Stories | Experiences | Research | Psychologically Safe Spaces

Nuances of Inclusive Leadership

When it comes to dealing with issues of mental health in the workplace, perhaps some hesitation comes up. What is an inclusive leader to do who is wanting to be supportive of colleagues and also not wanting to intrude? We are drawn to this story of an inclusive leader. As we talked, it was clear that this leader had built a climate of belonging over time in multiple small but concrete ways. Because of this work culture, when a moment came when a colleague needed to be vulnerable, they felt safe to do so. And that moment ...

2024-01-12T18:13:57+00:00January 12th, 2024|Belonging, Cognitive Biases, Inclusive Leadership, Social Biases, Unconscious Bias|

Bias Mitigation for Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is already surrounding us and it’s only going to get closer and closer. It holds the promise of breaking through past barriers, automating time-consuming tasks, providing instant customer service, revolutionizing businesses, creating entirely new industry sectors, and potentially reshaping government institutions. So why does this seem like we’ve been here before? What is it about this wave of media attention that feels so familiar? What happened to crypto-currency and blockchain? What about virtual or augmented reality? Do you remember 3D televisions? Google Glasses? What other ground-breaking technologies have fallen a bit short of their overhyped ...

2025-01-13T20:59:10+00:00November 21st, 2023|Artificial Intelligence, Cognitive Biases, Institutional Biases, Social Biases, Unconscious Bias|

Belonging at Work. What Does it Look Like?

What does it look like to move organizations from Bias to Belonging®? To a place where employees can be who they are and can see the importance of their own role in the organization’s mission. One where decisions are understood and where people work in a way that allows for freedom and creativity. Sounds like a great place to be. What does it take to get there? This is one of many success stories of work the Percipio Company delivers for our diverse clients. A Case Study In this case, we found ourselves engaging with a proactive client ...

2023-10-25T22:46:59+00:00October 25th, 2023|Belonging|

Flow. The True Measure of Belonging

When was the last time you’ve been in flow state in any aspect of your life? That feeling when you are so immersed in what you are doing that time both speeds up and slows down, where you lose track of time in the best ways? When you look up and hours have passed but you didn’t notice because you were so involved and curious about what you were doing? This fourth and final Cornerstone of Belonging is a mental state in which a person is fully immersed in an activity, resulting in a feeling of energized focus, ...

2023-10-09T21:35:14+00:00September 19th, 2023|Belonging, Inclusive Leadership|

Power. Who Has the Keys?

Power dynamics are rarely directly addressed in the workplace. There’s a tendency to not talk about power in the workplace, but we all know it’s there. Some of the key learnings of the first few months in a role or position in an organization are to understand the power structure--both the official one found in an org chart and the informal power structure, the way the office or organization really gets stuff done. There is usually a delta or a gap between stated hierarchical structure and the actual processes. The smaller the delta, the greater the organizational health. ...

2023-10-09T21:44:20+00:00September 11th, 2023|Belonging, Inclusive Leadership, Institutional Biases, Unconscious Bias|

Agency. Is Your Work Setting You up for Self-Fulfillment or Self-Destruction?

When we start a job, one of the first things we figure out is who we can be honest with and who we can ask questions to. Ideally, the answer is Everyone, but that is not the reality of most workplaces–at least those with more than two people! This Cornerstone of Belonging reflects the degree to which a workplace has an environment where employees can express their thoughts, including differing opinions, regardless of their identity or positionality within the organization. Agency includes an employee’s “voice” and is also an indicator of a person’s comfort and confidence in their ...

2023-10-09T16:59:37+00:00September 1st, 2023|Belonging, Inclusive Leadership, Virtual Leadership|

IDentity. Who Are You @ Work?

If you’ve never asked yourself that question, you likely are part of a privileged minority that hasn’t felt like they don't belong at work. Or maybe you haven’t yet taken time for self-reflection through this lens. IDentity (yes, the 2nd D is capitalized intentionally) is the foundational step of the four cornerstones to belonging. If you’re reading this, you likely just took the Belonging Assessment: a key step in understanding and measuring Belonging at Work. This score is not an individual reflection on you, but a reflection of the ecosystem where you work. It is focusing on two ...

2023-10-09T16:34:44+00:00August 19th, 2023|Belonging|

How New Managers Become Inclusive Leaders

Congratulations! You finally filled that managerial position! And with someone from within the organization! An exemplary contributor and a model for others of how employees can rise within the company. But will they be a shining example or a cautionary tale? Their success depends on your ability to support them through this transition.On the surface, a promotion sounds great. Being promoted to a managerial position is a sign of trust, respect and excellent performance and a reason employees stay at your company. However, too many promoted managers are left to learn the hard way. A managerial position requires ...

2023-06-16T15:13:40+00:00June 15th, 2023|Cognitive Biases, Inclusive Leadership, Unconscious Bias, Virtual Leadership|

How to Lead a 60-Minute Virtual Meeting For Maximum Inclusion

Another calendar invite for a zoom meeting? Maybe you’ve already taken a deep sigh or rolled your eyes at the thought. Far too many zoom meetings have followed the path of in-person meetings by embracing the norm of becoming routine and unnecessary. Ones where we know the outcome before we attend. The same one or two people talk at length. Someone dispenses information that could be an email. Or we look at our upcoming virtual meeting as a “take-a-break” hour to make one contribution, go on mute and “multi-task” (surf the Internet, check email, pay bills, play ...

2023-05-20T22:19:25+00:00April 27th, 2023|Belonging, Inclusive Leadership, Virtual Leadership|

Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace

It’s easy to forget that we are all perfectly imperfect. Especially when we imagine ourselves in our respective workplaces. When things are going well, our overly optimistic selves tend to allow avoiding conflict to become the default behavior. So much so that we avoid difficult conversations. But when we ignore minor issues, they can quickly fester into major complaints. Healthy companies build systems that will ensure foundations of trust with communication, transparency, clear expectations and accountability. However, over time, even the best places to work will have problems. We are, after all, human. And being human, misunderstandings, miscommunications ...

2023-05-23T14:37:34+00:00April 5th, 2023|Belonging, Institutional Biases, Unconscious Bias, Virtual Leadership|

Belonging at Work. What Does it Look Like?

Flow. The True Measure of Belonging

Power. Who Has the Keys?

Agency. Is Your Work Setting You up for Self-Fulfillment or Self-Destruction?

IDentity. Who Are You @ Work?

How New Managers Become Inclusive Leaders

How to Lead a 60-Minute Virtual Meeting For Maximum Inclusion

Rebuilding Trust in the Workplace

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