At Inclusity, we strongly believe in the power of inclusive communities – that’s why we were excited to support Hancock County and its IDE efforts   through culture assessment, consultation, and inclusion training!

Inclusity conducted a series of interviews and focus groups with a variety of members of the Hancock County community, including (but not limited to) young professionals, members of the clergy, the superintendent of schools, high school students, the mayor, and community leaders. Through this process, we gained a more solid understanding of the existing community culture, the specific benefits of inclusion for the community, and leadership’s role in becoming more inclusive. Inclusity then provided recommendations for actions Hancock County could take to become more inclusive, as well as led Cultural Humility and Health Equity and Conscious Inclusion Training. In addition, we developed an Inclusion Toolkit for Hancock County, which includes fundamental unconscious bias training, tools to help them create/amend policies to be more inclusive, and templates for climate survey

As a result of these efforts, The You Belong Campaign, a program spearheaded by the Hancock County Leadership Class of 2022, was launched. They have also partnered with the Hancock County Cultural Humility & Health Equity Delegation for the annual project. The delegation is comprised of local community members, establishing a Community of Belonging in Findlay and Hancock County, focusing on ensuring accessibility of all things and designing a code of humility.

One of the key goals of the You Belong campaign is to create a more accessible community. This means making sure that all individuals, including those with disabilities, have access to the resources and opportunities they need to thrive. This includes everything from accessible transportation to inclusive community events.

Hancock County has recently hit one of its Inclusive Milestones. The Hancock County Board of Developmental Disabilities has agreed to turn over daily operations of the preschool at Blanchard Valley School, 1700 E. Sandusky St., to the county’s public schools in the fall, ensuring all children with developmental disabilities in Hancock County will be served by their home school districts.

In April of this year, You Belong grantees participated in a Poster Gallery Session at the Findlay-Hancock County Public Library’s annual CommunityREADS event. It was inspiring to see and hear about each organization’s commitment to creating a Community of Belonging in Findlay-Hancock County.

Inclusity is proud to partner with Hancock County and so thankful to be a part of the community’s journey. We look forward to collaborating with other organizations and individuals to promote these values of inclusion, diversity, and equity – and to create positive change in Hancock County and beyond.

Building a culture of inclusion begins when leadership is on board. Their commitment is essential to sustaining a positive culture in the long run.
Although the responsibility for inclusion sits on the shoulders of the CEO, the only way for any diversity and inclusion program to survive and be effective is through leadership commitment. When employees see the behaviors and actions of inclusive leaders, they will be more engaged and productive, helping to grow and contribute to a workplace that is inclusive. Now that why know why it’s important, let’s ask the next logical question: how can you promote an inclusive company culture starting from the top?

How to Build a Culture of Inclusion

Build relationships. An inclusive culture requires a solid foundation of trust. By making efforts to authentically connect with employees and ensure psychological safety for them, leaders can build trust. When employees trust their leadership, they are more likely to share exciting and new ideas, as well as offer fresh perspectives that may have otherwise gone unheard.

Own it. Diversity and inclusion are often treated as a single initiative owned exclusively by HR; however, only when leadership steps up to own and drive diversity and inclusion will a company’s diversity and inclusion practices thrive. Leaders should be the first to role model inclusive behavior, and this will allow employees to feel safe enough to do the same.

Hold inclusion training for leaders. Don’t assume that leaders understand what it means to be inclusive; take the initiative and educate them how to cultivate an inclusive culture. Through inclusion training, they can grow emotional intelligence and better understand unconscious bias, giving them the confidence and skills to make fast, efficient and effective decisions as a people leader.

Practice inclusive leadership. Inclusive leaders actively seek out and consider different perspectives to inform their decision-making. This enables them to collaborate more effectively with others, facilitate constructive conversations, give actionable feedback, and act upon the advice of diverse employees. Leaders should be inclusive of the multiple viewpoints, perspectives and styles that are a part of diverse teams. Inclusive leadership makes diversity matter.

Form an inclusion council. One of the first steps you can take toward establishing a more inclusive organizational culture is to establish an inclusion, diversity, and equity (IDE) council/taskforce. These groups can be involved in goal-setting around hiring, retaining and advancing a diverse workforce and in furthering other IDE efforts. Carefully select employees (including leaders) who are not only passionate about building a diverse and inclusive organization, but also have the respect and trust of your people.

