Creating inclusive spaces for all

I asked what is top of mind for professionals last week and received a response from a people leader. Top of his mind for him was creating inclusive, safe spaces for all. A lot has been written about inclusion, and I will be the first to safe that there is more to learn, but there are lots known but not used in practice.  
I can only speak from my experience of what has made me feel included, as I have often found myself in the minority group. The people who make me feel included get a few things right. And I am a better professional for it.  

They take time to get to know me, and that can be not easy, trying to understand someone with an entirely different life orientation to you. But they take an interest in my journey as a professional, and they also share theirs.  

They include me the way I want to be included, and their understanding of my style makes them intuitive to what works for me. And they don’t judge my difference. Instead, they are curious about my difference. This again makes us both learners.  

Being inclusive can seem like a tall order in the face of the many works of literature, books and articles that discusses diversity. Suggested approaches can sometimes go wrong, but these well-meaning pieces of literature also make the mistake of seeing minority groups as homogenous populations with similar needs and interests. In the workplace, it leads to certain types of intervention that sometimes meet or misses the mark or sometimes places a responsibility on certain people to ensure change.  

Let’s take a moment to step away from the business imperative of why it is essential to be inclusive. Imagine that you are one of five castaways on a desert island with four other protected characteristics, and you all have to survive. I wonder if we will be thinking of the business case of why we should be inclusive to survive. Granted, this is an extreme example, but the common denominator is the fact that they all need to survive. The common denominator at work is to make a profit, make a difference, or educate, depending on your sector. The difference is the individuality of each of the castaways.  
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How about we simplify our quest for inclusion by paying attention and being curious about the individual in front of us? Time permitting, let’s get to know them and use each interaction as an opportunity to learn and support them. And in the words of Rev. Prof David Wilkinson, in the complex world of different cultures, recognise the other as gift rather than threat. Doing this will invariably create a space for inclusion.  
And to my colleagues that celebrate the Chinese New Year, 新年快乐.