As designers, we understand how fantastic teams with a wide range of diversity (e.g., gender, ethnicity, lived experiences, etc.) are. Studies show that diverse teams are more likely to:

• generate unique ideas when brainstorming
• have greater productivity
• encourage creative disagreements that push us to innovate.

When we were all working in person, creating a welcoming environment for collaboration was much more accessible. From the pandemic’s start, we quickly had to pivot to an all-remote way of life. We made do with video calls, messaging apps, and collaborative tools like real-time whiteboards and co-editing apps. After years of remote work, we became accustomed to only communicating through video calls and chat messages. And because “Zoom fatigue” is real, we prioritized work-related conversations over informal “water cooler” chats. In some ways, we inadvertently built walls that impede the collaboration we used to have.

The rise of all-remote and hybrid working environments presents an opportunity to reinvigorate workplace collaboration in the post-quarantine world. This is especially true since we’ve endured so much over the past two years, from police brutality, lives lost to the pandemic, and geopolitical conflict. We must do what we can to make underrepresented and marginalized people feel invited in.

This article comes from a talk I did at Beyond Tellerrand in Berlin this past September. I use the phrase “inviting people in” because it’s easy to collaborate with people who are like you. However, it takes intention to truly have underrepresented and marginalized people feel invited to participate comfortably. When they’re comfortable, teams can collaborate, thrive, and real their fullest potential.

It may sound daunting, but in this article, I’ll share five steps you can take to “invite people in” to your organization.

Step 1. Reflect on who you are

Before inviting others in, you must understand yourself and your team well. A tool I like to use is the Positionality Wheel by Lesley-Anne Noel. The wheel looks at twelve facets that define your standing in society. They include gender and sexuality, race and ethnicity, and education status. These aspects of positionality can highlight the impact of your influence or lack thereof within your team.

Example of how you can start completing the positionality wheel

Using the wheel, jot down notes on how you identify with each aspect of positionality. In my case, for race and ethnicity, I jot down that I’m an Asian American and also Chinese and Japanese. This is important for me to note because my lived experiences as an Asian American are different from someone who’s from Asia and emigrated to the United States. For me, it’s important to mention that I’m multi-ethnic because my lived experiences are undoubtedly different from someone who is only Chinese or only Japanese. By the end, you’ll have a reasonably complete summary of who you are. Sometimes seeing it all in one place can be eye-opening and reflective. (Note: If this activity stirs up uneasiness, definitely take a moment for some self-care.)

You can also make this a team activity. Everyone can fill out their wheel and then share and discuss with the team. It can be nice to see commonalities in lived experiences. However, it might be even more important to gain perspective on how teammates have different lived experiences that can influence their views. (Note: The facilitator of the activity should be clear that people should only share what they feel comfortable sharing.)

Step 2. Identify perspectives you’re missing

After you’ve worked through the positionality wheel, identify the perspectives you’re missing. The missing views are the people who you could invite in. A good question to ask is, “What other aspects are unlike mine?” As you explore, remember that you’re not thinking about opposites. Life isn’t binary; each facet has a spectrum of answers. If you’re having trouble identifying the perspectives you’re missing, consider talking to a friend or colleague who might be able to brainstorm with you.

Localization (ensuring our UI accommodated language translations) was necessary for a design system I worked on. We looked at the languages our team spoke and noted which languages we were missing. We were missing East Asian, German, and Arabic languages, to name a few. Without taking the time to reflect on this, we wouldn’t have gained this insight.

Inviting people in doesn’t have to happen overnight – it takes intention and some effort.

Step 3. Inviting people in

Once you understand which perspectives are missing, it’s time to invite those people in. Actions can include short-term fixes to long-term initiatives. Some short-term examples are usability testing and getting feedback within your company. Ideally, a long-term initiative would be hiring and cultivating a “full perspective” team.

