18 August 2021

DEI - Diversity, Equity, Inclusion - PART2 - Inclusion

PART 0 – Business or Loneliness?

0.1. Professional life

Business success calls for establishing winning teams that would alter the shape of an organisation. Leadership is based on defining goals for those teams and allow them to design their own strategy. Team members are selected among the best in class who would carry individual wherewithal to complete the mission. Therefore engagement and involvement of all team members does matter. Depending on capabilities, likes and character of each person where definition of responsibility is a critical task. Leadership is thus an art to get all on board living nobody on the shore. Understanding differences and assigning tasks accordingly is a leadership art.

Nailing down the situation should start with a branding process. Every incident would best be recalled by its designated label. While designing a map of all concerned it would be utmost imperative that each and every one feels essential to carry out the mission.

Let’s have a glance to the six points that would cover inclusion in terms of incidents whether a planned activity or a case of emergency.

PART 2 - Inclusion

2.1. Defining the Situation

To start any undertaking careful planning is mandatory. It would be worth spending a little more time and effort at the beginning to be able to accomplish desired outcome. Presently agile approach seems to contradict with lengthy training and preparations processes.   However that does not mean to rush about with prefinished products or services and utilise customers and community as a test bed. Patience is a virtue up to a certain point. Once the customers’ critical business is impacted as a result of these unforeseen incidents a road block may be reached very quickly.

Remembering or rather not forgetting that the planned task is based on present data and forecast whereas the solution will cover a future real requirement. An overall view should not be sufficient to specify and describe the weight. Sub sections will bear and attach meaning to the engagement process. Without detail the work to be achieved is bound to carry a conceptual perception. Ownership of each of the building blocks by individuals assures successful results to be reached.

Determining and assigning a priority to the situation should be mandatory. Emphasis based on concrete data enables to set the importance hence the planned mitigation. Usually six levels of prioritisation would handle any situation. Highly thought of inclusion is to announce a formal declaration of the situation, risks, actions be listed clearly.

2.2. Assessing Dynamic Conditions

Nothing in nature stays the same, since as time passes by conditions may not reflect their original assumptions. Consequently planned fulfilment may change or even take a new path. Accordingly trajectory to meet the target in time needs to be corrected. Inclusion has to take this fact into consideration, disappointments may develop not being more flexible hence may result in losing the task responsible person. Constant monitoring and caring for the team increases awareness as well as motivation. Communications plays a decisive role in the teams’ wellbeing to continue to deliver results.

Matching capabilities with the needs is an art for leaders. Needs vary in terms of difficulty along with duration. Some may take lengthy effort whereas others could be short and straightforward. İdentifying member pairs and assigning tasks accordingly is a craftsmanship. In addition all individuals involved should feel contended and valued.

2.3. Designing Value

So far each case has been a combination of resources versus addressable needs. Now that inclusion is initiated, one may imagine that all is done and would press the button to start embarkation. However the most important component of the scheme is yet to be devised. Now the most serious question arises, what is the content that is to be delivered? Circumstances are never simple, there are always more issues than solutions. Thus classification and prioritisation is key to construct a composition of solutions. Wholeness has to be maintained so that an overall blueprint is constantly envisioned and not missed.

Calculated value should be as close to reality as possible. Field surveillance and intelligence should shed further light to the arrangements. Leadership concentration and spending time on the location will evidently produce correct outcome.

Another point to consider would be an ideal solution may not be determined due to the lack of resource capacity and quality. Along these lines an optimum solution may be preferred compared to a perfect fit. Now is the time to face challenges, on one hand there is a complication, on the other hand there is a limit to available reserve.

2.4. Assigning Responsibility

Within the three sections above subject matter inclusion is tackled by assessing, defining, designing value according to ever propelling conditions. So far knowledge gathered would help to diagnose the scene. Persuasive, inspirational empowerment together with achievable targets aligns persons to complete the mission.

It would be utmost important that protection of differences are cared for. Working as a team supporting each other if one fails is a key ingredient. It is more like the “Kanban” system once implemented in Corparate life. Pairing, sharing responsibility enables timely backup in case of unforeseen state of affairs.

2.5. Delivering, Measuring Impact, Fine Tuning

So far so good nobody is left behind and all are on deck. Slicing work to be done is never easy yet it is essential. Inclusion flourishes only if constant awareness is adapted as a methodology. Leadership is like watching with curiosity becoming an implicit member of all teams not forgetting to praise at every step. Staying idle invites disaster.

It is highly recommended that depending on the severity of the situation regular feedback and communications are maintained. Severity definition is beyond the scope of this paper and may have alternate interpretations. A severity one case should require daily update and so on.

Inclusion is placing yourself within the receiver community and live every moment together. This is an opportunity to embrace provider, receiver, partner, and member neighbourhood. Creating an environment for all those with one purpose and one heart. It would be a much better world where differences nurture prosperity. Adapted approach reshapes understanding and focusing on happiness with benefits shared by all. Progress generates self-confidence, and fabricate an environment filled with positive energy. In this fashion measuring impact may still be in abstract terms. Nevertheless the flavour of living, mood, spirit and tone are better signs of success. Reaching out to touch the essence extracts enjoyment, pleasure, hopefulness for all.

Prudent leadership, vigilant project management still has at its discretion a correction capability. Progress may not precede within the planned foresight. Leadership may face slight as well as extensive modifications in terms of timing and/or content. In such a case where the course needs to be re-examined inclusion must have preference.

Remembering talent retention is far more important than talent acquisition. Losing an individual for whatever the reason is also wasting education, knowhow and network. Rigorous and meticulous analysis has to be exhausted before any bold decision.

2.6. Planning Next Wave, Lessons Learned (Root Cause Analysis)

Eventually five points are covered. Planned project delivered or whatever has caused the misfortune needs careful analysis to answer the question of why? In terms of disasters what went wrong and why the processes didn’t raised a warning flag. Was it because of stagnation? Malpractice, human or machine error. Was there unassociated, unaffiliated, unattached, uninvolved sort of don’t care behaviour? Lack of interest, training, exercise, simulation methodologies? Test and measurement of the level of inclusion to any event is essential. Ask the individual as to what the experience was alike. This would overcome conducting exit interviews which is too late to take any action.

Once a structured full report is released this will make planning and preparation for the next wave to be carried out smoothly. Aligning resources depends on careful thought. Perfection emerges from past experiences.