Fix Your Team

Chapter 17 THE FIX: ALIGN WITH VALUES

DEVELOP A TEAM IN WHICH EVERYONE IS JUDGED ON MERIT AND LIVES THE ORGANISATION’S VALUES.

If your goal is to develop a diverse team that lives and breathes the organisation’s values, then apply the Tools in this section. They include ideas for bringing the values to life, and some practical steps you can take to encourage diversity and inclusion in your workplace, if this is part of your organisation’s values. You can also develop the team’s openness to feedback and self-improvement.

TOOL #8 DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION INITIATIVES

The business case for a diverse and inclusive workplace is clear. Diversity (a mix of demographics in the team’s makeup) and inclusion (everyone being able and welcome to contribute) can generate innovation through the exchange of varied ideas. Employees will be more engaged if they feel valued, no matter what their cultural, ethnic or religious background. Productivity increases. Employees, as well as products, services and advertising, are more likely to be representative of (and appeal to) customers. Colleagues are more likely to treat one another with respect. The Inclusion@Work survey in 2017 found that, in Australia, employees who work in an inclusive team are 19 times more likely to be ‘very satisfied’ with their job.

The diversity of the leaders of organisations is important too. Recent research reported ...