Inclusive Workplace Practices

𝗖𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘄𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝗮𝗯𝗼𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴. I came across a video about why clear documentation matters, and although it was lighthearted, it captured a challenge I've seen repeatedly while working with organizations. Most teams believe they have documented their processes. What they've often documented are the steps, while leaving out the judgment behind them. Experienced people fill in those gaps automatically because they know which shortcuts to take, which exceptions to ignore, and which decisions require extra attention. New colleagues don't have that advantage, which is why the same document that looks perfectly clear to one person can be frustratingly incomplete to another. 𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗿𝗼𝗼𝗺, 𝗶𝘁 𝗶𝘀𝗻'𝘁 𝗮 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗰𝗲𝘀𝘀. 𝗜𝘁'𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲. The strongest organizations don't become resilient because they hire exceptional people. They become resilient because exceptional people make their knowledge transferable. They create documentation that explains not only what to do, but also why it matters, when to adapt, and how success should be measured. That's becoming an increasingly valuable leadership skill because every new hire, every cross-functional project, and every technology initiative depends on the same foundation. Clarity. 𝗪𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘆𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗺 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗿𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝗳 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗼𝗰𝘂𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻? #Leadership #KnowledgeManagement #FutureOfWork #Management #Communication Source: Noelidavid

Creating an inclusive workplace requires intentional actions and a commitment to doing better every day. There are some key differences between being actively inclusive and engaging in performative allyship, especially around disability inclusion. Active inclusion involves self-reflection, listening to disabled voices, learning about accessibility and inclusion, and taking meaningful steps to dismantle barriers. It’s about going beyond good intentions and committing to tangible actions that foster equity and belonging. Performative allyship, however, can appear as avoiding discussions about disability, relying on token gestures, or staying silent in the face of ableist behaviour. While often unintentional, these behaviours can reinforce exclusion instead of challenging it. To create real change, it’s important to reflect on our own practices and move towards being actively inclusive. Progress comes from understanding, listening, and taking action to ensure accessibility and equity are embedded in all aspects of our work. ID: a Robbie Crow graphic compares being actively inclusive with being a performative ally in disability inclusion. It highlights key actions like self-reflection, active listening, and proactive advocacy, contrasted with behaviours such as gaslighting, tokenism, avoidance, and silence. The aim is to encourage meaningful inclusion over superficial gestures. Full alt text is embedded in the image. #DisabilityInclusion #Disability #DisabilityEmployment #Adjustments #DiversityAndInclusion #Content

"The language of #diversity, #equity, and #inclusion might change, but impactful work will not." This was the hopeful refrain of many as anti-DEI backlash and political attacks ramped up against this critical work. But as the months drew on, I wasn't seeing any compelling new language. Leaders were watching and waiting, hoping that a new framework would organically emerge that could protect our impact while being more defensible against political attacks. So I started creating that framework myself. The FAIR Framework, standing for Fairness, Access, Inclusion, and Representation, officially launches today in a new feature article for the Harvard Business Review. I wanted to create something that could build on the best of effective DEI work, discard the performative noise, and be firmly comprehensible and defensible by any leader. And after countless hours of research, it boiled down to 4 tenets: 🎯 Outcomes-Based, focused on measurable results rather than flimsy signals of commitment. 🌐 Systems-Focused, using change management to shift workplace systems, rather than surface-level awareness. 🔗 Coalition-Driven, seeking to engage the collective rather than delegating the burden of blame or change onto cliques. 🌱 Win-Win, communicating the benefits of healthier organizations for everyone, rejecting zero-sum framing. FAIR work looks like challenging discrimination in pay, hiring, and promotions, and ensuring that workplace systems set everyone up to succeed. FAIR work looks like removing barriers to participation, using universal design principles to build for all, and including users in every design process. FAIR work looks like creating a workplace culture that recognizes people's differences and ensures a high standard of respect, value, and safety for all. FAIR work looks like participatory decision-making, transparent communications, and strong track records of promises kept and trust maintained. I designed FAIR to be something any leader and practitioner can use—so long as your work meets the core tenets. If I'm being frank, however, a good deal of work calling itself "DEI" does not pass the test. The feel-good trainings with no impact measurement, the never-ending coaching services trying to "fix" the individual but never the systems holding them back, the blame-and-shame strategies that trade a moment of vindication for months of backlash; if we are to survive this moment, we cannot take this kind of "DEI" work with us. I put this framework out into the world with a healthy dose of pride and anxiety. It is far from perfect. It will certainly evolve as practitioners iterate and improve on it. But I truly believe that this is exactly the kind of rigorous, defensible framework leaders need right now to weather this storm and emerge with their impact intact. I hope you find it useful as you seek to do the same. A free gift link is in the comments—please share if it resonates.

