The Element Of Inclusion

I collect inclusive frameworks like investors collect properties. I've got 3 three I use all the time.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety

2. Social Exchange Theory

3. PICOC Framework

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. There are 4 stages of Psychological Safety

   • "This model acts as if the beginning of psychological safety has achieved that."

2. Social exchange is built on trust

   • "This is why you also have a social contract — this reflects social exchange, unspecified obligations, no formal contract so you need trust."

3. We use PICOC to get really specific about inclusion work

   • "Instead of vague goals like 'We want more diversity,' PICOC forces clarity."

Check out these resources:

• The 4 Stages of Psychological Safety by Timothy R. Clark

• Justice in Social Exchange by Peter M. Blau (1964)

• Evidence-Based Management by Eric Barends and Denise Rousseau

I'm not here to help you pass an exam. I'm here to help you get results.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. How to use a simple Inclusion Test in your workplace

2. Why the Inclusion Test is about changing conditions, not memorising content

3. A favourite example of using this in real life.

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Insights are useless until it's applied at work.

   • "I love education… but you know what I love even more? Using what you've learned to make a difference in your life."

2. Inclusion Test is pass/fail

   • "No attempt is a fail. Any attempt with a measurable result is a pass… too many people fail."

3. Every episode's question is a blueprint for action.

   • "At the beginning I tell you what I'm going to cover… at the end, I ask a practical question. The answer to that question is an action."

Check out these resources:

• Diversity Pay Gaps: The Explanation You Need To Understand

Things are moving a lot faster than I expected. I've got a special invitation for you — and I'm excited to share this.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. [My Best Offer Yet — And How You Can Be Part of It]

2. [How This Podcast Became the Longest-Running Inclusion Podcast in the World]

3. [Introducing "Ask Dr Jonathan" — A Custom AI Thought Partner Trained on the Podcast]

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. 1. Work with me to build a resource you'll actually use.

      • "This isn't just a product. It's a tool built with you — not just for you."

   2. There are only 100 spaces — and they will go fast.

      • "I'm creating a Founders Circle. A private group of forward-thinking leaders helping shape the future of evidence-based inclusion."

   3. When it's gone, it's gone.

      • "And would like to get that at a once in a lifetime rate... then this is for you."

Check out these resources:

• AskDrJonathan.co – Apply to be part of the Founders Circle

• The Birthday Special : 7 Essential Inclusion Lessons from 7 Years of Podcasting

Not sure if your inclusion work is making an impact? These 3 questions will show you… fast.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. How we use The Feasibility Filter

2. Why parties, parades and panel events don't help you

3. why you need leading indicators for your work

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Are We Solving a Problem That Matters to the Organisation?

   • "If the problem doesn't link to the business, you've got no business talking about it."

2. What's the outcome we want

   • "Training is not an outcome."

3. Can We Show What's Changed?

   • "This is the question that separates progress from empty gestures."

Check out these resources:

• Ask Dr. Jonathan: A free tool offering instant access to Dr. Jonathan's ideas, principles, and actionable advice—based on 400+ podcast episodes, 200+ newsletter editions, and 10+ years of experience with FTSE 100 and Fortune 500 companies. Try it here.

• Progress You Can Prove: Everything you need to prove your organisation is becoming more inclusive. Get it here.

Every week, leaders like you tell me how much you love this podcast. But you wish you could ask me questions — in real time.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. Ask Dr Jonathan – The AI Tool Built on Evidence-Based Inclusion

2. Why Accessing Inclusion Frameworks Should Be Easier

3. How to Participate in Testing the Ask Dr Jonathan Tool

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. You're not the only collecting Evidence. I do too.

   • "Evidence-based inclusion requires us to gather evidence."

2. Don't be ashamed to try when you're not ready

   • "There are going to be shortcomings. But I'm still shipping it."

3. You are the reason I'm doing this

   • "This serves my mission: To help a million people like you."

Check out these resources:

• Get access to Ask Dr. Jonathan here.

You're the average of the five people you compare yourself to. Did it ever occur to you that you're comparing yourself to the wrong people?

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. Why starting with borrowed benchmarks sets you up to fail.
2. How to tell if a benchmark is applicable to your setting.
3. How to choose benchmarks that inform decisions.

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Bad Benchmarks Start With Bad Comparisons
   • "A benchmark that reflects their priorities won't help you track your progress."
2. Insight is more valuable than performance scores.
   • "What would we do differently if this number changed?"
3. Benchmarks must help you steer, not just score.
   • "If it doesn't help you decide what to do next, it's not useful."

