Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Give actionable feedback Textio, a company that creates tools to analyze and augment writing for inclusion, conducted a large cross-industry survey to gain insight into job performance feedback. They coupled it with an analysis of actual performance documents given to more than 25,000 people. Perhaps not surprisingly, they found that different groups of…

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Mitigate proximity bias In Think Working From Home Won’t Hurt Your Career? Don’t Be So Sure, Wall Street Journal columnist Callum Borchers wrote about proximity bias, defining it as: 1. A tendency to favor people in close proximity to you 2. Human nature and the way things have worked in business since forever

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Speak up, but not over On Twitter, I spotted a post from She Leads For Legacy about ways to improve your allyship. One of the actions? Speak up, but not over. I love the simplicity of this powerful message. Speak up when you see inequities or harassment. Yet don’t speak over someone by interrupting…

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — In today’s newsletter, I’m focusing on Michelle MiJung Kim’s fantastic book, The Wake Up: Closing the Gap Between Good Intentions and Real Change. I’m a fan of Kim, and long-time subscribers know I quote her guidance frequently. I’m excited to share more of her wisdom with you today. Each of…

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — Folks, I wrote today’s edition earlier this week, before the horrific murders at Robb Elementary in Texas. I tried to revise it to address this traumatic event and how we can be better allies, but I simply can’t. I don’t have more to give here beyond the advice I shared…

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Share unwritten rules with new team members According to a new report from McKinsey, “an inclusive culture is increasingly a competitive advantage for organizations in attracting and retaining talent.” That quote got my attention, given the record attrition we’re experiencing across industries.

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Remove “doubt” from evaluations In How to remove “doubt” when writing about performance, inclusion and women’s leadership expert Lori Nishiura Mackenzie wrote, “Doubt has others question one’s abilities. Doubt is a negative sentiment that we do not intentionally wish to cast on most folks. …

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Seek common ground, then educate Last week, I received a newsletter from a friend with the subject line, “ 👘 I’m opening the kimono. Marketing consultants, open this!” I gave a big sigh, made myself a cup of tea, and then sent her an email that included this message: “I used to use the phrase…

Each week, Karen Catlin shares five simple actions to create a more inclusive workplace and be a better ally. — 1. Know your why In her book The Wake Up, Michelle MiJung Kim shared that the most common question she gets as a diversity and inclusion workshop facilitator is “What can I do?” (Sometimes, it’s an even more direct, “Tell me what to do.”) …