In this talk, I cover the key components required for truly inclusive collaboration.

1. How do we collaborate
inclusively?
Marc Abraham± @MAA1
Bucharest Tech Week, 18 May ‘21
± All views expressed in this talk are my own and don’t represent the views of my employer

4. @robinson*

8. Diverse teams are more likely
to create inclusive products …

9. … as they bring a wide variety
of backgrounds + perspectives

10. Diverse teams are more likely
to create inclusive products …

11. @socialcut*

12. Tell me!
Do you see these as diverse teams? Why (not)?

16. @thisisengineering*

18. @myleon*

19. It depends!

20. 1. 1. Diversity definition
2. 2. Psychological safety

21. 1. Diversity definition

22. The variety within a group of people, with differences in:*
Social identity - E.g. gender, race, ethnicity
Background / personal attributes - E.g. education, mindset
‘Other’ - E.g. location, language, available infrastructure
* Annie Jean-Baptiste, “Building For Everyone”

24. Different perspectives to create inclusive products:*
Apply an inclusive lens
Consider a more diverse customer base
Reduce areas of exclusion
* Annie Jean-Baptiste, “Building For Everyone”

25. Diverse teams are more likely
to create inclusive products …

32. … but

33. “There is an unambiguous and meaningful benefit to
having people from different backgrounds on your team
only when psychological safety exists”*
* Liz Fosslien and Molly West Duffy,”No Hard Feelings”

34. 2. Psychological safety

35. “A shared belief that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking”*
* Amy Edmondson,”Building a psychologically safe workplace” (TEDx)

36. @alexisrbrown*

37. “I believe in creative abrasion. And I mean
abrasion. We have titans in their fields going at
each other; ‘I’m sorry, I see the project this way.
The way you’re approaching it is just absurd’.”
Jerry Hirshberg (Nissan)

38. @channeytangho*
Fear of collaborating with others
Lack of trust, people posing a threat
Uncertainty about expectations
Ego or hierarchy getting in the way
Inherent bias blocking people out
Feels unsafe to take risks
No room for research or experiments

39. What are we accountable for?
Who makes the decisions?
What are our guardrails?
How can we best challenge?
Do we have a shared language?
How do we live up to our values?
@naomi_august*

40. Creating a psychologically
safe environment

41. What psychological safety is NOT:*
Being ‘nice’
A personality factor
Another word for trust
Lowering performance standards

42. Psychological safety exists in an environment where people are
safe for interpersonal risk taking; people being able to speak up or
without any repercussions

43. Key components
Trust Empathy Purpose Transparency

45. TRUST

46. “So what is trust? We could say that a person or
organisation trusts another when both sides have
reason to expect that neither will take advantage
of the other, and, whenever possible, will even do
things that advance the other’s interests.”
Brigitte Jordan (Xerox)

48. EMPATHY

49. “Leadership is about empathy. It is about having
the ability to relate to and connect with people
for the purpose of inspiring and empowering their
lives.”
Oprah Winfrey

50. “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it’s
thinking of yourself less.”
C.S. Lewis

51. Tracy
What is Tracy’s professional world like today?
What excites Tracy about her role? What does she dread? Why?
How does Tracy feel about collaborating with you?
@mimithian*
What is Tracy’s world view? What has shaped it?

52. PURPOSE

53. “The bigger the vision, the easier it is to have a goal
driven culture, as each “goal” is simply a step
towards that bigger mission.”
Melanie Perkins (Canva)

54. @mcnoble*
A strong vision feels aspirational, focuses on
a customer need and highlights how your business or
product is going to be different from the competition

55. “To become the world’s number-one destination
for fashion-loving 20-somethings”
(ASOS)
“To create a better everyday life for the many people”
(IKEA)
“To entertain, inform and inspire people around the globe
through the power of unparalleled storytelling (…)”
(Disney)

56. https://product.canva.com/creating-a-goal-driven-culture-at-canva/

57. TRANSPARENCY

58. “Radical transparency fosters goodness in so many
ways for the same reasons that bad things are more
likely to take place behind closed doors.”
Ray Dalio (Bridgewater)

59. @naomi_august*
“Empower but don’t overwhelm”
“Put the merchants first”
“Growth over retention”
“Speed to market over tech debt”

60. Feature X
Responsible Joe, Amir, Sandra, Pete
Accountable Helena
Support Tim, Keji
Consulted Robert, Trudy
Informed Andy, Zara

62. And: try + learn

66. “When the bosses make the decisions, decisions are made by
politics, persuasion, and PowerPoint. When you make decisions
through experiment, the best idea can prove itself.”
Scott Cook (Intuit)

67. @girlwithredhat*

68. Where to start (remotely)?

69. Questioning
‘Why?’
‘Big questions’
‘Devil’s Advocate’
‘Wicked Questions’
@art_maltsev* https://amorebeautifulquestion.com/

70. @neonbrand*
Engaging
1:1s
‘Water cooler moments’
Giving + receiving feedback
Checking in
Liberating conversations
‘What do you think?’
Perspective taking

71. Experimenting
Collate assumptions
Challenge
Assess impact
Challenge
Agree hypothesis
(Dis) Agree and commit
Try, learn, and iterate
@carolinehdz*

72. Collaborating Inclusively
Having a cognitive diverse team is a great starting point but
offers no guarantees for truly inclusive products
Creating an environment where people can safely take
interpersonal risks
Play our part in such environments by displaying empathy as well
as establishing trust, transparency and shared goals

74. Marc Abraham @MAA1
marcabraham.com
Thank you!
* all images can be found on https://unsplash.com/