Check out these resources:

• Progress You Can Prove – The new programme mentioned in the episode

Most DEI metrics are just a pantomime. They're not tracking things that matter.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. Why most DEI efforts fail before any work has begun

2. Why "quick wins" often become long-term liabilities

3. How to test your inclusion project before investing in delivery

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Outputs don't prove progress: outcomes do.

   • "Training is not an outcome."

2. Specific problems demand specific solutions.

   • "You can track how many people turned up to an event. You can count how many policies you updated. You can show how many people completed a training course. And none of it may be relevant."

3. Focus on preventions instead of a cure.

   • "You'd be surprised how often I see strategies full of goals that sound good, but don't translate into day-to-day actions."

Check out these resources:

• Business Case in a Box – A course that helps you build a business case your CFO can trust
• Progress You Can Prove – A course to help you track and show how your organisation is becoming more inclusive (coming soon)
• Evidence Based Inclusion System – A course to help you implement a repeatable, systematic process for inclusion (coming soon)

Every organisation has its problems. But not all of them are worth solving.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. the 5 point feasibility test we use with our clients

2. How copying others' inclusion strategies leads you off course

3. Our shortcut to reveal which workplace problems are fixable

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Solvable problems build inclusion

   • "A solvable inclusion problem isn't something that feels important. It's something that stands up to scrutiny. It passes what we call the Feasibility Filter: If a problem isn't Clear, Connected, Commercial, Credible and Causal, it's not ready to solve."

2. Business alignment isn't optional; it's essential.

   • "You don't need a generic business case for diversity. You need your business case for diversity. What does your problem matter to your specific organisation? If the problem doesn't link to the business, you've got no business talking about it."

3. Without cause, there's no effect.

   • "If you can't explain how the problem happens, you can't fix it. A solvable problem needs a clear explanation of what causes it, when it shows up, and what it leads to if ignored. That's where a logic model comes in. It maps the cause-and-effect chain that links daily experiences to measurable outcomes."

Check out these resources :

• • Business Case in a Box – A course that helps you build a business case your CFO can trust
  • Progress You Can Prove – A course to help you track and show how your organisation is becoming more inclusive (coming soon)
  • Evidence Based Inclusion System – A course to help you implement a repeatable, systematic process for inclusion (coming soon)

This is episode 400 of the show. I'm more excited than I've ever been about supporting you.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. Why the podcast now focuses on high-impact inclusion work
2. Why narrowing my focus increases my overall impact
3. Some resources I'm building to help you

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Element of Inclusion has hit 400 episodes
   • "I notice this in the milestone episodes like this. I can be really tough on myself. The title of Episode 300 was 'I'm Sorry I Let You Down'... But this year. I've made it happen."
2. We're creating a product ecosystem to help you achieve your goals
   • "I'm building out a product ecosystem to help you if you want to implement this yourself... These are things I've already tried and tested in our Inclusion Ready Leader Program. But it's going to be more affordable because it's self-paced."
3. Check out the shownotes to get on the waiting list
   • "If you want Business Case in a Box. Or to get on the waiting list for the other products. Check out the shownotes."

Check out these resources:

• Business Case in a Box – A course that helps you build a business case your CFO can trust
• Progress You Can Prove – A course to help you track and show how your organisation is becoming more inclusive (coming soon)
• Evidence Based Inclusion System – A course to help you implement a repeatable, systematic process for inclusion (coming soon)
• Episode 300 : Sorry I Let you down
• Episode 1: Pilot :

Do you have a system that proves your inclusion work is making progress? IF NOT I'm going to give you 7 tips that we use with our clients so they show people that that they are becoming more inclusive.

Key Topics Covered in This Episode:

1. How to choose problems your leadership actually cares about

2. How to design actions that actually improve inclusion

3. How specific outcomes make your work easier to defend

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Key Takeaways from This Episode:

1. Solve problems your organisation already cares about.

   • "Too many of you waste effort and energy on issues leadership doesn't prioritise."

2. Clear success metrics make your work harder to ignore.

   • "Without specifying exactly who you're supporting and what measurable success looks like, it's impossible to prove progress."

3. Plan inclusion actions like business interventions.

   • "Without targeted actions tied to clear outcomes, inclusion work is random."

Check out these resources :

Business Case in a Box: Build a Business Case for Inclusion your CFO will take seriously.

Free 2-minute audit tool: Check if your business case for inclusion would make sense to your CFO. (Get Access Here)