You’re leading a diverse team. How can you make sure everyone’s voice is heard?

Making time to stay connected. Making set times to speak with members of my team to understand what's happening in their lives outside of work and how we can as a team collaborate together to improve challenges in work. At the start of every meeting I ask my team 'how they are doing' versus launching straight into the agenda for the meeting. In a digital world we need to always remember the personal touch and engaging with the person.

I used to be a terrible listener and I knew it was a terrible quality to have. I had to do something about it. I realized the word "Listen" has a number inside it. (answer at the end of this post) One of the top Gurus in the world of service, Ron Kaufman shared with me a great listening tip: "𝑳𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏 𝒕𝒐 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒊𝒔𝒕𝒆𝒏𝒊𝒏𝒈". Listening has multiple layers; individuals listen through the lens of their upbringing, experiences, and culture, among other factors. Attuning to these nuances fosters far more enriching conversations. Now, for the reveal: nestled within "Lis𝐓𝐄𝐍" is the number 10. So I gave myself a KPI to "List Ten" new things about a new person that I meet or at least 5 before I allow myself to start sharing.

In my experience staying curious about Team members and listening more than speaking are the foundations of an inclusive culture.

If you build it, their voices will emerge! I am referring to psychological safety - the foundational element in communication, engagement, and team dynamics. If we foster an environment where individuals feel confident that they will not be exposed to ridicule, rejection, or punishment for speaking up with ideas, questions, concerns, or mistakes, their foster will emerge. We need to be the architects of an enabling environment for generative conversation in our teams.

Equity in participation would require the leader to encourage individuals differently and remain vigilant about non-participating people. A member of your team who is introverted may not speak up in the group setting even though they have the keys which the team seeks. Interacting without judgement in such situations can be difficult and require emotionally intelligent maturity.

LUX* Resorts' journey from near bankruptcy to a top luxury brand was marked by strategic shifts and grassroots innovation. The company not only listened. It empowered its staff to propose unique, cost-effective ideas to enhance guest experiences. This led to inventive concepts like a vintage English phone booth offering free global calls, Cinema Paradiso, Cafe-Lux*, and a charming ice cream parlor. These initiatives, born from employee creativity and realized through their efforts, significantly contributed to the brand's revival and success, embodying a culture where staff contributions are genuinely valued and brought to life.

⭐️Inclusive voices & safe space allows for more choices and collective action. 1. Strive for #innovation of one’s facilitation style to help grow the #business and solve #career or #team challenges 2. Tweak + practice, #practice, practice your facilitation style. 3. Check how your verbal and nonverbal #communication allows people to feel culturally connected and #safe. 4. Use varied approaches to connect across learning levels (e.g. writing on sticky notes, or index cards to drawing visuals). Q. How is your tone, pitch, volume, words used, resting face, or engaged face partnered with the way you use various facilitation techniques? Q. How do you connect with the heart and minds of people to enhance your #message and invite people in? MB

Diverse voices do not have to agree, the purpose is not consensus - its understanding. Agreement or consensus is counter to the concepts in this article. Instead, seek to understand the variety of perspectives being shared and be comfortable with tensions or contradictions in diverse perspectives. As an example, my local swimming pool has men's only and women's only sessions out of respect for religious groups in the area. Two suburbs over, in the same council area, there are LGBTQI+ friendly sessions to encourage people gender fluid, non-binary and transgender swimmers. If the council was listening to diverse perspectives and seeking consensus, one or both of these sessions would not have been set up.

A great problem of diversity comes from the assumption that everyone will want or can participate in the same way. Building channels and opportunities for different type of personalities, backgrounds and capabilities, is another way to encourage participation. An example could be enabling written participation for the introverts or for people that can’t talk or couldn’t be present, and make sure this is heard by a relevant audience.

Normalise and create multiple communication channels, e.g. in-person meetings, written feedback, 1:1 conversations etc. Where possible ask your teams on how they can best add their voice to decisions or conversation. Be mindful and educate yourself in any cultural differences that might influence communication styles of your team, and well as any language barriers. Allow time for reflection and input. Additionally, actively challenge your biases that might lead to certain voices being overlooked, or others being seen more favourably. Actively seek out the perspectives of those who you haven’t heard from. Creating a safe space for this is key as a leader.

For me, fostering a culture of inclusivity, where every team member feels valued, included, and respected, is vital. Encourage open communication and actively solicit input from all team members during meetings and discussions. Recognize and celebrate the power of perspectives within the team by encouraging team members to share their unique experiences, backgrounds, and viewpoints, as they often lead to more innovative solutions and better decision-making. Addressing biases and stereotypes to promote understanding, it's crucial to actively work to create a more inclusive environment where team members challenge their assumptions while learning and respecting cultural differences. Elevate yourself into an inclusive leader.