“Inclusion” without disability is still exclusion. (You don’t have to hate disabled people to be ableist) You just have to: - ignore disability in your policies & DEI strategy - treat ADA compliance as your only finish line - forget to budget for needed accommodations - hire for “culture fit” but avoid disabled talent Ableism doesn’t always sound like hate. In fact, ableism is usually just silence. Silence around underrepresentatuon Silence around reasonable accommodations Silence around stigma & bias toward disability That’s what this iceberg shows. Above the surface: good intentions. Below the surface: harmful inaction. As a person with a visible & invisible disability, I get frustrated for a few reasons but the main issue? Disability inclusion isn’t charity. There’s a clear business case for disability inclusion. Companies that lean into disability inclusion earn: 28% higher revenue 30% higher profit margins Still, 90% of companies claim to prioritize diversity but only 4% include disability in their DEI efforts. The human case is there. The business case is there. So what’s missing? Change. But what does real change look like? It’s not just a wheelchair icon or checking a box. It’s: - listening to disabled voices - auditing ableist hiring practices - measuring equity, not just optics - hiring/promoting disabled leaders - funding reasonable accommodations Ableism is the iceberg. Don’t let your culture sink with it. ♻️ Share so we can end ableism #DisabilityInclusion #EndAbleism #InclusiveLeadership #AccessibilityMatters #EquityInAction [image description: A graphic on a tan background that shows an iceberg in the middle. The title says the ableism iceberg and above the water is six statements: everyone is included, we don’t discriminate, disability imagery, ADA compliant, disability ERG, inclusion matters. Below the water it says what’s missing: no disabled bleeders, systemic in accessibility, ableist policies, ablest hiring process, invisible disability bias, neurodivergent erasure, no accommodations budget.]

𝐒𝐢𝐱 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬. 𝐎𝐧𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞. 𝐔𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐢𝐞𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐚𝐠𝐞—𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐛𝐲 𝐩𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞. I believed leadership meant setting direction and ensuring alignment. But over time—I’ve come to see that real leadership isn’t just about strategy. It’s about 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘯𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯. That truth has never been more relevant than it is today. For the first time in modern history, 𝐬𝐢𝐱 𝐠𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐜𝐨𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞. It’s a leadership challenge few of us were trained for. 🔹 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐆𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 (pre-1946): Still serving on boards; shaped by duty and discipline. 🔹 𝐁𝐚𝐛𝐲 𝐁𝐨𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫𝐬 (1946–1964): ~12% of today’s workforce; value stability, loyalty, and legacy. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐗 (1965–1980): ~27%; independent, pragmatic, delivery-focused. 🔹 𝐌𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐧𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐬 (1981–1996): ~34%; purpose-driven, collaborative, growth-oriented. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐙 (1997–2012): ~27%; inclusive, tech-native, values transparency. 🔹 𝐆𝐞𝐧 𝐀𝐥𝐩𝐡𝐚 (post-2012): The emerging workforce—digital-first, fast-learning, entrepreneurial. These differences show up in how we work: → Senior leaders value hierarchy; Gen Z favors flat structures. → Boomers seek recognition; Gen X wants autonomy; Millennials want meaning; Gen Z asks, “𝘞𝘩𝘺?” → Gen Alpha? They're learning, building, and questioning earlier than ever. What feels like friction is often just generational dissonance. In a recent HBR piece, put it well: “𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘤𝘢𝘯’𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦 𝘢 𝘮𝘶𝘭𝘵𝘪𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘤𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮.” That’s the shift we need as leaders: From uniformity → to personalization From authority → to empathy From legacy leadership → to 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 leadership I now ask myself not just, “Am I leading well?” but “Am I leading 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘷𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘭𝘺?” Because when we adapt our style—not our standards—we help every generation contribute at their best. Great leadership today means adapting with intention and embracing what makes each generation thrive. 𝐏𝐮𝐫𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐞 𝐀𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭: Connecting individual roles to a broader organizational mission fosters engagement across all generations. 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐳𝐞𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐦𝐦𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧: Recognize and adapt to the preferred communication styles of each generation to enhance collaboration. 𝐅𝐥𝐞𝐱𝐢𝐛𝐥𝐞 𝐖𝐨𝐫𝐤 𝐀𝐫𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬: Offering flexibility can address the diverse needs and expectations of a multigenerational team. 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐎𝐩𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐮𝐧𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐞𝐬: Promote a culture of lifelong learning to support professional development for all age groups. What shift have you made to better lead across generations? #HarveysLeadershipRhythms #ThoughtsWithHarvey #ExecutiveLeadership #TheLeadershipSignal #GenerationalLeadership #LeadershipReflections #LeadWithIntention #MultigenerationalWorkforce #LeadershipCue #Mentorship

