Inviting People In

This is a talk I gave at Beyond Tellerrand in Berlin, Germany. Most of my talks are very pragmatic, but this one was personal for me and I go into how we can invite people in to feel like they belong. The slides don't have many words, so it's best if you check out the talk on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eENTxolJ5Fc.

Description from conference:
We’ve retreated to our homes and ourselves during the pandemic. As we find our new normal, it’s time to invite people back in. Our approach to inviting people will be different, especially since many are remotely located on distributed teams. We’ll consider what it means to include people in our circles again and what the benefits are. We'll identify what perspectives your team has, what perspectives it is missing, and why proactively inviting these perspectives matters. Also, we will discuss how to invite people in.

Transcript

1. 1 September 2022
   INVITING PEOPLE IN
   Michelle Chin
   Design Advocate, zeroheight
   @soysaucechin
   

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2. Diverse teams are great!
   Unique ideas!
   Creative
   disagreements
   Diverse thought
   More
   productivity
   “Why Diverse and Inclusive Teams Are the Engines of Innovation” from Great Place to Work. Frans Johansson, June 2020.
   

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10. Hey, can we chat over Slack and not meet?
    You
    Me
    Yeah, sure.
    Yesterday
    I finished the designs in Figma. Feel free to comment there.
    Me
    You
    Ok, will do.
    Today
    

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11. Me
    You
    Me
    You
    Me
    You
    Me
    You
    Unintentional walls disrupted collaboration
    This became our autopilot
    

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14. I agree, but it’s a lot
    of work.
    Well, I’m not sure
    where to start.
    Actually, I’m really busy.
    HR is working on this, let’s
    wait to see what they say.
    It’ll take some work, but it’s
    important.
    That might take
    awhile. You can still take action,
    though.
    The e!ort doesn’t have to be big.
    There are things you can fit in.
    No worries, we’ll cover that in
    this talk!
    

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15. Step 1. Reflect on who you are
    • Before you can invite
    others in, you need to
    understand who you are
    and who your team is.
    • The Positionality wheel by
    Lesley-Anne Noel
    Languages I speak
    & why
    Who am I?
    Race & Ethnicity
    Age
    Gender & Sexuality
    Ability / Disability
    Marital Status
    What do I do for
    a living?
    Level of education
    Class or status
    today
    Class or status as
    a child
    Parental Status
    Where I grew up
    “Learning to Recognize Exclusion” by Lesley-Ann Noel and Marcelo Paiva (Journal of Usability Studies, Vol 16. Issue 2. Feb 2021.
    

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16. Positionality
    Wheel
    Languages I
    speak & why
    Who am I?
    Race &
    Ethnicity Age
    Gender &
    Sexuality
    Ability /
    Disability
    Marital Status
    What do I do
    for a living?
    Level of
    education
    Class or
    status today
    Class or
    status as a
    child
    Parental
    Status
    Where I grew
    up
    

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17. Positionality
    Wheel
    Languages I
    speak & why
    Who am I?
    Race &
    Ethnicity Age
    Gender &
    Sexuality
    Ability /
    Disability
    Marital Status
    What do I do
    for a living?
    Level of
    education
    Class or
    status today
    Class or
    status as a
    child
    Parental
    Status
    Where I grew
    up
    Asian
    American
    Masters in
    UX
    Chinese &
    Japanese
    Neuro-
    diverse
    

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18. As a team
    activity
    Languages I
    speak & why
    Who are
    we?
    Race &
    Ethnicity Age
    Gender &
    Sexuality
    Ability /
    Disability
    Marital Status
    What do I do
    for a living?
    Level of
    education
    Class or
    status today
    Class or
    status as a
    child
    Parental
    Status
    Where I grew
    up
    

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19. Step 2. Identify perspectives you’re missing
    Positionality Wheel review
    • Question: “What are
    other aspects unlike
    mine?
    • It’s not just opposites.
    Life isn’t binary.
    • The gaps are who you
    could invite in
    Languages I
    speak & why
    English
    English
    English
    English
    English
    Spanish
    Ukrainian
    Hindi High
    school
    Spanish
    ??
    ??
    ??
    Arabic
    languages
    East Asian
    languages
    German
    

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20. Inviting people in takes intention
    and some effort.
    It doesn’t have to happen overnight.
    

