The Leader’s Toolkit: Nurturing Safety and Inclusivity at Work
The landscape of the modern workplace is evolving and the essence of leadership extends far beyond traditional management. It encompasses the nurturing of environments where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued. This is where concepts like cultural safety, accountability, and authenticity transform our learned theoretical ideas into practical, everyday practices. As leaders, our challenge and opportunity lie in steering ourselves and our teams through these waters, ensuring that every individual can express their unique intersectional identities without fear or restraint.
Cultivating Cultural Safety in the Workplace
Cultural safety is about creating a workspace where emotional and psychological well-being is prioritized alongside physical safety. When the topic of safety comes up, people frequently think about harm and how to prevent it. That’s absolutely a part of it. And even if that were the only piece to focus on, most people miss the most important part- repair to bring moments of disconnection full circle. At Living Unapologetically, our definition for cultural safety captures an outcome of ongoing healthy practices:
The practices and behaviors that create an environment where employees can define what they need to bring their fullest selves to work. A leader must be aware of power imbalances in the workplace and also take responsibility for undoing harmful systems and practices that reinforce those imbalances. Specific actions include: asking employees to define what they consider a safe environment and interrogating their personal biases, assumptions, and prejudices that worsen managerial or supervisory relationships.
As leaders, our actions play a crucial role in shaping a culturally safe environment. This means actively dismantling power imbalances and harmful practices that may have become normalized. It involves engaging in open dialogue with team members, asking them what makes them feel safe and respected at work. It also involves our own ability to look within ourselves to be curious about ways we reinforce harmful practices.
The Power of Authenticity in Leadership
Authentic leadership is about understanding and embracing the fact that we all have multifaceted identities. It's recognizing that each team member's unique experiences, beliefs, and values contribute to the richness of the team's dynamic. When leaders are authentic, they create an environment where employees feel safe to express their true selves. For example, a leader sharing their own experiences with juggling work-life balance or discussing their real struggles related to their learning journey can encourage others to open up about their own experiences and perspectives. Thus, making it possible to learn more about each other and improve working relationships.
Living Authentically: The Leader's Role
I will say this all day, every day. One of the most powerful things a leader can do is model healthy behaviors, lead by example. This involves showing up as your whole self, trying new behaviors out, learning while being ok with mistakes, and encouraging others to do the same. It's about creating an environment where vulnerability is not avoided but something that improves connection to each other. These connections drastically change how employees experience their interactions with leaders and the organizational culture overall.
Accountability: A Leader’s Commitment to Change
In the context of leadership, accountability is about more than just taking responsibility for one's actions. It's about actively embodying the values and changes we wish to see in our teams and organization. This means seeking repair when there are points of disconnection. For instance, if a team member points out a behavior their supervisor engaged in and shared it disrupted the safety between them, it's crucial for leaders to not only acknowledge the issue but reflect on the interaction, inquire about what needs to take place to repair the relationship and follow up on how things are going.
Racial Equity Tools recently added “accountability” to their glossary and I absolutely love it. It captures the layers of it well and includes the relational component of this term, which most people don’t consider:
In the context of racial equity work, accountability refers to the ways in which individuals and communities hold themselves to their goals and actions, and acknowledge the values and groups to which they are responsible.
To be accountable, one must be visible, with a transparent agenda and process. Invisibility defies examination; it is, in fact, employed in order to avoid detection and examination. Accountability demands commitment. It might be defined as “what kicks in when convenience runs out.” Accountability requires some sense of urgency and becoming a true stakeholder in the outcome. Accountability can be externally imposed (legal or organizational requirements), or internally applied (moral, relational, faith-based, or recognized as some combination of the two) on a continuum from the institutional and organizational level to the individual level. From a relational point of view, accountability is not always doing it right. Sometimes it’s really about what happens after it’s done wrong.
Practicing Accountability in Daily Leadership
Practical accountability involves regular self-assessment and openness to feedback. It's about being transparent in decision-making and consistently aligning actions with the team's and organization's values. Leaders can demonstrate accountability by setting clear expectations, co-creating and following through on commitments, and openly discussing the rationale behind decisions. Regularly checking in with people to gauge their safety and engagement levels also reflects a commitment to accountability. These are just a few things leaders can do. It’s more important to learn what employees need and go from there instead of picking from a checklist.
