For too long, inclusion has meant assimilation in our society. Someone could be included in church, school, or the C-Suite, but only if they acted a certain way. Those who didn’t fit the mold but wanted to belong practiced code-switching, compartmentalizing, and other survival techniques.
We’re throwing that so-called rule book out the window. At Voqal Partners, we see inclusion as a verb, actively making space for everyone to belong, not just a specific population or those who can quickly assimilate.
The folks at Cohesion Collective use a house analogy. In this analogy, the roof is inclusion, the overarching conception that protects us all; the pillars are talent, leadership, and culture; and the foundation is trust.
Like an actual house, though, the foundation is deeper than the surface, and things buried far beneath can wreak havoc on the structure if not properly addressed. Sometimes, these issues cause immediate signs of trouble, but other times, they may take years to show symptoms.
Without looking at and understanding how external conditions affect our internal operations and staff, the structure becomes fractured and eroded, and trust becomes mistrust. When we realize this, we can use our energy to restore damage and prevent further issues from arising.
One way is to foster and sustain psychological safety. This differs from trust in an organization in that a workplace with psychological safety gives its employees the benefit of the doubt. In contrast, trust requires the employees to put their faith in the company. Employees and teams experience higher satisfaction, cooperation, engagement, and performance in a psychologically safe institution.
In “Working Girl,” the leading character carries her high heels to the office, preferring sneakers on the commute. For us, the physical changing of shoes exemplifies a dated version of the workplace. It demonstrates the office as separate from oneself, where you step into other shoes to prepare for the job. The workplace was not for individual expression and endorsement but for company devotion and demand. We reject this.
Returning to our house, if everyone felt psychologically safe at work, they would enter the space in whatever shoes they wanted and may even remove them altogether. They would feel as comfortable in the office as in their homes. They would come as their whole selves, not a watered-down version.
Of course, this is a simplified way of demonstrating how a workplace can and should nurture belongingness and inclusion so that everyone can be themselves, free to share their perspectives, challenges, and ideas without fear of ridicule or retaliation.
The outside world—each employee’s full self—should infiltrate the organization’s walls. We are each shaped by societal and historical contexts and cannot separate that from ourselves without a high cost to our sense of self, safety, and happiness.
Why can’t the workplace be organized and cultivated like a home? One where we do not feel like guests and can remove our shoes for ultimate comfort. One where we can have stimulating and engaging conversations about the world to inform our behaviors and actions? Our workplaces can strive to extend ease beyond the foot and to the soul. At Voqal Partners, we endeavor to do just that every day.
