There’s no ‘I’ in ‘Team’… but there is in ‘Inclusion’.

Okay, no frothy introduction to this post – because I’m fascinated by one topic right now. It keeps coming up in conversations, particularly around remote teams and adult learning.

Let’s get to it….

How do we make sure everyone has the best working or learning environment to suit their particular needs?

Basically, how do we do inclusion at scale?

I’m not going to give you the answer to this. I simply can’t.

Well, not yet anyway. I’m working on it.

Changes to our working and learning worlds has brought scrutiny to the way we do things and how people access spaces and activities.

Underpinning this are the following questions:

1)      What does ‘normal’ working and adult learning look like?

2)      How does this compare to mainstream and non-mainstream education?

3)      Where does the onus lie to make environments accessible – with workers/employees/learners or with those responsible for creating the spaces and courses?

Caption: Lynn sitting in the countryside thinking about these questions.

In order to make the world manageable, we clunk and smoosh things together in chunks. Forming groups is all part of the human experience, and an essential skill that you will be aware of if you have ever filled out a job application.

When do we prioritise the group? And how do we balance this with the wonderful diverse needs that compose it?

Traditionally, we created spaces for the ‘norm’. Desk-bound, mainstream spaces and patterns that felt okay-ish. We coped.

I don’t think we simply want okay-ish anymore. Individuals are demanding to be seen as such – unique people with assets and needs.

How many exceptions to the norm make a norm defunct?

Is now the time to presume that we all work (neuro-ly and job-related) in different ways?

And, if this is the case, what does it mean for the future of work?

I may not have answers yet; but I fear that those who are not considering these questions will end up with a bigger headache long term.