Facilitating Courageous Conversations for Inclusive Spaces
Courageous conversations are a hot topic. I’d like to offer our definition as a starting point so we are referencing the same thing:
Discussions between workplace professionals to openly discuss topics so they can better understand challenging situations, improve collaboration, and strengthen relationships. The goal of these conversations is to promote inclusion, understanding and positive action by creating mutual awareness of employees’ experiences and perspectives related to diverse identities, backgrounds, experiences, or viewpoints. Employees are encouraged to lean into discomfort and sustain the conversation when it would typically get diverted. We believe that courageous conversations, with ourselves and others, promote authenticity, healthy lives, and happy hearts.
To effectively facilitate these conversations, leaders can:
Start discussions with an acknowledge of the feelings and dynamics that are present between those involved
Ask what people need to feel safe to engage before getting into the topic and doing what is necessary to co-create the energy
Listen and watch for the meaning of what is being shared; this often means paying attention to process in addition to the content of stories
Make room to hear all perspectives and explicitly invite disagreement so people know it’s ok to not go with the majority’s viewpoint
Model not knowing how to do everything and authentically engage with what you do know
Building Skills for Sustaining Safe Spaces
Continuous Self-Reflection as a Leadership Tool
Effective leadership in cultivating safe spaces requires constant self-reflection. It helps to regularly evaluate actions, decisions, and the impact on teams. This could involve asking for direct feedback from team members, reflecting on leadership decisions and their outcomes, and seeking mentorship or coaching for personal growth. Self-reflection helps in identifying areas of improvement and in staying aligned with the goal of establishing and sustaining a healthy work environment.
The Art of Active Listening and Asking Powerful Questions
Active listening and the ability to ask meaningful questions are critical skills for leaders. On the surface, active listening involves fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively 'hearing' the message of the speaker. Going deeper in skill development, it looks like assessing for meaning and attuning to process in addition to the content being shared. It can help to ask about what you are hearing to make sure you’re capturing what someone is sharing with you. Here is where powerful questions can prompt deeper thinking and reflection. They are open-ended and invite discussion and exploration of thoughts and feelings. For instance, asking questions like, "How did that moment impact you?" or "What was it about that experience that helped you feel heard?" can lead to more insightful and meaningful discussions.
Embracing Vulnerability and Emotional Intelligence
Vulnerability as a Leadership Strength
In leadership, showing vulnerability is a sign of strength and authenticity. It involves openly sharing challenges, fears, or mistakes, and showing that it's okay to be imperfect. It can also be about expressing parts of our experiences that feel harder to share and sometimes that means letting people into moments of joy and celebration. Vulnerability is different from person to person. I believe leaders don’t need to unveil all of their secrets or trauma at work. This is more about allowing for the human experience to exist, even in a supervisory role. This can help in building a culture where team members feel safe to share their own vulnerabilities, leading to stronger bonds and a more cohesive team.
Utilizing Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and manage one's own emotions and tune into the emotions of others. For leaders, this means first being aware of the self to know how one’s own feelings are impacting the spaces they occupy and second, being aware of how their actions and words affect the team and adapting their approach accordingly. It involves empathy, effective communication, and the ability to resolve conflicts mutually. Leaders can develop their emotional intelligence by actively seeking to understand the perspectives and feelings of themselves and team members and responding in a way that acknowledges and respects those feelings.
If you need a starting point, we highly recommend guided meditations as a way to slow down thinking to be present with the body. From there, it’s easier to be curious about emotions that are activated. Check out one of our free guided meditations to the right. Click here to listen to more!
The journey of creating and maintaining safe spaces in the workplace is ongoing and ever-evolving. As leaders, we must continuously develop and integrate skills like authenticity, accountability, and facilitating courageous conversations. These aren't just tools; they are the foundation of a leadership style that helps establish trust and safety in workplace culture. Leaders have a responsibility to actively cultivate these skills. Start by asking how you can implement these practices in your leadership role. Embrace this journey, knowing that the path you're forging is not just for your personal growth but for every team member who looks to you for guidance, inspiration, and a safe space to grow and thrive.
What are your thoughts on creating safe spaces in the workplace? Share your experiences or questions in the comments below.
Interested in further exploring how to create a safe and inclusive work environment? Contact us to start transforming your organization's approach to leadership and employee well-being.
Charmaine is a Relational DEI expert who sits at the intersection of thinking, feeling, and doing. She is an author, facilitator, skill builder, safe-space holder, family member, partner, and friend. And in all of those, her DEI lens is in constant use. Charmaine uses a social justice lens to help clients explore their individual and organizational needs amidst the backdrop of power, privilege, and oppression. You can access her book (Bias-Conscious Leadership), guided meditations, free tips sheets & guides, and blog posts on her website, www.livingunapologetically.com.
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