Inclusify summary

Our biases can be hugely disruptive in the hiring process, and studies prove it. In one study, over 400 HR professionals were given résumés that were exactly the same, except for the name: one had a man’s name, the other a woman’s. When the HR professionals were asked to evaluate the candidates based on meritocracy, guess what – the male résumé did better.

Sadly, we can’t simply banish bias once and for all. But we can fight to dismantle it. And one of the best ways to begin this process is learning to recognize bias in our leaders.

In its early days, PayPal had a guiding principle: all new hires should be people you’d “want to have a beer with.” This might sound harmless enough, but what it meant in practice was that all new hires should be like the company’s cofounder, Max Levchin.

Levchin was a Culture Crusader. He knew precisely what he wanted PayPal’s culture to look like. As Levchin explained to Forbes magazine in 2007, when hiring he’d focus on cultural fit, which meant that the candidate had to tick a few boxes. He described it as: “He looks like me, he’s just as geeky, and he doesn’t get laid very often. Great hire!”

For every type of manager, there’s a different way to transform into an Inclusifyer. But each solution involves a combination of individual actions to promote individuality, and group actions to promote belonging.

In the author’s parlance, these strategies involve two acronyms: SELF and TEAM. SELF stands for support, empathy, learning, and fairness, while TEAM stands for transparency, empowerment, alignment, and motivation.

Imagine the situation: you’re the only woman on a small team at work. There’s a deadline looming, and everyone is preparing themselves for a long night to finish off a proposal.

But then, at five o’clock, your manager – a White Knight – comes into the room and says that you don’t have to stay late like everyone else. You have a kid at home, and he wants you to call it a day so you can spend some time with your family. And he says all this stuff right in front of the rest of the team to let everyone know what a good guy he is!

When a White Knight is a woman, a person of color, or LGBTQ+, they’re our fifth type of manager: the Shepherd. This is another case where good intentions can backfire and make people feel excluded rather than included. And resolving the situation can require making some subtle distinctions.

Oftentimes, in the workplace, it’s the impression that really matters. It may be the case that a Shepherd isn’t playing favorites in her attempts to be an Inclusifyer, but if that’s the impression that she’s giving to the rest of the workplace, then it still needs to be addressed.

If you’ve got this far, there’s a good chance you’re genuinely interested in promoting equality and inclusivity at work. But there’s a big difference between being a supporter and backing up your good intentions with positive action.

This brings us to the last manager: the Optimist. The Optimist will speak highly of inclusivity, but tends to think that these issues will work themselves out. It’s just a matter of time before all workplaces are inclusive, right? So the Optimist doesn’t feel the need to get personally involved.