Ensuring Conscious Inclusion
There are various terms circulating in business which, when examined are focusing on behaviour that has always been present in a good manager. Conscious inclusion is one of those terms, similar to ‘self awareness’ or ‘positive collaboration’ in that a wise manager or leader naturally adopts these behaviours as a preferred approach.

For me the thing that sets apart today’s working environment is not so much the need to consciously include (which we should) but the sheer work rate expected which takes our thinking time away from relationships. I recall working for a boss 30 years ago who went to sleep at his desk at lunch time. Totally unashamed he would just put his head on his desk and snooze.

The atmosphere in that team was conducive to allowing thinking and refreshment time, and team relationships were excellent because we had time to think. Since that time way back, I have seen an increasing need to be seen to be busy. This lowers thinking time and subsequently we can’t think so much about focusing on refreshing ourselves on relationships.

Perhaps that is part of why we are now asking ourselves to consciously include. People I have worked with over the years are not natural excluders. They are overwhelmingly integrated collaborative individuals keen to work with a wide variety of people irrespective of race, gender, disability etc. Very few people I have met want to exclude, most naturally want to include.

SO how can we improve in this vital area and produce wholly integrated teams where there is no exclusion? The answer is to think. A good leader will spend time stepping back and asking themselves if the morals and values of the team are being lived. Inclusion is one of those key values for us all. Then they will address areas of concern and involve others in the team in building a better place. But it starts with managing our time to do that.

My final thought is this. Due to our crazy time pressures, if there is not a slot in the diary to do “X” then “X” often won’t happen. So put a regular slot in the diary to think about and discuss inclusion, then it will happen.