How to Become More Inclusive at Work: Stop Talking and Start Listening

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Three months ago, I walked into a meeting room where the regional manager was explaining why their "diversity initiative" had failed spectacularly. The culprit? They'd hired a consultant who spent six months teaching everyone about unconscious bias without once asking what the actual problems were. Classic case of good intentions, terrible execution.

Here's the thing about workplace inclusion that nobody wants to admit: most of us are absolutely rubbish at it because we think talking about it is the same as doing it. We've turned inclusion into a PowerPoint presentation when it should be a daily practice.

The Uncomfortable Truth About Australian Workplaces

I've been running training programmes across Australia for nearly two decades, and I'll tell you something that might make some people uncomfortable: our workplaces are more divided now than they were fifteen years ago. Not because we're less diverse - quite the opposite. We've got more diversity than ever, but we've forgotten how to actually work together.

The problem isn't that we don't want to be inclusive. It's that we've made inclusion into this massive, overwhelming concept that requires special training and careful language. Bollocks to that.

Real inclusion starts with one simple skill that most managers have completely forgotten: listening without immediately trying to fix things.

What Inclusion Actually Looks Like (Hint: It's Not What You Think)

Last year, I was working with a team in Adelaide where tensions were running high between the older tradies and the younger apprentices. The supervisor kept organising "team building" sessions and "communication workshops." Complete waste of time.

Know what actually worked? I convinced him to spend fifteen minutes each morning just walking around and asking people how their day was shaping up. Not in a formal review way - just genuine interest. Within two weeks, the whole dynamic shifted.

That's inclusion. It's not about having the perfect diversity metrics or knowing all the right terminology. It's about creating an environment where people feel heard before they feel managed.

The Three Things Most Managers Get Wrong

Wrong Thing #1: Treating Inclusion Like a Compliance Issue

I see this constantly - managers who think inclusion means following a checklist. "Did we hire enough women? Tick. Did we do the cultural awareness training? Tick. Did we update our harassment policy? Tick."

Meanwhile, Sarah from accounts is still being talked over in every meeting, and nobody's noticed that Ahmed never speaks up during brainstorming sessions. You can have all the policies in the world, but if your daily behaviour doesn't change, you're just ticking boxes.

Wrong Thing #2: Assuming Everyone Wants to Share Their Story

This one drives me mad. We've created this expectation that people from different backgrounds should constantly educate the rest of us about their experiences. Not everyone wants to be the spokesperson for their entire demographic, mate.

Sometimes inclusion means giving people the space to just be themselves without having to explain themselves. Revolutionary concept, I know.

Wrong Thing #3: Making It Someone Else's Job

"We'll get HR to handle the inclusion stuff." No, you won't. Because inclusion isn't HR's job - it's everyone's job, but especially the job of anyone who manages people.

The best inclusive leaders I know don't delegate this stuff. They're the ones who notice when someone's being excluded from conversations, who make sure quieter team members get heard, who adjust their communication style based on who they're talking to.

The Daily Habits That Actually Make a Difference

Forget the quarterly workshops and annual surveys. Here's what actually works:

Start Every Meeting by Asking a Different Person to Share an Update

Not just the usual suspects who always volunteer. Rotate it. Give people advance notice if they prefer it. Some people need time to prepare, others think better on their feet. Accommodate both.

Pay Attention to Your Language Patterns

I'm not talking about walking on eggshells or memorising a list of banned words. I'm talking about noticing when you consistently use metaphors that exclude people. Military analogies, sports references, cultural references that not everyone will get.

Mix it up. Your communication becomes more inclusive when it becomes more varied.

Create Multiple Ways for People to Contribute

Some people are brilliant in meetings, others prefer to send ideas via email. Some love brainstorming sessions, others do their best thinking alone. Stop forcing everyone into the same participation mould.

Why Traditional "Inclusion Training" Often Backfires

Here's an unpopular opinion: most inclusion training actually makes workplaces less inclusive. Not because the content is wrong, but because it creates this artificial environment where everyone's walking on eggshells, worried about saying the wrong thing.

