#99 Emotional Inclusion with Mollie Rogers Jean De Dieu

" we are still so afraid of speaking up and showing our emotions in the workplace... "

Mollie and I discuss emotional inclusion, what it means and how it can help to humanise the workplace. How do we operationlise the 'doing' and bust the more traditional but very present leadership myths held in workplaces about vulnerability, emotions and 'strong leadership' ?

We explore the lagging advancement in tackling emotional wellness at work and the negative impacts this can have. The urgency for organisations to sincerely incorporate emotional inclusion by offering mental health support and educational workshops has never been more present.

At organisational level, leaders must be the voices of change to overcome the dichotomy of split selves, i.e. home self and work self, and lead authentic campaigns to demonstrate the benefits of a more inclusive ecosystem.

Mollie stresses the importance of a comprehensive approach to organisational emotional well-being and the benefits of understanding employees’ emotions as well as educating leaders and employees alike.

How can senior leaders contribute to this role-modelling of countering existing leadership myths and bringing in new ways of thinking and talking about emotions at work?

How can we move from reflection to action on this topic and ensure sustainable and welcome change in this area ?

Mollie shares her research, experience and insights from working on Emotional inclusion and from working with leaders around the globe.

The main insights you will get from this episode are :

-       Emotional intelligence is about knowing how to navigate our own and others’ emotions, emotional inclusion is about providing a roadmap of how to put emotions/emotional intelligence into action (also at work).

-       Company DE&I platforms rarely speak about the inclusion that is closest to humanity, i.e. ourselves. Emotions have a bad reputation, despite giving us purpose, creativity, and a sense of belonging, and are the gateway to spearheading productivity as a whole.

-       There is still an intention/action gap around emotions: we wear masks and vulnerability is seen as a weakness – there is fear and stigma around speaking up given the risk of perceived unprofessionalism.

-       At organisational level, leaders must be the voices of change to overcome the dichotomy of split selves, i.e. home self and work self, and lead authentic campaigns to demonstrate the benefits of a more inclusive ecosystem.

-       HR must ensure that there are mental health policies in insurance schemes for employees, over and above basic medical care, as the wellbeing of employees directly affects a company’s bottom line.

-       There is a big divide in leadership regarding mental health: leaders who talk about it but do little, and leaders who want to redefine what mental health within their organisation looks like and make changes, but it is still not enough.

-       Organisations need to create sustainable mental health pillars, but they are difficult to implement; corporate leadership vulnerability must role model behaviour for psychological safety, leading to increased receptiveness, empathy, openness, and authentic ‘team-ness’.

-       We must make inclusion systemic by educating around how inclusive and safe ecosystems boost productivity, and by truly acknowledging each other’s humanness – there has been little progress in emotional wellness since the industrial revolution!

-       Covid was a game-changer in that people refuse to fit into an antiquated workplace model; employees want to see a difference, beyond onboarding bonuses, and are ultimately the barometer of whether emotional inclusion exists in an organisation.

-       We all have a duty to play our part in bringing about change with self-leadership for grass roots action to help people navigate hard times, not questioning what it means to be human at work, reshaping the future workplace and moving forward.

-       Being human keeps us relevant in a tech world - we must embrace the mess and not fall into the trap of false assumptions; we know nothing about anyone unless we ask questions and receive honest answers.

Find out more about Mollie and emotional inclusion here :

https://www.emotionalinclusion.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/mollie-rogers-jean-de-dieu-285994b/?originalSubdomain=sg

https://www.amazon.com/Emotional-Inclusion-Humanizing-Revolution-Work-ebook