Building a Culture of Inclusion

By Cary Broussard and Dr. Faye Hall Jackson

To be a leader in today’s construction industry requires an authentic commitment to diversity and inclusion and an intentional culture shift through education and training. TDIndustries’ training is foundational to its employee-owned, servant leadership culture, its core values and business success. The company’s diversity and inclusion training includes how to:

• Encourage and listen to co-workers’ different points of view;
• Have open-minded, respectful discussions in diverse groups;
• Value all sources of expertise for a safer, collaborative workplace.

Retention is vital to a company’s success, especially in the construction industry where there is a skilled labor shortage. TDIndustries enjoys significantly lower turnover rates and gains a competitive edge in hiring through a culture of inclusion. Fair treatment and opportunity sound simple but do not come easily to all. The investment in diversity. inclusion and unconscious bias training allows employees to practice diverse thinking and behaviors to emulate daily in the workplace.

Introducing the basics

What’s a bias? It’s a tendency, inclination or prejudice toward or against something or someone.

In class, we use the visual of an iceberg. The things below the water are things you wouldn’t know about someone unless you got to know them. We often use the things we see above the water line to make assumptions about things below the water line.

We encourage participants to ask questions first before making assumptions. Asking questions is a great way to encourage two-way communication.

By taking time to stop, think and behave inclusively, we learn to overcome our biases. Biases are often based on stereotypes. Whether positive or negative, such cognitive shortcuts can result in prejudgments that lead to rash decisions or discriminatory practices.

Each of us has preferences, and each of us has biases. Acknowledging the bias and moving it from unconscious to conscious, is the first step in changing behaviors and building organizational inclusivity.

In-person training

TD’s organizational development/talent management team developed the curriculum and collaborated with experts to enhance delivery of the in-person training.

“The in-person classes allowed participants to empathize and connect with each other by role playing real-life bias traps or micro-behaviors faced in everyday circumstances,” TDIndustries Director of Inclusion Mark Joseph said. “Leveraging outside expertise helped us present a safe, respectful and effective learning environment based on mutual respect and servant leadership.”

A large part of inclusion is knowing where everyone is in their journey. Collaboration and inclusion framed in-class role play. Interactive videos, group breakout discussions and “connections” questions fostered a way to get to know each other in a nonjudgmental way.

Connections questions include:

• Where would you like to travel to and why?
• What’s the biggest compliment you have ever received?
• Where did you grow up and what is most memorable about it?
• For what in life are you grateful?

Class participants examined their biases by sharing with the group and showing acceptance of co-workers’ culture and experiences.

Positive outcomes

Of the hundreds of leaders who have completed the training so far, most agreed that examining the origins and impacts of some of their long-held beliefs helped them grow as leaders. Comments included:

• “The training helped me realize that though I wasn’t judging or excluding people, I did not fully include others in the office conversation.”
• “The group activities showed how everyone’s contributions lead to open-minded discussions.”
• “The facilitators’ enthusiasm, belief in the presentation and energy made it easy to stay engaged and learn.”

At the end of each class, the facilitators asked each participant, “What is one thing you are committing to do to help build a more inclusive environment within your team, department or community?”

Responses to this prompt encouraged an introspective reflection that would lead to a mindset or behavioral change. When employees feel included and believe they are contributing to the company's mission in a meaningful way, productivity and job satisfaction increase.

About:

Cary Broussard, author of From Cinderella to CEO, began developing customized DE&I curriculum as an adjunct professor at New York University. Together with Dr. Faye Hall Jackson of Tuskegee University, they offer training across industries through Broussard Global C2CEO.