Hold leaders accountable. Make inclusion a core value of the organization — not just something you do to “check a box.” Increase accountability by tying a portion of leaders’ bonuses to diversity and inclusion goals. This sends a strong signal that the company takes the goals seriously. It also pushes leaders to be accountable for their behaviors.

Representation matters. Women and people from marginalized groups are still underpaid and underrepresented in higher level positions compared to their white, male counterparts. Employees should see diversity represented in senior leadership. While finding ways to attract diverse leaders is important, an inclusive culture will help retain that diversity.

No diversity and inclusion efforts and initiatives will be successful without buy-in from leadership. As with any culture change, if you want to develop a culture of inclusion, you must start from the top of the organization. Inclusive leadership is the key to not just creating a culture of inclusion; it is one if the most a crucial elements in fostering an innovative and productive workforce.  If you’re interested in working with your leadership to foster a culture of inclusion, Inclusity is here to help.

In this blog, we hear from Patrick Hughes, a facilitator with Inclusity. He openly shares his perspective as a white male in the IDE space; he fits into almost every in-norm, dominant social identifier in our society. Patrick addresses the “elephant in the room” right upfront: ”Hi, I’m Patrick. I’m a white guy with a lot of privilege, and I’m fully committed to inclusion.”

How did you first get involved in inclusion, diversity, & equity (IDE)?

My journey began about 13 years ago when I was completing a master’s program in organizational development. One of the courses was called “Use of Self as an Agent of Change.” We spent a week looking at social identity theory and how who we are impacts our ability to work with organizations, individuals, and teams. This was my first exposure to concepts related to IDE. This was the first time that anyone told me that all of my social identifiers and who I am walking around unconsciously impacts others, potentially in a negative way.

As a white male, what role do you play in IDE efforts?

I see myself as a partner, ally, and interrupter. I look at my role as partnering up with other people to make things happen, not leading the charge. I’m constantly looking at how I can be an ally for any marginalized group because I live in so many privileged categories and in-norm groups. I’m looking for ways to partner with or be an ally to folks that aren’t in-norm groups, so I can create inclusion. Also, because of this awarded privilege that I sometimes have, I look for ways to interrupt conversations that may be creating exclusion. I think about how I can use the voice that I’m given because of my gender and skin color to elevate others.

What are some of the lessons learned from engaging in IDE work?

I’ve learned a lot around how to be empathetic and how to hear and value others’ emotions and experiences. When I work with individuals and groups, I want to hear feedback so I can grow and create safe space where we can have relationship and dialogue. I’m not reluctant to initiate and engage in difficult conversations. Through the difficult conversations come strengthened partnerships and new insights. But, this must be authentic. If you engage in this way and don’t mean it, you’ll do more harm than good.

How do we engage white males in IDE efforts?

We need to disarm white men and create a safe space for them to share emotions around feeling excluded in IDE. If we don’t validate their experiences and feelings around exclusion, the overall objective of ensuring that everyone feels connected and valued will fail. White men need to see themselves as part of the solution – not part of the problem where they feel blamed and vilified.

What have you personally gained from working in the IDE space?

I’ve gained a richer life experience and deeper relationships. I’ve gained new perspectives that enable me to be a better leader. I now walk around this world from a conscious place as opposed to unconsciously through my socializations. The socializations and biases that I grew up with are not who I want to be in the world. For me, creating inclusion is creating the world that I want where everyone feels valued and empowered. Previously, I thought I was creating the world I wanted only to realize that there’s unconscious bias getting in the way of that. I wanted to create empowered teams and be a leader that everyone loved and admired, but I wasn’t. I was exhibiting behaviors that were contrary to what I wanted to create.

Why are diversity and inclusion everyone’s responsibility, including white males?

We cannot build inclusion if we’re excluding anyone. White men absolutely need to be at the table. They have the opportunity to leverage much of the power and privilege that they have been given to further the efforts of creating inclusion to benefit everyone. However, white men must be willing to step into uncomfortable situations and embrace change to make this happen. It can feel scary because the world has been set up to benefit them, so why should they want to change. Sometimes you have to risk a little bit to gain a lot. Once I was willing to risk alienating some friends and colleagues or being seen as a traitor or outcast, I found a whole new world open up to me on the other side. That world of inclusion now entails deeper relationships, more productive teams, and exponential growth in my leadership abilities.