Inclusive Spaces in Healthcare Organizations

00:06 So, in terms of physical environment, what does an inclusive space look like? The physical environment definitely affects the sense of belonging.

00:15 We need to consider artwork, pictures, all those things.

00:20 And what does that communicate to people who are coming in? So if it's not showing that you value diversity, because there's like a monolithic tone of wherever you are.

00:32 That's not going to communicate inclusivity.

00:35 So that's one thing to be aware of.

00:37 And also when we think of about the physical environment, and we think about, if I can't see myself in the space because it's not reflected in the surroundings, then it affects confidence, self expression.

00:50 And those decorations and images should always reflect DEI, and it should reflect the values of the organization.

00:58 So if you have words on one screenshot, or a poster or whatever, that don't reflect everything else about that environment, then people are less likely to believe that there's a true commitment to DEIB and inclusive excellence.

01:12 You want to assess the physical space for barriers, not only safety barriers in terms of how can I navigate a room? How is the furniture in the room situated? Is there sufficient seating? Are the chairs comfortable? What does the temperature of the room feel like? What does the lighting feel like? And that will vary for different people, especially when we consider diverse abilities, or in some spaces, they still use the term disabilities.

01:40 But we have to consider all the different needs of all the people within our organization.

01:46 In terms of virtual spaces.

01:48 You want to make sure you adjust communication and the displays for inclusivity.

01:54 Thinking about what each team member needs.

01:57 So if you're planning something in advance, it would be a good idea to ask people if there are specific needs.

02:03 And we may ask as a group, but also invite people to tell us what those needs are, individually.

02:09 Because again, some people aren't comfortable with sharing broadly.

02:13 But they may be comfortable with sharing with the facilitator of what, whoever, or whatever the meeting or venue is.

02:19 Explore news technology accessibility features ahead of time.

02:24 We don't want to get into a situation where we're trying to fumble and fix things because usually these things are timed.

02:31 So, this is why you want to make the extra effort ahead of time to make sure that you know how to use the closed captioning features, If IT specialists are available, have them there.

02:41 And then one of the biggest things that I've seen in terms of virtual spaces.

02:46 There will inevitably be some technical issues sometimes.

02:50 So people on the team need to be willing to give grace, and just understand that those things will happen.

02:58 And if IT is not available.

03:00 We still need to be able to give grace.

03:03 When we think about emotional and psychological space.

03:06 You want to build and maintain collaborative intelligence from the beginning with new hires.

03:12 And then you also want to revisit those agreements along the way, and also the goals and expectations, the mission, the values.

03:21 If we circle back to that throughout everybody's tenure at an organization, then it keeps us all on our toes.

03:28 It keeps us aware of what the expectations are.

03:31 And also when we think about accountability, what the consequences are? People are often fearful of that consequences.

03:38 Don't mean people are going to get fired It means you might need some retraining, or just again, meeting to revisit what we expect and what the organizational goals are.

03:49 When we're having meetings, we want to pay attention to body language.

03:54 We want to pay attention to nonverbal cues, and what those things communicate to people and always avoid assumptions.

04:03 So one of the terms is tone policing.

04:05 In certain cultures, people do speak loudly.

04:08 People speak passionately.

04:09 We don't want to label people as aggressive and all those kinds of things. Because everybody's not calm And doesn't speak in a calm tone.

04:18 But we want to just make sure people understand there are different ways of being and how do we show grace in a space and also being flexible? So if it is traumatizing to some people, because someone is loud, maybe a little bit boisterous? How can we say that in a way that we're not attacking again, the person, but we want to just talk about what the goals of the team are, and what the goals of an organization are? And still allowing people who may be a little bit louder to be themselves and people who may be a little bit quieter to be themselves.

04:50 So communication is key.

04:53 We can control communication, and how we build those or create rather the rules of engagement or those engagement agreements with the understanding that people operate differently.

05:06 And one of the other big things when we think about emotional and psychological safety and that inclusive space, is we want to make sure we listen before speaking.

05:15 So a good example of that is maybe you're aware of a situation as a leader that's happening among certain employees in a certain space.

05:24 So we form these opinions, preconceived the ideas of what we think might happen.

05:30 And this is why their labeling thing is never ever good.

05:33 So we come into a space already with pre-planned script of what we might say to someone, or it could be based on our own individual preferences and experiences.

05:45 And we plan what we're going to say and we just speak without hearing the other person out.

05:50 So speak and then also give yourself time to reflect on whatever it was the person said.

05:55 And if you want to take some additional time, before you respond, you should do that.

06:00 But explain to the person that you're not ignoring them.

06:03 But you want to take some time and think about it, process it, and come up with the best way to support the person as an individual, support the team, and support the organization.