Question 5: As a leader in this organization, I want to support a positive culture of inclusion but I feel at a loss for what to say and do in this moment. Where do I start?

First, thank you for taking the first step to creating change, by choosing to move outside of your comfort zone to make all your employees feel like they belong.
Start by embracing your curiosity: ask yourself questions and commit to exploring the answers, especially when they feel uncomfortable. Pursue ways to learn from experiences of inclusion and exclusion that are different from yours.
Build and develop your empathy skills. Create psychologically safe spaces for your team to share, if they wish, with you and with each other.
Be careful not to succumb to performative allyship by elevating your own platform; instead, take your learnings and find ways to lift the voices of others through your position as a leader.
Find your next best step...and then the next. For example, are you part of any of our ERGs? Remember that you don’t have to share a specific affinity to be a member — allies are invited and encouraged to join. Think about who you are mentoring and sponsoring. Do those employees represent the full spectrum of talent we have here at our company? Your efforts to help us build a robust and resilient pipeline of next-in-line leaders of all backgrounds makes a big difference. Are you living our values through your leadership and holding your team and peers accountable for the same? Keep in mind that this looks like bringing visibility and celebrating examples worth modeling just as much as it means interrupting when behaviors are misaligned with our values.
This will take practice, reflection, refinement, and repetition. Everyone holds implicit associations ; learning how to recognize yours and course-correcting is part of the work. Taking risks and practicing inclusive leadership are important steps in dismantling the status quo and paving the pathway to meaningful change.

Addressing employee FAQs on inclusion work

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