Promoting a sense of belonging and inclusion in Project Management

Creating a stronger sense of belonging and inclusion on projects should start with seeing things from other people’s perspectives, experts advised during a discussion held at the Association for Project Management (APM) Volunteers' Development Forum in Swindon.

Mac Alonge, CEO of The Equal Group, led a discussion at the Forum about the challenges and opportunities an inclusive workforce can bring to the project profession. Almost 100 volunteers, joining face-to-face and virtually, explored the topic, offering their views and experiences on inclusion in the workforce.

In a project management context, inclusion is all about fostering an environment where every team member is valued, respected and empowered to contribute their unique perspectives and skills. There are various challenges in creating an inclusive environment in the project profession. These aren’t just practical issues that can affect a team such as cultural/language differences, gender or age, but issues that are more specific to an individual working in the profession. This can include:

• hybrid working that spreads a team across different locations
• unique time zones making difficult to collaborate
• industry language or jargon confusing workers
• switching to a new industry within the profession
• time poverty where the fast-paced nature of project work makes it difficult to give members of a team the attention that they need.

Mac Alonge said: “Creating an inclusive environment has immense value within a project management context. We’ve all been involved in projects where the environment has been either stressful, short of time, or tight on budget. Having an inclusive environment can actually help to reduce these issues and create a more positive and efficient working environment.”

While there are obvious ethical and social benefits that comes with having an inclusive workforce, a bigger focus on inclusion can be advantageous for project work in a number of ways:

• an inclusive project profession and workforce leads to better decision making, as a diverse team can bring a wider range of ideas to the table
• improved problem solving, as different perspectives can look at challenges more effectively
• enhanced creativity, as a more inclusive environment is better able to foster creativity and innovation.

During the discussion, attendees were invited to explore how project managers can overcome challenges to foster an inclusive environment for their team members and fully realise these advantages.

Expert’s recommendations:

• “Never assume. Personal engagement is key, always have a conversation to find out the best way the worker can contribute to a project. It’s important that the wider team are aware of any adjustments being made as well.”
• “Recognise introverts and extroverts in your team. Some workers may feel less comfortable in group discussions, some may feel intimidated by language challenges etc, so it’s important to give workers a chance to contribute through understanding everyone’s needs and abilities. It could be doing something as simple as sharing an agenda in advance or giving team members the space to talk in their own language.”
• “There is no one size fits all approach. Be flexible with workers but this also needs to go both ways. If you are adjusting too much, you need to ask is this the right project for them or can they perform at this level?”
• “Create a safe space for failure and vulnerability. Team members will be more likely to contribute and take risks in their ideas and approach to work when they don’t feel in jeopardy.”

Mac concluded: “It’s important to ask questions of yourself that will allow you to step into somebody else’s shoes and see things from their perspective. This will help you to reflect on the way on the way you communicate with you team and understand the environment that you create as a project manager.”