision, individually ask everyone what they think and assume that they will have a different opinion.
- Many people need a little more time to sit on a decision. Don’t assume that because they didn’t raise any objections, they are on board. Simply say, “It seems like we are leaning towards option B. I’m going to post that into our discussion board and let it sit for a day. If you have a different thought, place it there before Wednesday.”
Track the mic share
- Find a tool like Talk Time that lets you track the percentage of time everyone speaks. Review it at the end of the meeting to see who is taking up the most time and who you aren’t hearing from.
Watch out for microaggressions
Meetings are common places for microaggressions to come out. In particular, watch out for gendered or racialized language (e.g. bossy, feisty, emotional, blacklist, jipped), and gaslighting.
Some instances can be addressed immediately in the meeting. Some you may need to approach the person afterwards to gain more context and ask them to stop using that language.
Assigning tasks
When it comes time to assign tasks to people, watch out for who gets the work. Typically, those who get the work are more likely to get the promotion later on.
- Let the person decide how much they want to do. Someone with a new baby, or who just lost a loved one may need to step back from full-throttle work for a while. But that’s their call to make, not yours. Don’t assume you are doing someone a favor by not giving work to them.
- Don’t give the role of taking notes to a woman. Instead, take turns doing admin work.
- Keep the calendar in mind. If someone is celebrating Ramadan or Lent, they may not be interested in traveling to Vegas for the conference.
- Assign tasks based on ability, not on assumption. Just because someone is young, black, and female does not make them automatically good at social media. Similarly, just because not all older white men are great at coding a new automation or making a spreadsheet.
Background and cameos
Most people have had the experience of something embarrassing popping up for the whole team to see. But sometimes it goes beyond that.
For example, if someone shows up in Steve’s background and it becomes apparent that he is in a same-sex relationship but you know that Steve has never said that he is part of the LGBTGIA+ community, it’s important to protect his privacy. Include a privacy clause in your online meeting etiquette for the team.
The hard work of inclusive meetings
Creating an inclusive team is work but it’s worth the effort. As you start to take steps towards more inclusive digital meetings, the important part is to do it honestly. Don’t try to be inclusive so that you don’t get in trouble with HR. Instead, do it so that everyone on the team feels like they can be themselves and give their best.
Photo by Christina @ wocintechchat.com on Unsplash
