Building a fearless, inclusive organization that realizes the benefits of diversity through greater inclusion and belonging, is the most important goal for any leader today. Three terms – diversity, inclusion, and belonging, often abbreviated as DIB represent interrelated and important concepts that support this goal. Although diversity can be created through deliberate hiring practices, inclusion doesn’t automatically follow.
Creating psychological safety – an environment in which people believe that they can speak up candidly with ideas, questions, concerns, and even mistakes – is vital to leveraging the benefits of diversity. This helps make inclusion a reality.
Diverse perspectives cannot be heard if they are not expressed, which is where psychological safety comes in. Inclusion is more likely to be experienced as real when a workplace is higher in psychological safety. This is because It’s difficult to feel a sense of belonging when one feels psychologically unsafe.
Leaders that care about diversity must care about psychological safety, just as those who care about psychological safety must also care about diversity, inclusion, and belonging.
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