In a diverse team it is important to not make any judgement even if it will take a very long time for someone to open up. Biggest barriers between people are usually cultural and social ones - find out in each culture what is the proper way to encourage people to share their ideas, create a safety net for all members to be able to listen and also be heard. Start with sharing your own stories even embarrassing ones, once they feel safe enough they will start being comfortable with sharing their voices. Respect that sometimes one‘s thoughts can also be expressed through non verbal cues, explore these and fully understand these to address barriers between people.

Following steps that I follow and suggest : 1)Know your team : Friendly interactions to understand each team member's background, Hobbies, Strengths , Families, career aspirations, work experience to know them as an individual, it can help create an environment of trust and many common talking points are found for working together 2) Setting of ground Rules: set some basic groud rules are brainstormed together and agreed upon.It helps in having everyone in the team as same page and in alignment including yourself. 3) No Hierarchy & Passionate Listening : Provide an openness to the team members to come up and share their ideas, thoughts , feelings to make things better at workplace. 4) Create opportunities for team to lead small projects

3 puntos menos de poder al ego, pueden marcar la diferencia hacia una cultura de colaboración y crecimiento. Como líder de cambio y cultura empresarial, he descubierto que el ego es un elemento omnipresente que puede obstaculizar el camino hacia una comunicación efectiva y un trabajo en equipo armonioso. El ego, arraigado en nuestra esencia, influye en cómo nos relacionamos. Las barreras para escuchar, presentes en cada individuo, nos vuelven sordos a opiniones ajenas y nos aferran a nuestra verdad. En grupos, un ego colectivo, casi imperceptible, desata conflictos y luchas por el reconocimiento. Superar estas barreras nos acerca a una comunicación auténtica y más colaborativa.¿Estamos dispuestos a ceder poder al ego?

My advice when leading a diverse team is to step into role of Diversity Leader… not just because it’s the right thing to do but also because it will yield better results. Hearing multiple perspectives on problems and accessing different lenses on solutions will invariably deliver better outcomes. See your role as a “Diversity Leader” who harnesses the diversity of groups to deliver improved team engagement and superior business performance.

Years ago a book titled management by walking around was published. As a leader one needs to meet people in their space or another place such as lunch to just talk. It creates an opportunity to create trust, show openness and make it safe to share.

Take the time to listen & understand how the individual members of your team communicate and provide opportunities for them to contribute in the ways that work for them And regularly articulate the value of getting input from everyone - not everyone has the same level of self belief for a whole range of reasons Sometimes we can get caught in needing something quickly which may cause us to revert to doing what we’ve always done- it takes planning and patience to undo well formed habits

Leverage diversity by creating inclusion and belonging so that people are comfortable to contribute (even if its just within the team to start with). Your role is to be a 'deliberately inclusive leader' which can look like: assessing the problem perspective - is there enough diversity of thought and experience at the table to truly understand the problem or opportunity? being curious about your solution approach - there are approx six mental models that can be applied - how many are currently represented? invite your team to think differently and push boundaries - I promise someone has a different lens but needs to be nudged to share.... Visible, intentional action: show people how great diversity leadership can work and evolve.....

If you are a leader you should already understand the importance of knowing about the humans that make up your team and what makes them tick. Understanding them and treating them individually based on who they are (because they are all unique) should ensure everyone gets heard.

Uma das práticas mais necessárias é permitir que sua equipe opine e traga sugestões. Manter um ritual que aproxime a equipe da gestão é algo que podemos sempre potencializar, e o ponto principal é a comunicação. Qual foi a última vez que você perguntou e recebeu do seu time um ponto de melhoria de sua gestão? Se isso não ocorreu, é sinal que você não está deixando sua equipe a vontade para se comunicar e construir juntos uma cultura mais colaborativa e de bem estar.

Co-create the challenge to solve.... Then ask all the team to frame that challenge in their own language. That way you can see - what they have undetstood (individually heard) - they can all see what each other has understood (How they "belong") and - you can reframe to the actual challenge together. (Group speak) Then... ask the team to "detail the process of the solution," and repeat the above - same results as above... everyone is heard, everyone can see, everyone can own any change requried... Company/team/hangout matures have fun :-)

Well, asking for feedback, even if it has been a mantra from writers, influencers, researchers, and gurus, still is counterintuitive to leaders and managers. Thus people in companies need to find a psychologically safe environment. I prefer getting feedback with a maximum of 2-3 people at a time, to avoid either global silence or minimal answers. getting what the engagement is. And progressing increasing the iteration communication-feedback-improvement. Among three different national cultures, education and and business etiquettes, it worked perfectly

There are two easy-to-implement things you can start doing as a manager straightaway. The first is really obvious, and whilst we're typically great at thinking about doing it, the follow-up usually lacks. Ask for feedback! Put a mechanism in place to frequently get your team's input on the things you do well, things you could build on, and things you might want to stop doing. The more frequent this is, the more normal and comfortable it will be to engage your team. Be sure you have input from everyone, not just the dominant voices in the room. The second is an external source of feedback - a mentor or a peer in a similar role, who can share their practices or ideas. Sometimes it helps to brainstorms outside of our usual environment.