Menstruation leave is not radical — it’s overdue. I still remember the first time I had to sit through an 8 a.m. meeting with a heating pad on my lap, cramps in full swing, smiling like nothing was wrong. It was… exhausting. When we talk about “bringing your whole self to work,” we rarely talk about bodies. Bodies that need rest. Bodies that don’t always cooperate with the Monday–Friday, 9–5 model. That’s why at Her First $100K, menstruation leave is a thing. It’s paid. It’s encouraged. And it’s not treated like a weakness — it’s treated like what it is: health care. We’ve also built in: -- Unlimited PTO -- 1 paid week off per quarter, where the entire company pauses -- Parental leave that actually lets you bond with your baby instead of racing back to your inbox. When you acknowledge that humans have human needs, you don’t just get loyalty. You get trust. And trust is the most valuable benefit of all.

I have a DEI secret… And it’s a big one. Ready? The accommodations I make for my neurodivergent team members… Also benefit my neurotypical team members. Ground breaking, right? 😏 I hear a lot about companies pushing back on accommodations, but I thought I’d show you just a few of the simple things we do here. I’ll use myself as the example, and let you see how it helps everyone. 👉 I like to sit on my legs and fidget in my chair. ✨ So we’ve got comfy chairs, wider than your standard office ones, for everyone. 👉 I regularly forget my breakfast or lunch. ✨ So we keep a fully stocked drinks fridge and snack cupboard. Open to everyone. 👉 Sometimes I find the main office overwhelming when I’m trying to focus. ✨ So we created two quiet workspaces in different rooms. Everyone can use them when it all gets a bit much. 👉 I used to get anxious about calling in sick and having to justify it to my old manager. ✨ Now? Just send a text. No explanations needed. If you say you’re ill, that’s enough. Applies to everyone. 👉 I had a habit of staying too late, sometimes working 3 or 4 hours longer than I should. ✨ So we finish at 4pm. And we mean it. Everyone is made to down tools and heads off. No late-night badge of honour here. I could go on, but you get the idea. There’s really no excuse not to make accommodations for your ND teammates. Because when you do… It makes things better for everyone.

👩🦰 Persona Spectrum For Inclusive Design (Figma Kit) (https://lnkd.in/eGD38hs4), a wonderful little accessibility tool for designers to include permanent, temporary and situational contexts in design decisions. Open sources, with all illustrations and assets for presentations and print. By 🐝 Mahana Delacour. --- 🔶 1. Accessibility ≠ Compliance We should never rely on automated accessibility testing alone to “ensure” accessibility. Compliance means that a user can use your product, but it doesn’t mean that it’s a great user experience. Manual testing makes sure that your users actually can meet their goals in their own context. It often feels daunting to get started, but small first steps are a great beginning. First, gather people interested in accessibility. Document what research was done, where the gaps are. And then try to include 5–12 users with disabilities in a dedicated accessibility testing. One way to find participants is to reach out to local chapters, local training centers, non-profits and public communities of users with disabilities in your country. You might want to add extra $25–$50 depending on disability transportation. Once you have access to users, run a small accessibility initiative around key flows in your products. Tap into critical touch points and research them. Eventually extend to components, patterns, flows, service design. A good target is to incorporate inclusive sampling into all research projects — at least 15% of usability testers should have a permanent, temporary or situational disability. --- 🔹 2. Building Accessibility Research From Scratch If you’d like to get started, I highly recommend to check “How We’ve Built Accessibility Research at Booking.com” (https://lnkd.in/eq_3zSPJ), a fantastic case study by Maya Alvarado on how to build accessibility practices and inclusive design into UX research from scratch. Maya highlights the idea of extending Microsoft's Inclusive Design Toolkit (https://lnkd.in/eN5J7EkJ) to meet specific user needs of a product. It adds a different dimension to disability considerations which might be less abstract and much easier to relate for the entire organization. And as Maya noted, inclusive design is about building a door that can be opened by anyone and lets everyone in. Accessibility isn’t a checklist — it’s a practice that goes way beyond compliance. A practice that involves actual people with actual disabilities throughout all UX research activities. More resources in the comments ↓

