Rituals to help your team make everyone feel included and valued

1. INCLUDE EVERYONE Make everyone feel included and valued
Get
curious
It’s so much easier to build common
ground when team members make space
to get to know each other as people, not
just coworkers.
TRY THIS
At your regular team meeting, use an
icebreaker to kick things off. Here are
some questions you can try out:
• What was the best thing you did
this weekend?
• What games did you play when you
were a kid?
• What’s something people would
least expect about you?
• What’s your guiltiest TV pleasure?

2. INCLUDE EVERYONE Make everyone feel included and valued
Share
a meal
Sharing a meal is often the easiest
way to help a team bond.
TRY THIS
Once a week or month, organize a
family-style lunch or a breakfast
session where everyone can come
together to sit, talk, and get to know
each other as individuals.
Tip: Don’t just rely on after-work drinks
that can unintentionally exclude
parents and those who don’t drink.

3. INCLUDE EVERYONE Make everyone feel included and valued
Create
moments of
belonging
It’s natural to gravitate towards
people like you, which can
inadvertently create a culture
where others feel excluded.
TRY THIS
At a team meeting, ask people to share stories
about a time when they felt they belonged or fit
in, and a time when they didn’t—and what each of
those experiences felt like. Have the team reflect
on what these stories helped them realize about
their own biases and blind spots in interacting
with one another.

4. INCLUDE EVERYONE Make everyone feel included and valued
Make space for
every voice
Almost everyone has experienced a
moment at work where they felt their
voice was not heard. As a leader, you
should not only talk less and listen
more, but also actively seek out a diverse
range of perspectives.
TRY THIS
In your next team meeting:
• Invite the people who are dialed-in
to a meeting to speak first.
• Consider alternative ways for
people to share their thoughts, not
just by talking (e.g., sketching).
• Repeat back what you heard and
say thank you.
• Ask for dissenting perspectives.

5. INCLUDE EVERYONE Make everyone feel included and valued
Give back
One way for the team to come
together is to spend time outside of
work volunteering their strengths
towards a greater good. These types of
activities can neutralize title, ego, and
differences and create space to form
common ground.
TRY THIS
Depending on whether or not your
organization has a defined corporate
social responsibility program, pick
a cause that the team can all get
behind. Find a not-for-profit that
supports that effort and ask if they
allow groups to volunteer. Schedule
an afternoon or a day for the team to
leave work and volunteer together
as a group.