To continuously adapt and improve, fostering a culture of feedback and reflection is crucial. I prioritise open communication to learn from both successes and areas for growth, and I'm committed to integrating innovative tools and practices for better collaboration. Emphasising professional development and embracing a growth mindset ensures our team remains agile and prepared for future challenges. How can we further enhance our adaptability, ensuring we're proactive in our approach to change?

Ultimately leaders and team managers need to accept that, good or bad, their behaviour will be emulated by those in the team. How we learn to get by in any environment is by copying those in authority. We copy parents or caregivers as children, we copy seniors in the workplace. If you are finding that people in your team are not listening to one another or worse, are leaving the team, look first in the mirror. Accepting and acknowledging your flaws and taking consistent steps towards your own improvement are definitely things you'll want your team to copy!

Often, we ask questions and seek opinions to confirm what we think we know, rather than looking for real insights and fresh thinking. Tempting though it is to go to the people you know, who are a bit like you, or who you know think like you, ASK those who you know have a different perspective or background and listen acutely to what they have to say. On one level, it’s that straightforward. On another, it means challenging the subconscious bias that we all have, and making sure that it doesn’t get in the way of genuine inclusion.

Be an example of the behaviors the leader would like to see in your team. If the leader does not truly listen, does not allow people ro speak up, does not build psychological safety within the team, there will be no true diversity and inclusion.

Instead trying to display an image of being the perfect leader, demonstrate you are a student of leadership. For ever learning, using empathy and curiosity to engage, share failures and practice a growth mindset. By modelling these behaviours, you show your commitment to diversity and inclusion, and you can inspire your teammates to do the same.

A diverse team is only as effective as how included everyone feels. As a leader of a diverse team, you start by creating an inclusive workplace, and that will enable diverse opinions/ideas/perspectives to be heard. As a leader, you carry a disproportionate responsibility here as what you say and do will carry a larger weight than anyone else. I always recommend starting small and simple. For example, after your next team meeting, have a few 1:1 chats with some of the attendees and ask them how able they felt to be heard, and how inclusive the environment felt. Then ask if there is anything you could have done differently to improve that. Just by consistently asking signals your intent to improve the conditions that enable diverse voices.

Gaza is the burning moral issue of our times and is the litmus test for whether you have a successful diversity program. If you have created a culture of silence, apathy, or intimidation around the discussion of Gaza, you will have very little credibility in the other worthy and needed efforts around diversity. The degree of the catastrophe and the degree of US complicity, on an issue that is intrinsically connected to anti-racism efforts here in the US, mandates that your organization takes this seriously and leads from out front. Moral cowardice, double speak, and softball euphemisms are things your employees and team members will never forget. Have a real discussion or the risk to your culture is substantial. Don't get this wrong.

I think one of the rarely discussed things about being a leader, or a manager is that you need to be able to know how to do the basics. That means understanding how best a meeting should be run instead of relying on past ineffective styles we were taught early in our careers or instincts. Find your bias triggers and eliminate them. Provide an agenda ahead of time so people know what to expect, ensure that people have an ability to contribute in different ways because you have to make room for introverts or neurodiversity, rotate agenda tasks. Structure helps a lot.

True leaders must foster a culture of inclusivity and promote transparent communication, listening to each of their team members. This should be done in solitude as well as in weekly team meetings. In a cosmopolitan place such as Dubai, feedback needs to be heard from all regardless of age, gender, position, experience or nationality. Leaders must not only value, but celebrate diversity in its true form and address any kind of bias or discriminatory approach affecting business decisions. The biggest hurdle for a true leader to hear the voice of his team are the advisors who try to influence the vision, due to their own comfort levels. This must be recognized without getting judgmental. ‘Divide and rule’ works only for insecure leaders.

To keep a diverse team engaged lead by example. Don’t have favourites, and encourage and support everyone in their development. Share ownership of meetings and aim to speak last when sharing your opinions. Welcome all feedback and ask your team to share peer to peer feedback. Respect and value are verbs not concepts. Serve their needs with elegance and commitment and remember that their success reflects on you. The opposite is also true.

Be mindful about how you show or encourage people to feed-in, and contribute especially if there is a power and privilege gap. Building the right levels of psychological safety and giving people time to reflect and process around when they can feed-in can make a huge difference.