Layla Moran MP recently came out as pansexual to a cacophony of liberal responses of ‘this isn’t news’. 
This is rooted in a misguided belief that it’s a supportive comment, ‘it (who we are in a relationship with) doesn’t matter’, ‘we can love who we want’. But in the U.K. in 2020 it does still matter. Also these comments are rooted in a heteronormative narrative which are making the homophobic and transphobic culture worse not better. Here’s why...

We chose the title Identity, Voice and Power for this year’s NTL community day because they are the three key elements of a generative engagement model. It was designed by Royce Holiday and Mary Nations, specifically for use in diversity and inclusion work which takes into account complexity (its part of human system dynamics theory).  To find out more about the model visit https://www.hsdinstitute.org/resources/generative-engagement.html.

What is Courageous Inclusion? 
Real inclusion takes courage, and it takes heart. It requires an ability to understand societal inequality, its impact (both positive and negative) on yourself, based on aspects of your identity and personality, as well as that of others. However, the prize is worth the effort, individuals can be their whole, authentic selves and achieve their true potential, and organisations can truly benefit from team interactions where “the whole is other than the sum of its parts” (Kafka).  

Our definition of courageous inclusion is:
“The whole-hearted act of sensing, inquiring, disclosing and learning in service of integrating the similarities and differences of a group of people; To incorporate everyone's contributions into conversations, idea generation and decision making to improve organisational outcomes. These differences may include aspects of identity such as sex, gender identity, age, disability, religion, ethnicity and sexual orientation. However, they should also take into account personality, performance strengths, professional expertise and experience.” (France 2019).

Our Courageous inclusion model:

​Most organisations we work with have a desire to improve diversity and inclusion (D&I) across the business. However, it is such a complex and challenging issue to address our clients often don't know where to start. Here are a few simple ways to take the steps forward needed to develop towards an inclusive organisation. 

​Inclusion is a CEO priority
In 2017, Deloitte reported that over two-thirds (69 percent) of executives rate diversity and inclusion an important issue (up from 59 percent in 2014) and Thirty-eight percent of executives report that the primary sponsor of the company’s diversity efforts is the CEO, but why?
 
Inclusion is essential for team performance
From a purely business perspective, research demonstrates that inclusive teams perform better. They make better, faster decisions with fewer meetings (Forbes), they are more innovative, engaged and creative in their work (Deloitte) and they produce better financial results (Bain & Co.). Furthermore, companies with inclusive practices generate up to 30% higher revenue per employee than their competitors (Deloitte).