I've seen teams where people became so focused on using the "right" language that they stopped having honest conversations altogether. That's not inclusion - that's performance art.

Real inclusion happens when people feel comfortable being authentic, not when they're rehearsing politically correct responses.

The Melbourne Transport Lesson

A few years back, I was working with a transport company in Melbourne - won't name them, but they run some of the city's bus routes. The depot manager was convinced his team had communication problems because of cultural differences.

Turned out, the real issue was that the morning briefings were happening at 6 AM in a noisy workshop with terrible acoustics. Half the team couldn't hear properly, regardless of their background. Fixed the environment, fixed the "communication problem."

Sometimes what looks like an inclusion issue is actually just a basic operational problem. Don't overcomplicate things.

The Small Changes That Create Big Results

Change Your Meeting Locations

Not every discussion needs to happen in the boardroom. Some people are more comfortable in casual settings, others prefer formal environments. Rotate it.

Question Your Assumptions About "Professional" Behaviour

What does "professional" actually mean in your workplace? Often, it's just code for "behaves like the people who've always been here." Challenge that.

Make Space for Different Working Styles

Some cultures value direct communication, others prefer indirect approaches. Some generations like face-to-face meetings, others prefer digital communication. The key is recognising these differences without making assumptions about individuals.

The Technology Trap

Every second company I visit has spent thousands on collaboration platforms and communication tools, thinking technology will solve their inclusion problems. It won't.

I've seen Slack channels where the same five people dominate every conversation, just like they did in face-to-face meetings. I've seen video conferences where half the participants stay on mute for forty minutes. Technology amplifies your existing culture - it doesn't fix it.

When Inclusion Gets Uncomfortable (And Why That's Good)

Real inclusion isn't comfortable. It means questioning practices you've never thought about, having conversations that feel awkward, and admitting when you've got things wrong.

Last month, I had to tell a department head in Brisbane that his "open door policy" was actually excluding people because his office was on a different floor from his team, and the journey up felt intimidating for junior staff. He didn't like hearing it, but he moved his office within a week.

Good inclusion work makes you uncomfortable sometimes. If you're always comfortable, you're probably not pushing hard enough.

The Reality Check Nobody Wants to Hear

Here's something that might sting: your workplace probably isn't as inclusive as you think it is. Even if you've got great diversity numbers, even if you've done all the training, even if your policies are exemplary.

The test isn't whether you can point to examples of inclusion. The test is whether the people in your workplace - all of them - would describe it as genuinely inclusive if you asked them anonymously.

Most places I work with are shocked when they actually ask that question properly.

Getting Started Tomorrow (Not Next Quarter)

Stop waiting for the perfect inclusion strategy or the ideal training programme. Start with this:

Pick three people in your workplace who you rarely have proper conversations with. Not work conversations - actual conversations. Spend five minutes with each of them this week. Listen more than you talk.

That's it. No planning committee required.

Effective communication training can help with the listening skills, but honestly, most of this is just about paying attention to people as humans rather than resources.

The Perth Mining Company Story

I'll leave you with this: I once worked with a mining company in Perth where the site manager was convinced he had a "cultural problem" because his team seemed divided along ethnic lines. Spent months trying to address it through cultural competency training.

Turned out, the real issue was the shift roster. The way they'd structured the rotations meant certain groups rarely worked together, so they never got to know each other properly. Changed the roster, problem solved.

Sometimes the solution is simpler than you think. Sometimes workplace communication training helps, but often it's just about removing barriers rather than adding programmes.

The Bottom Line

Inclusion isn't a destination you arrive at after completing enough training modules. It's a daily practice of paying attention to people, questioning your assumptions, and adjusting your approach based on what you learn.

It's messy, it's ongoing, and it requires you to be genuinely curious about people rather than just managing them.

Most importantly, it requires you to listen. Really listen. Not just wait for your turn to talk.

Start there. Everything else will follow.