Usability testing

It’s tempting to skip usability testing when you’re in a rush or have a deadline. However, testing your product with users can make a better product. When usability testing, invite participants who reflect your users and those whose perspectives were missing during the design process.

Asking for feedback within your company

Consider reaching out within your company for perspectives you might not have. Some great places to start include customer success, sales, and marketing teams, and employee resource groups (ERGs). ERGs are groups of employees sharing a common trait or lived experiences. For example, at a previous company, I co-chaired an ERG that supported Asian American professionals.

From the language example from before, I reached out to our translation team and spoke with our German translator. She provided context around German nuances and pain points in translation. Just by that quick meeting, we could ensure our components adapted to meet the needs of several languages and preserved grammatical correctness. This ensured that the UI looked good when translated, improved the user experience, and made customers feel appreciated.

Hiring a “full perspective” team

Hiring for a team can take effort and time. Ensuring that you’re inviting the missing perspectives can also require you to go out of your way, but the value it provides is well worth it! Current hiring tools provide quick access to applicants. While these shortcuts for hiring managers are great, many systems in place might not be equitable. Consider going to local meetups or events or finding organizations that represent the gaps on your team.

As you hire, creating a “full perspective” team isn’t just getting to this step and checking the boxes. In many ways, it’s just the beginning. It’s the invite.

How to actually invite people in

To fully understand the importance of inviting people in, let’s talk about what it’s like not to fit in. Maybe you’ve experienced this in life, and if you haven’t, then that’s a nice privilege to have.

If you’re like most of us, you’ve been in a situation where you weren’t like the others. Maybe it’s because you show up to a group wearing a beanie, and everyone else is wearing a baseball cap. Perhaps that doesn’t bother you because it’s not a big deal; they’re just hats. But maybe it’s a different scenario, and you’re a trans person, and everyone else is cis-gendered. Maybe for everyone else, they accept you, and they’re not thinking about it. But since you’re the only one, it makes you feel isolated and on alert. In these scenarios, the individual might not show on the outside, but it could affect them on the inside. This can impact how comfortable they feel engaging with the team and being themselves.

I’ll tell you a story about when I didn’t feel like I belonged. I took a theatre class where we read plays in college, and I thoroughly enjoyed the class. One day, the professor was talking about Asian stereotypes. He mentions how Asian men are asexual and good at martial arts, how the women are submissive, etc. I’m getting uncomfortable hearing this, and I start to look around the room to make eye contact with other Asian students. I then realized I was the only Asian person.

To make matters worse, the professor pointed at me and asked, “This is true, right Michelle?” The incident caught me off guard, and I wasn’t sure what to say. I ended up mumbling, “I don’t know, man.”

Internally, I was feeling so many emotions, physical reactions, and spinning thoughts in my head:

• I was steaming mad – how could he say those things?
• I was turning red – everyone looked at me to validate this.
• I was sweating – trying to stay calm and not blow up. I didn’t want to seem like a crazy Asian person, but at the same time, staying quiet played into the submissive stereotype.
• My stomach was turning – I knew I needed to say something to defend my race.
• I was shaking – I was worried that this could end up in retaliation. Would saying something give me a bad grade?

At the end of class, I stayed behind to speak with the professor. I mentioned how it wasn’t cool to single me out like that. He was immediately apologetic, and he had no idea how what he did was so wrong. Based on his lived experience, this didn’t cross his mind. Based on my lived experience, this happens more often than I’d like. It was awkward for me, and it was uncomfortable for him. We left it as a learning experience, and he was continuously apologetic. The rest of the semester was tough. I didn’t enjoy the class anymore, and I constantly worried about the grade I would get.

It was a lot. And this was just one incident. Marginalized people go through this quite a bit, and most of the time, it can illicit these physical feelings and emotions. Granted, this was an extreme case, but marginalized people can feel uneasy when they feel like they don’t fit in.

As designers, we have empathy and want to avoid situations like this. So let’s talk about inviting people in so they truly feel welcome.

