Leveraging Strengths to Build a Culture of Inclusion

Diversity and inclusion initiatives are frequently cited priorities for organizations aspiring to thrive in the future. Framed the right way, DEI initiatives can serve as the catalyst for creating a workplace culture and environment that is inclusive and engaging for all. That said, leaders are sometimes fraught to work on these initiatives for fear of not being sure where to start. One initial step to ease into wider ranging efforts can start with individual conversations. In fact, any manager wanting to build rapport and a sense of inclusion with their team can implement efforts to get to know each person on their team better. One on one conversations focused on an individual’s natural strengths can serve as a powerful conduit for helping individuals feel genuinely seen, valued, and heard for the positive aspects of what they bring to your team as opposed to harmful stereotypes that may otherwise be internalized.

Could a strengths based approach be leveraged as a tool to check harmful assumptions?

I’ll start with some examples of addressing gender stereotypes and assumptions in the workplace based on past experiences supporting women in higher level leadership roles. I’ve worked with a number of female influencers who feel inclined to apologize for certain strengths. There is sometimes a concern about coming across as too assertive or directive. Conversely, I once worked with an individual who had a natural inclination toward seeking consensus in group conversations, and felt compelled to apologize for not being willing to take charge in conversations. That said, in many ways, her tendency to seek and find consensus in a group of peers that were quick to passionately argue for their given perspective brought a unique sense of balance to the team. 

I’ve also worked one on one with female leaders who have a natural ability to take charge in group conversations and debates. In one instance I was working with someone who was curious about how she could tone down her approach because she’d been told in the past that she was too assertive. Consequently, she began to feel that her natural ability to take point in difficult situations felt more like a weakness than a strength. She went on to tell me that in a previous management role her supervisor suggested that her leadership style was too pushy and aggressive. In that instance I felt compelled to not only help her explore the positive aspects of her approach, but to challenge the not-so-subtle gender bias she had experienced as well.

Kim Scott’s book Radical Candor provides several important illustrations of the dangers of gender bias and happens to be a popular read with managers I recommend it to. This particular lead was reading the book at the time, and we spent some time reviewing content in the book demonstrating how negative assumptions and stereotypes about women help sustain imbalanced leadership representation in organizations. We discussed how assertive female leaders are often unfairly labeled as “abrasive” or “pushy” in performance reviews as opposed to men with similar strengths who are more likely to be labeled as “confident” or “bold”. To be fair…raw assertiveness can indeed feel aggressive from any leader with that natural inclination and needs to be strategically leveraged to some extent (as does any strength) but pointing out its value, and discussing how to effectively leverage the ability to take charge can be extremely validating when a leader you’re working with may have previously had that talent framed solely as a weakness.

Challenging assumptions and validating people for their natural abilities is a powerful approach for removing obstacles.

Let’s shift the lens a bit to socioeconomic background and education. I’ve worked with leaders in the past who may have experienced barriers or lack of support for pursuing post-secondary education. There are a number of industries where a degree isn’t necessary to excel and rise to higher levels of leadership, yet as folks advance, they can sometimes give voice to concerns that they might be perceived differently or appear more credible if their experience was coupled with an advanced degree.

In these instances, I often find it helpful to inquire about how an individual’s strengths align with the work they do today and how this alignment has helped them ascend to their present leadership role. When you build an organization that stresses a shared language around employee talents, it begins to transition the conversation from “my degree makes me worthy” to “My work aligns with my natural talents…and that inspires me to do great work”. This doesn’t by any means discount the academic achievements of those who have pursued and achieved advanced degrees, it simply creates a shared language for understanding leadership focused specifically on the concept of talents and strengths.

In short, implementing a strengths-based perspective to validate aspects of identity and personality can play a powerful role in creating an inclusive work environment. Leveraged the right way, this approach can absolutely help compliment other diversity and inclusion initiatives your organization presently has (or may be in the process of developing). What strategies might you use to further leverage a coaching approach as a manager to build more inclusive teams? It’s not terribly difficult to imagine work environments that do just that.