HR Question:

How do I integrate inclusive decision-making into my team culture?

HR Answer:

Most organizational leaders have learned about and understand the value of practicing inclusion in the workplace. You don’t need to hear the business case for inclusion – you’ve seen it; you get it. So, rather than trying to convince you of its importance, let’s dig deeper into some practical ways to create an inclusive work environment by adopting inclusive decision-making processes.

Savvy team leaders understand that conventional group habits in decision-making are tough to break. Many times, you will observe that some team members are quiet, other team members interrupt each other, and outspoken team members are getting plenty of time to voice their thoughts throughout the meetings. This doesn’t tend to bring out the wealth of knowledge, experience, and diversity of thought that your team has to offer.

So, to leverage the strength of your team, we recommend following these four principles to create a more inclusive decision-making environment:

Principle 1: Ensure Full Participation

The intellectual power of your team is in their individual and collective diversity of thought! As the team leader, your employees look to you to foster an environment where everyone is empowered to participate. This is easier said than done for a couple of reasons: 1) Because your team is likely comprised of individuals with different communication styles and preferences; and 2) it requires the leader to be fully present and aware of each team member’s engagement.

So what can you do? Set guiding practices for meetings that allow for divergent thinking – be wary of “group think.” Encourage alternative perspectives when you don’t hear them among the group. Also, include preferred methodologies to engage introverts, i.e., allow folks to share thoughts/feedback in writing either before or during a meeting. Listen for judgments regarding team members or ideas during and after the meetings, and redirect these statements if needed.

To ensure psychological safety where your team members feel free to fully express their thoughts, read this helpful guide from Gallup.

If you’re unsure if your team members understand their own work styles, much less the preferences of their teammates, you may want to consider using the DiSC assessment to help your team learn more about themselves, their team members, and strategies to work more effectively together.

Principle 2: Create Mutual Understanding

To achieve inclusive decision-making, each team member must be able to understand and think about another’s point of view. This does not mean that they necessarily agree with another’s viewpoint. However, assessing situations and challenges from multiple points of view creates a greater opportunity for innovation and more comprehensive solutions. As the team leader, you set the tone for group conversations that value and seek out diversity of thought. It is your role to help your team members who may struggle with processing views that are dramatically different from their own.

It is good practice to provide an agenda for all meetings, and it can be particularly helpful to send an agenda ahead of time for meetings where you expect group discussion. We recommend beginning the meeting by discussing guiding practices and the shared value of embracing diversity of thought throughout the meeting. Allowing the team to share individual needs, goals, and biases helps to create full transparency and increases trust among the group for deep and thoughtful discussions.

Principle 3: Develop Inclusive Solutions

Although there’s often a drive to solve challenges quickly, it’s important to remember that brainstorming is a two-step process. First, capture ALL ideas for problem-solving solutions. Avoid the urge to critique ideas as they are presented. This can cause people to feel less comfortable sharing their ideas, and it can dramatically hinder the potential of innovative solutions. You may need to remind your team that the goal of this first brainstorming step is to embrace diversity of thought and creative solutions.

After all potential ideas are gathered, the second step is to vet and assess the solutions for validity and viability. Sometimes you’ll find that seemingly outrageous ideas can lead to viable solutions once they’re tweaked in ways that make them doable. Some solutions of higher complexity may need additional time to consider, reflect upon, and research further.

Be sure that each team member participates in developing the potential solutions. Also, pay attention to the pace at which the team reaches their decision – looking to avoid rushed decisions and conversely, paralysis by analysis.

Principle 4: Generate Shared Responsibility

Make sure that each team member participates in the thinking process, including giving and receiving feedback on the decision(s), before finalizing the action plan. Remind the team that even if their suggested solutions aren’t ultimately selected by the group, they each play a meaningful part in the process.

Ideally, each team member will have a part in executing the work required for the solution implementation. Be sure to outline who is responsible for what actions and when they are due. Schedule follow-up meetings to connect on action plan progress and to address obstacles encountered.

The Value of Inclusive Decision-Making

There’s truth in the saying, “More heads are better than one.” These inclusive decision-making principles can act as a framework for transformational team dynamics. Activating each team member’s unique thoughts and strengths will lead to optimum innovation in your organization. Involving each team member in important decisions will also positively impact their sense of value and belonging, increasing engagement and retention.

To dive deeper into practical steps that you can take to ensure that you are an effective team leader and facilitator of fruitful inclusive group discussions, we recommend you read The Facilitator’s Guide to Participatory Decision Making, 3rd Edition (2014) by Sam Kaner.

Long gone are the days of a conventional decision-making process that often led to team conflict and a lack of commitment to outcomes. Fostering an inclusive decision-making culture is essential in today’s work environment. And it will not happen by accident. It will take more purposeful planning and skill to achieve, but you will be glad that you put forth the effort as you reap the rewards.

Thank you to Melinda Canino, MS, Senior HR Communications Advisor, and Tarah Cook, MS, CTA for contributing to this HR Question of the Week.

Inclusive practices focused on business and HR strategy will impact your organization’s bottom line. And fostering an inclusive decision-making culture will positively impact your employee experience, retention, and innovation. Strategic HR receives numerous requests regarding inclusive culture practices from leaders. We can help with your business and HR strategy. Learn more on our HR Strategy page.