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Nurturing effective engineering teams

Module 3: Building inclusive teams

Shaping an inclusive engineering culture with diverse teams

Managing people is hard, and managing people who have different experiences from us is even harder.

That’s why we need to put in the work to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed.

Module 3 takeaways and homework

Congratulations on completing Module 3 of Nurturing Effective Engineering Teams!  So far in the module ‘Building inclusive teams’,

You’ve learned: 

Inclusive leadership is a journey and not a destination and it starts with the choices and actions you make every day.

Inclusion can be divided into 3 phases:

  • Phase 1 is about becoming an inclusive leader yourself 
  • Phase 2 is about becoming a multiplayer and thinking of ways to apply inclusion to your team
  • Phase 3 is about operationalizing inclusivity across your team and organisation thinking about holding folks accountable and having goals/metrics 

Diversity goes hand in hand with inclusion and in order to move the diversity needle, you need to reflect on our day-to-day practices as leaders of engineering teams and as an org and think about holding folks accountable by implementing goals/metrics.

You’ve discussed the following:

In your group exercise, you discussed how to develop inclusive leadership skills on your teams, thinking about actions you can take on a consistent basis to become a more inclusive leader. 

We hope that you’re now able to:

  • Understand where you stand in your inclusive leadership journey and identify areas of improvements 
  • Apply fairness in your day-to-day practices 
  • Identify potential bias in your hiring practices and incorporate new tactics that foster inclusivity in your hiring process

Looking to go further? 

To move the diversity needle, Jossie Haines encouraged us to make this an action journey. 
No time like the present – time to put your words into action! 

  • Commit to two or three small actions you can take on a consistent basis to become a more inclusive leader. But also hold yourself accountable and share these actions with your team. 
  • Schedule a meeting with your group for next month to check in and discuss progress with your group.

Inclusive hiring is not a checkmark

Inclusion is the foundation of creating a level playing field for employees with all backgrounds to be heard, to be challenged, and to have an impact.

What’s fair?

How do people leaders impact the scales of fairness when they’re trying to be effective?

Why is inclusion important and what are the aspects of an inclusive team?

Diversity is important, but at the same time, if we do not have an inclusive environment, the diverse teams we build can fall apart.