This Teacher Changes 30 Lives Each Morning Here's Why This Works Every morning, a teacher greets her students one by one - not with rules, but with choice: A hug, A high-five, a nod, or quiet. A ritual so simple. Yet it tells 30 children: You are seen. You are safe. You belong. Here’s what this teaches us about leadership - and how to apply it at work: 1. Honor Autonomy (Self-Determination Theory) When people get to choose how they engage, they show up with more agency. Autonomy isn’t about letting go of structure - it’s about giving room to opt in. Try this: 🔷 Let people set their own work cadence - async, deep focus, or collaborative sprints 🔷 Ask: “What support looks best for you right now?” *** 2. Create Micro-Moments of Connection (Broaden-and-Build Theory) We don’t need hour-long one-on-ones to build trust. A genuine check-in. A name spoken with intention. That’s the glue. Try this: 🔷 Pause to celebrate effort, not just outcomes - a quick voice note, a public thank-you 🔷 Remember small details - a kid’s soccer game, a partner’s surgery - and follow up *** 3. Signal Safety in Small Ways (Polyvagal Theory) The nervous system responds before the intellect does. Safety is felt first. And safe leaders create brave spaces. Try this: 🔷 Ask: “Is now a good time?” before giving feedback or asking for decisions 🔷 Stay calm and present, especially when tensions rise - your tone sets the tone *** 4. Design for Anticipatory Joy (Affective Forecasting) The brain lights up for what’s coming next. The ritual at the door gave students a reason to show up smiling. Try this: 🔷 Drop a kind, unexpected message in the team chat - just because 🔷 Celebrate mundane milestones - 100 days in the role, 50th client call, 1st brave no *** 5. Anchor Culture in Meaningful Rituals (Harvard Research on Rituals) Rituals are memory-makers. They codify values in action - they say, this is who we are. Try this: 🔷 End each quarter with storytelling: what stretched us? what did we learn? 🔷 Welcome new hires not with logistics, but with a story of your team's "why" *** This teacher didn’t redesign the curriculum. She redesigned how people enter the day. You don’t need a big title to lead like that - Just the courage to meet people at the door. 💬 What’s one ritual you’ve seen shift the energy of a space - or want to create where you work? 🔁 Repost to inspire kind actions in the workplace. 🔔 Follow Bhavna Toor for more on conscious leadership.

We won’t move on until she is addressed correctly. That one sentence stopped a congressional session and it’s a lesson in leadership and allyship every workplace needs. Chairman Keith Self referred to Congresswoman Sarah McBride as "Mr. McBride" and "Gentleman from Delaware." The other representatives could have let it slide, but they didn’t. Here are two reasons why their response had an impact: 1) Addressing the specific comment, not someone's character. One representative asked, "Can you repeat the instruction?" This tactic encourages self-reflection and offers an opportunity for course correction without immediate defensiveness. In a regular workplace conversation, this might look like: "Explain that joke to me." "I don’t get it. What do you mean by that?" 2) Reinforcing the norms and values of the organization. Another representative reminded the room that decency is a core value of the institution. He made it clear, "We won’t move on until the representative is addressed correctly." This set the expectation that respect is not optional and in this room, we address one another correctly. In a workplace, reinforcing values can sound like: "We want everyone to feel supported here." "One of our core values is excellence, and that means ensuring everyone is recognized and respected." It can help remind someone of what is expected as part of the collective organization. Ideally, these techniques interrupt bias without escalation. But no matter how we are able to do it, interrupting these moments is crucial. Sarah McBride immediately responded to the misgendering with a pointed "Madame Chair," but it was the intervention of her allies that stopped the proceedings and demanded accountability. We need more examples of this kind of allyship in action. These moments might not feel consequential but they are. Every time we are able to show that harassment of trans people is not normal. Every time our humanity is recognized is one moment we get closer to building the world we want to live in. (As always, shout out to Erin Reed for her stellar reporting that made me aware of this story)