As the workplace continues to change during the pandemic, data shows team leaders and members must act inclusively to advance gender equity and increase employee engagement and innovation, according to a new global study from Catalyst.
The study, Three Inclusive Team Norms That Drive Success, surveyed 4,300 employees in countries around the globe and features data breakouts for 14 main countries by gender (and race or ethnicity where data are available). The study found three specific inclusive team norms that boost key indicators of team success across a diverse set of populations and industries:
- Promote expressions of difference
- Foster a team coaching climate
- Codify fair team decision-making practices.
Catalyst researchers, Sheila Brassel, PhD, Tara Van Bommel, PhD and Kathrina Robotham, PhD, found that these norms – defined as informal expectations that dictate how we should and should not behave at work – drive team problem-solving, innovation and citizenship, as well as individual work engagement and overall experiences of inclusion at work.
“Right now, we have an unprecedented opportunity to reimagine workplaces to be more inclusive for people of all genders and racial, ethnic and cultural backgrounds,” said Brassel. “A critical component of these workplaces of the future lies in the way teams operate – not just how leaders and managers work, but how everyone on the team works together by exhibiting the three inclusive team norms our study highlights.”
The study encourages inclusive teams to cultivate their differences while striving together by:
- Promoting expressions of difference by encouraging perspectives that may counter the status quo and/or the team leader; challenging either/or thinking and seeking everyone’s perspectives when problem-solving.
- Fostering a team coaching climate that makes team coaching a goal tied to performance reviews; acknowledges that mistakes are inevitable and a critical component of growth and learning and encourages and respects the qualities that make each team member unique.
- And codifying fair team decision-making practices by developing a set of clear, written guidelines for team decision-making; keeping an eye on equity by prioritising fairness and consistency; communicating with transparency.
The report also notes that leaders and team members who are building inclusive teams in hybrid workplaces should implement a remote-first approach – with policies and practices developed to include their colleagues working from different locations or schedules. This enables the team to establish communications practices and processes, including written records, to encourage better collaboration.
“Companies and teams who value inclusive team norms are best prepared to address workplace inequities in the future of work,” said, Catalyst President and CEO, Lorraine Hariton. “These results represent an opportunity for companies to improve innovation, productivity and employee engagement.”