Step 4. Really inviting people in

Inviting people in takes some awareness, but if you’ve ever hosted a dinner party, you already have some experience. Let’s see what that looks like.

Send invites

Just like identifying who you’d like to have over for dinner, you’re thinking about the people on your team and anyone else whose perspective is missing. Think of sending invites as extending offer letters to interview candidates.

Think about dietary restrictions
As you consider the menu, you check if anyone has allergies or restrictions. Similarly, you’ll want to consider if anyone needs any special accommodations to be successful and can participate.

Welcome guests

When your guests arrive for dinner, you naturally welcome them into your home. You ask to take their coat, invite them to sit down, make themselves at home, and ask if they’d like anything to drink. Here, you make them feel welcome.

If this were someone new joining your team, you’d do something similar. You’d do much more than show them their desk and hand them their equipment; you’d have them meet the team, get familiar with team rituals, and so on. Pairing them with a buddy is another great way to have them feel welcome. They have someone to ask awkward questions they wouldn’t want to ask their manager (e.g., “Can we take lunch when we want?”).

Engage in conversation

At dinner, conversations cover several topics. Some of it you’re familiar with, but some of it’s new, and you enjoy the breadth of discussion. When you notice someone’s quiet, you try to include them in the conversation by asking them a question or two. It feels great when people are all sharing thoughts and ideas.

At work, it’s just as important to engage people in conversations. As you speak with them, listen and take a genuine interest in the conversation. Sometimes it’s easy to forget when we’re busy or deadline-driven.

An easy way to engage new hires is to have current teammates set up 1-1s with them. When I spoke with coworkers about what made them feel welcome at a new place, they loved the 1-1s. It took away their pressure and awkwardness to initiate conversations with new people. At zeroheight, we also use Donut chats on Slack to pair us with a colleague for a quick chat. Random pairings are a great way to meet others. The hurdle for these is relatively low since everyone in the company participates in it.

Reflect on the enriching, fun evening

Once everyone goes home, you reflect on the evening you had. You consider what went well, what could have been better (e.g., chilling the wine earlier), and how you feel overall.

As you invite people in, check in with yourself and your team. Ask, “How did that go?” or “What could go better?” We don’t always get it right the first time, and that’s OK. Identify what moments went well and celebrate them! Even the most minor successes are a win when working on inviting people in.

If you can host a dinner party, you can just as easily invite marginalized people into your workplace.

Creating psychological safety

Truly inviting people in includes creating a psychologically safe space for them. If you’re unfamiliar with psychological safety, it’s the ability to be yourself without fearing negative consequences because of who you are. In teams with psychological safety, members can feel like they can take risks without fear or judgment; teammates feel accepted and respected.

As you invite people in, consider that some might not feel as comfortable talking in groups, and it’s helpful to try engaging them in the conversation. Sometimes, it’s as easy as making space for them by mentioning, “I’d love to hear your thoughts on the idea.” When you listen, be open to hearing new ideas and avoid dismissing or judging them. Instead, act with curiosity, and you might even learn something. Even if you don’t agree or their idea won’t work, give them the space to speak rather than shutting them down. You can eventually explain how things might not be possible because of the existing process to help bring them up to speed. When you provide space and take time to explain things, it helps build trust and psychological safety.

When psychological safety works

When you have psychological safety, incredible things can happen. Earlier in the year, I was scared to travel during the pandemic. It gave me crippling anxiety. A coworker knew this and reached out since they knew I was traveling to a conference soon. They said they were happy to chat if talking to someone else with anxiety would help. This gesture truly touched me! I took them up on the offer, and we had a good conversation about traveling. It set my mind at ease, and I didn’t worry about traveling halfway around the world! To be honest, I don’t think I would have made the journey in one piece if it hadn’t been for our conversation.

