In 1944, best-selling author and scholar C.S. Lewis delivered the Memorial Lecture entitled, The Inner Ring, at Kings College in London. His speech focused on the innate human desire to belong and the extent to which we will strive to be included, even in groups that don’t serve our highest good. Lewis warned that our desire to belong could unwittingly lead us to actions that take us far away from who we want to be and contribute to us welcoming or rejecting others.
Everyone, including you, is part of some inner ring, from the company you work for to the family you’ve been born into. For most of us, life is carved out by a series of inner rings to which we belong by default or through active intent. If you think about it, the work environment is full of inner rings. Where you sit on the organization chart, the group you dine with at lunch, the department you work in and the projects you’re assigned to, even the respect and popularity your boss enjoys or lacks creates an inner ring you are part of or excluded from.
Earlier this month I attended a “by invitation only” conference, a new inner ring of sorts that I was being welcomed to join. My experience there led to new insights about the power of expanding membership to the inner rings in our organizations and work teams. Most importantly, it provided some ground rules for doing that successfully.
During the conference, I found myself conversing with interesting and interested people from all walks of life — a former US Surgeon General, an accomplished brain researcher, a female astronaut, an AI expert, a British history professor, a chef and owner of fine dining restaurants, a former US Senator and even a 16-year-old who climbed Denali. They all embraced the conference rules, which were designed to encourage inclusion. Leaders seeking to foster a culture of inclusion on a team or in an organization and striving to expand access to the inner rings of the workplace can apply these rules:
Check your ego at the door
The accomplishments of conference participants were an embarrassment of riches. Everyone in the room had done something amazing or been responsible for a breakthrough idea or product. Wasting time trying to impress one another with past triumphs would have hijacked the opportunity to collaborate, ideate and learn. It was an ego-free zone.”
Leadership lesson: Make sure each person on the team is acknowledged for their accomplishments and seen as a deserving member of the group. You lead by example when you position the goals of the organization ahead of your need to be recognized and spotlight your team’s accomplishments over your own.
Confidentiality breeds honest discussion
The conference was conducted under Chatham House Rules. In popular vernacular, “what happened in Vegas stayed in Vegas.” Attendees pledged to keep the names of participants and their comments confidential, which granted everyone the freedom to share without fear of repercussion.
Leadership lesson: Promoting confidentiality during team or individual discussions fosters the psychological safety required for open dialogue. It also enhances the likelihood that you’ll build a culture where problems or challenges surface sooner so you can support their resolution.
Debate is welcomed. Decorum and respect are demanded
The conference was designed to foster debate rather than promote an echo chamber where participants politely nodded in agreement whenever anyone spoke up. This was a group hungry for an idea exchange, which sometimes resulted in disagreements and voicing of strongly held opinions. Yet, participants treated even those with whom they differed with respectful appreciation, acknowledging that though someone’s beliefs and experiences are not the same as yours, they’re still worthy of being heard.
Leadership lesson: Encourage debate on an individual and group level. Ask your team to challenge your ideas and those of one another, but do so collaboratively, seeking the best ideas rather than the cleverest quip. Groupthink has rarely produced a breakthrough product, and differing opinions can lead to innovation.
Everyone actively participates
Everyone at the conference quickly realized that we were the conference. No one was a passive observer. Each person participated as a topic presenter or panelist, and the conference was structured around the varied interests and expertise of attendees. It made for an intellectual smorgasbord of concurrent presentations and allowed each of us to feel we’d contributed to the experience for others.
Leadership lesson: Structure future team and company-wide meetings to capitalize on the capabilities and knowledge of a wide variety of team members, especially those from different functional areas and disciplines. There is much to be gained by cross pollination of ideas and perspectives, not to mention the benefits derived through network building between individuals from different areas of the business.
Multigenerational perspectives are valued
The conference was attended by participants from 8 to 80, with ample opportunity for children and teenagers to join in what might have been perceived as “adult subjects” like wellness, climate change and the future of our health care system. The program design made space for all ages, often mingling age groups where you might least expect it. This resulted in robust discussions that often included the unique perspectives of a younger generation who themselves were unsullied by past attempts to solve a problem. I heard more than one adult say, “Why didn’t we think of that?”
Leadership lesson: Today’s workplace is comprised of employees from five generations, people with very different life experiences and perspectives. Smart leaders embrace the diversity of thought arising from the rich generational soup in the workforce. Make sure you’re soliciting input from younger and long-tenured employees alike. And remember, just because you’ve tried an approach in the past doesn’t mean the same approach will yield the same result in today’s environment. Resist the urge to conclude, “We’ve already tried that here,” when younger members of your team offer ideas.
What new inner ring of inclusion will you create in your organization?
This article was first published in SmartBriefs, September 2024.