Tips for working in diverse teams

Hi, welcome to Vista and Cimpress. My name is Liz. I'm the learning and development lead in the diversity, equity and inclusion team.

In this video, as you're onboarding, I want to share with you a few tips for working in diverse teams. As global organizations, we have access to team members across the world.

It's incredibly rewarding and valuable to be working and have access to team members who bring a richness of perspectives, of ideas and of experience.

And there's the opportunity to learn more about different cultures and different people. I'm goingto speak specifically to three common myths when it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion that can hold people back from being able to realize the true value of working in diverse teams.

We'll address the myth. We'll look at what are, what are some of the ideas that shatter the myth? And then what are some practical actions that you can apply in your role to help you and to help you help others to get the most out of working in this incredibly diverse and inclusive organization.

The first myth I wantto share with you is that inclusion is just about feeling good. Now, of course, inclusion is about feeling good, but there's a lot more behind it.

Research from neuroscience has shown that when people feel included, specific neurochemicals are released and parts of the brain are activated.

That increase our capacity for creative thinking, complex problem solving, collaborating, risk taking, and innovating. When we work in inclusive teams and we contribute to an inclusive environment, whether it's a meeting or a ways of working, both we're creating the environment for both ourselves and the people I work with to be able to tap into this higher order thinking, which is essential for success of our teams and our organizations, but also for our customers.

And so I share this as a myth, because when we think it's just about feeling good, we're less likely to put the intentional effort in to take the actions that drive inclusive ways of working.

At the end of this video, we'll share a number of different resources that you can access, including checklists and ideas and practical actions that you can take in your day-to-day role to help contribute to an inclusive environment for everyone.

The second myth I wantto share with you is that good people aren't biased. When we have this belief, it gets in the way of our ability to take proactive action to address bias, because human brains are neurologically wired to have bias and has nothing to do about whether we're a good person or not.

All brains have bias, and this acceptance that we're subject to unconscious bias can be fueled for us to take action, to mitigate and manage these so that we can diminish their impact.

Now, bias can get in the way. Many of you'll probably be aware not only of creating inclusive environments, but also in our effectiveness in decision making and solving complex problems.

When, we have bias. We're more likely to have group think, go to people who have similar perspectives and views than than we have, and to work in ways of working that are very similar and, and don't challenge the status quo.

The finalone I'll share with you in this video is that the worst thing you can do is say the wrong thing.

Now, it's an awful feeling when we've said something that hasn't come out the way we intended or when we've said something that's hurt someone's feelings.

But if we let that fear get in the way, what happens is we're goingto be less likely to invite people in into our meetings or into our thinking when they bring a different perspective or a different background, and we lose the benefit of the diversity that we have across the organization when we stay just connecting with the people who are like us.

Now, diversity is complex in all of its forms, and unfortunately, making mistakes is part of the process of learnings and growth.

And I myself, have made plenty of mistakes in my time and have had plenty of learnings and continue to have learnings, and that's one of the things that I love about working within diversity, equity, and inclusion, is how much I continually learn.

So I invite you to bring a growth mindset to your work with other people and work in diverse teams and stay continually open to learning, adapt, and most importantly, caring for one another.

It's not only is it okay, but it's really important for us to be able to show humility and acknowledge hurt and mistakes when and if they've happened, and then to demonstrate the commitment to apply what we've learned in the future.

As we wrap up this video, I wantto share with you some resources that are available on demand to support your learning, and also to support you in your role on a day-to-day basis.

So as you can see here, there's a whole range of links to learn more about the diversity, equity, and inclusion team and our work and different ways you can be involved.

A focus here on the DEI resources and toolkits for now. So I mentioned that we have a range of toolkits to support you.

Everything from checklists and guides around small actions you can take to help make meetings more inclusive and events, events, more inclusive, guides around communicating more inclusively.

And you can see a whole range of other toolkits. I invite you to come explore and apply these in your roles.

You'll also see at the top that we have a glossary. So diversity, equity, and inclusion is continually evolving and progressing.

If there's ever terminology you're not familiar with or you wantto brush up, please do visit the glossary page. And if you have additional words to add, please reach out to us as we continually update it.

In addition to the glossary, we also have capabilities formed that we've shaped to communicate around what are the expectations and what are the ways that you can continue to manage bias, actively include and champion belonging at Vista and Cimpress, you'll see links to behaviors, Practical everyday things that you can do as well as resources across these different capabilities.

So once again, welcome. We're really looking forward to getting to know you, your perspectives, and the value that you bring.

And if you have any questions, please reach out to our team. We'll include links within this module. Thanks.