Don’t naively assume psychological safety; it takes effort to foster

Everyone wants to believe in the best scenario. While your team might get along, remember that real psychological safety might not exist. Instead, it might take some effort to nurture it.

In early 2021, there was a lot of anti-Asian hate in the U.S., including the Bay Area, where I live. In March of 2021, there were mass shootings at three spas/massage parlors in the suburbs of Atlanta targeting Asian women. The next day, I had a call with a coworker with whom I wasn’t close, but at the beginning, she asked me how I was truly doing. I wasn’t expecting her to check in with me, no one that day had. But as a Black woman, she had lived experiences to know that I was probably under a lot of mental duress. I’m glad she checked in, and I’m so happy we talked. But after that call, I started to question why my other coworkers, with whom I was much closer, didn’t check in with me. I was a little upset by that.

After thinking about it, I didn’t fault them for it. Part of it was during the pandemic, we built invisible walls by only seeing each other as tiny faces on laptop screens. We lost some of that ability to pick up on cues. But at the same time, I never felt comfortable sharing how much anxiety I was under with anti-Asian hate incidents. It made me realize that even though I felt psychologically safe at work, I really wasn’t.

Fostering a psychologically safe team

Truly fostering psychological safety takes effort and time to build that trust. It’s never too late to start, even if you take a small step forward. To help develop psychological safety:

Recognize the weight people carry when they’re the “only one.”

While you might accept them for who they are, when people are the “only one,” they are aware of it. Sometimes, it can cause an undue burden in the back of their minds that can prevent them from being themselves.

Support and encourage your team through this.

Creating a safe environment doesn’t happen overnight. It can be draining and challenging, so let team members know when they’re doing a great job.

Define what a safe space looks like.

Have conversations with your team to discuss what a safe space looks like for the team. When everyone helps define it, it’ll be easier to adopt and champion.

Don’t be afraid.

The challenge you feel is nothing compared to the challenges of marginalized people. Unfortunately, we go through challenges constantly, and it’s exhausting!

Lead by example.

As you do this, it can feel awkward. But when you demonstrate to others how you’re building a psychologically safe space and putting yourself out there, you’ll inspire teammates to follow.

The B.R.I.D.G.E. framework

When researching this topic, I came across the B.R.I.D.G.E. framework from Inclusion on Purpose: An Intersectional Approach to Creating a Culture of Belonging at Work by Ruchika Tulshyan. (This is an excellent resource if you’re looking for a book with many practical tips.) This framework is a perfect way to navigate your journey with inviting people in.

• Be uncomfortable – you might hear something you don’t like. You might feel awkward sometimes, but be OK with that.
• Reflect (on what you don’t know) – reflect on what you hear as you listen. We don’t know everything. When we take the time to reflect, we can see what new perspectives and ideas we might not have made space for before.
• Invite feedback – ask how you’re doing as you invite people in.
• Defensiveness doesn’t help – you might not like the feedback you receive. And sometimes, it can sting, especially when we feel like we’re trying to do the right thing. Instead of jumping to defenses, pause and listen.
• Grow from your mistakes – learn from the feedback you receive. We’ll rarely get this entirely right the first or second time. So we must grow from our feedback so we can eventually nail it.
• Expect that change takes time – as much as we’d like a magic wand to fix things instantly, it takes time to build trust and a safe space. That’s also why celebrating wins along the way is essential to keep the momentum going.

Step 5. Start small; try today

This article covers a lot. But you don’t have to try everything at once. You can start small – by completing the positionality wheel. The next time you’re at a meetup, conference, or in a place with people, engage in conversations with people who are unlike you. Also, take your time and don’t get discouraged. This can be awkward, but it gets easier with practice. And if it helps, no one will fault you for trying!

Let’s keep the conversation going

This is a topic I’m passionate about, and I would love to hear your stories, what you’ve done to invite people in, and any questions you have. I’m also happy to give a talk on this subject for your conference or internal company event. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me on LinkedIn.