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
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.
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
11. Me You Me You Me You Me You Unintentional walls disrupted collaboration This became our autopilot
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!
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.
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
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
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
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
20. Inviting people in takes intention and some effort. It doesn’t have to happen overnight.
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
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
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
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!
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”
26. Inviting people __ in
27. Not fitting in
28. Feeling like I didn’t belong
29. Feeling like I didn’t belong
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
31. Let’s avoid this
32. Step 4. Really inviting people in Send invites Think about dietary needs Welcome guests Engage in conversation Reflect on the enriching, fun evening
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?
34. Engage in conversation Hear di!erent perspectives • Be open to hearing new ideas • Avoid dismissing or judging • Act with curiosity
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.
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?
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
38. Foster a psychologically safe team
39. Foster a psychologically safe team
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
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!)
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
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!
44. Danke! I look forward to hearing about how you’ve invited people in!