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21. Step 3. Inviting people in
    Quick
    fixes
    Long-term
    e!orts
    Usability
    testing
    Ask for
    feedback within
    your company
    Hire and cultivate a “full
    perspective” team
    

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22. Usability testing
    • Test your site or product
    with your users
    • Invite participants that
    reflect your users
    • Invite people who’s
    perspectives were missing
    from the design process
    

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23. Ask for feedback within your company
    • Talk to other teams for
    feedback and perspectives
    you might not have
    • Customer success, Sales,
    Marketing, Employee
    Resource Groups
    Languages I
    speak & why
    English Spanish
    Ukrainian
    Hindi
    East Asian
    languages
    Arabic
    languages
    German
    

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24. Hire a “full-perspective” team
    • This can take e!ort and
    time
    • Can be going out of your
    way - a lot of systems in
    place provide shortcuts, but
    might not be equitable.
    • The value it provides is
    worth it!
    

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25. It’s not about ticking all the boxes
    • Creating a “full
    perspective” team isn’t
    just getting to this
    step.
    • In many ways it’s just
    the beginning
    • This is the “invite”
    

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26. Inviting people __
    in
    

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27. Not fitting in
    

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28. Feeling like I didn’t belong
    

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29. Feeling like I didn’t belong
    

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30. How could he say
    those things?!
    I have to say
    something and
    defend my race.
    Everyone is looking
    at me to validate
    this!
    How do I stay
    calm and not
    blow up!?
    I hope this doesn’t
    end in retaliation.
    My internal reaction all at once
    

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31. Let’s avoid this
    

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32. Step 4. Really inviting people in
    Send invites
    Think about
    dietary needs
    Welcome guests
    Engage in
    conversation
    Reflect on the
    enriching, fun evening
    

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33. When your new hire arrives
    Make them feel welcome
    • Pair them up with a buddy
    for onboarding
    • Politely identify any
    accommodations they might
    need
    • Listen and take a genuine
    interest in the conversation
    Is there anything I can
    get you to ensure you can
    be successful here?
    

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34. Engage in conversation
    Hear di!erent perspectives
    • Be open to hearing new ideas
    • Avoid dismissing or judging
    • Act with curiosity
    

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35. Cultivate conversation
    Build a safe space and encourage contribution
    • Build psychological safety
    • Help dismantle biases
    • Listen and make space for
    people
    Psychological safety
    • The ability to be yourself without
    fearing negative consequences
    because of who you are.
    • You can take risks without fear
    of judgement.
    • Teammates feel accepted and
    respected.
    

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36. Cultivate conversation
    Build a safe space and encourage contribution
    • Donut chats
    • Onboarding 1-1s with
    teammates
    • Engaging in conversations
    over Slack; react with emojis
    Easy, right?
    

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37. Cultivate conversation
    Build a safe space and encourage contribution
    happened to notice that beyond tellerrand is coming up pretty
    soon. i hope you're feeling good about making the trip but let me
    know if talking to someone else who struggles with anxiety would
    be helpful.
    Awesome co-worker
    Michelle
    aww thanks so much, you o!ering this means a lot!
    The other day
    

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38. Foster a psychologically safe team
    

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39. Foster a psychologically safe team
    

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40. Foster a psychologically safe team
    • Don’t be afraid - the
    challenge that you feel is
    nothing compared to the
    challenge of other
    marginalized people
    • Lead by example
    • Recognize the weight people
    carry when they’re the only
    one.
    • Support and encourage your
    team through this
    • Have conversations around
    what having a safe space to
    talk looks like for your team
    

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41. Reflect on things
    • Check in with yourself, your team -
    how did that go?
    • What could go better?
    • What moments can be celebrated?
    (Don’t forget to celebrate them!)
    

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42. B.R.I.D.G.E.
    • Be uncomfortable
    • Reflect (on what you don’t know)
    • Invite feedback
    • Defensiveness doesn’t help
    • Grow from your mistakes
    • Expect that change takes time
    From: Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan
    

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43. 5. Start small, try today
    • Complete the positionality
    wheel
    • Engage in conversations with
    people who are unlike you.
    • Take your time and don’t
    get discouraged. This can be
    awkward, but it gets easier.
    No one will fault you for
    trying!
    

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44. Danke!
    I look forward to
    hearing about how you’ve
    invited people in!
    

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