Dr. Roosevelt Thomas said that “diversity is a journey and not a destination.” I would agree with that and also say that I think the same thing is true about inclusion. I’m intrigued by this topic for I believe it has been around for a long, long time. Why then, is the word “inclusion” all of a sudden having so much press? What are the tenants that are similar to and different from diversity? We hope to explore this topic in depth from several different perspectives.

Personally inclusion has been with me since I was a child. As a blind Japanese person I learned very early the difference between exclusion and inclusion. I have learned how to be engaged with this topic at all levels of life both personally and professionally. It wasn’t until I reached college that I realized that there were lots of people who had to struggle with needing to feel included.

The late Will Schultz, in many of his writings asserted that inclusion was the first phase of a relationship that needed to be addressed. He said that inclusion deals with matters of significance and insignificance. The extent to which someone felt either significant or insignificant was a deciding factor in how successful they could become in building and maintaining effective relationships at any level whether personal or professional.

What Is “Inclusion”?

During my sophomore year in college, I was walking through the snack bar and noticed all the different groups of people conversing with one another. How does that happen I wondered to myself? How do different individuals hook up to talk with each other and how do they determine what to talk about. I guessed they must have something in common to discuss.

During that time in my life my disability was the detractor for me to engage in dialog with others. Looking back I have to assume some responsibility for my inability to connect. It was at that moment, however that I decided that whatever I did for work would need to have a component of helping people to connect with each other.

Dr. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, an expert on issues of death and dying once said, “If you are trying to find direction for your life, go to the deepest corner within yourself and you will find your purpose.” I went to the deepest corner of my life and found that disability, diversity and inclusion were cornerstones in helping me define my purpose in life. As the diversity movement began we saw organizations struggle to comply with the legislated mandates. Over time diversity moved from compliance to education to business imperative and is now shifting toward creating an inclusive environment for all people.

Since inclusion is relatively new on the scene definitions are still being formulated. Here are a few from some of my colleagues: Judith Katz and Fred Miller of the Kaleel Jamison Consulting Group define inclusion as “a sense of belonging, feeling respected, valued and seen for who we are as individuals; there is a level of supportive energy and commitment from leaders, colleagues and others so that we individually and collectively can do our best work.” Dr. Bernardo Ferdman, professor at Marshall Goldsmith School of Management defines inclusion on two basic levels – individual and collective; both are important for creating conditions in which everyone has the opportunity to be authentic, appreciated, and to feel safe, valued, engaged and excited in the workplace. The Institute for Inclusion says inclusion is engaging the uniqueness of the talents, beliefs backgrounds, capabilities and ways of living of individuals and groups when joined in a common endeavor. Inclusion is engaging in diversity to create a culture of belonging in which differences are valued and honored. Dr. Roosevelt Thomas says inclusion is creating an environment that allows everyone to contribute to his or her potential (note, Dr. Thomas also thinks about diversity in this way). Our definition of inclusion is “to belong to, to be a part of, to not be discount.”

It is important to note that some individuals and groups may be asking for inclusion in different arenas. It infers that to be included means I will or we will get exactly what we want. I want to dispel this as a myth of what it means to be included. I think what inclusion does is to allow for the conversation to occur. You may or may not get what is wanted or desired. However, conversation is a very good first step. I think that is where we are now in “the work” as Robert Hayles would say.

Why write about inclusion? There are several reasons. First of all, it’s very personal and I think that it is important for those from education and research to understand that there is still a gap between theory and behavioral practices that are necessary to truly create inclusion among different groups of people.

Secondly, we need to bridge the gap between sectors to demonstrate that the construct of inclusion is more of a universal attribute that is needed if we are going to get along with one another.

And third, to share some thinking by others in the field who are now embracing this as a topic to be dealt with. Subsequent news letters will get into some desired behaviors and suggestions for creating inclusion in different domains.

Steve Hanamura, president of Hanamura Consulting, Inc., and author of I Can See Clearly: A Different Look at Leadership, has 30 years of experience working with organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to regional not-for-profit institutions. He is widely sought after in the areas of leadership development, building effective teams, leading diversity initiatives and managing generational differences.

He can be reached by phone at 503-297-8658 or by e-mail at sh@hanamuraconsulting.com