Credera Hosts First Inclusive Leadership Round Table Discussions

Rhea Horton

Credera Hosts First Inclusive Leadership Round Table Discussions

At Credera, we strive to develop a place where diverse, passionate, and caring team members can work together to solve complex problems and make an extraordinary impact on our clients. One of Credera’s core values, which promotes our dedication to an inclusive environment, is people first. It states: “We treat each person with value and care. We are kind with our words and actions, seeking understanding, so that everyone is authentically known. Individual differences bring strength.”

Because of our commitment to creating an inclusive environment, we wanted to grow in creating a safe environment for every employee. To do so, we collected employee engagement survey data and conducted focus groups with team members across the firm to assess our people’s perception of our inclusive environment.

We learned that Credera team members want to see more clear expectations from leaders on cultural sensitivity, increased use of inclusive language, and a fostering of intentional, inclusive experiences.

Inclusive Leadership Round Table Discussion

One of the ways we addressed this feedback was to conduct inclusive leadership roundtable discussions. Credera Round Tables are focused on having authentic, open conversations about specific diversity and inclusion related topics. The goal was to inform team members of what inclusive leadership means and how to implement inclusive behaviors in their daily lives.

The roundtable discussions were small-group discussions (around four to six people) led by leaders who were nominated by other leaders for being inclusive. We had over 80 Credera team members across all levels volunteer their time to participate in these conversations.

During the time, each person:

Assessed their level of cultural awareness.
Described the actions of an inclusive leader.
Discussed the emotional impact on team members and the business when team members feel included versus excluded.
Received an inclusive leadership and language toolkit.

We had such a positive response to the training we decided to continue the learning by adding two additional discussion sessions.

The second discussion explored the core behaviors of an inclusive leader, such as someone who is:

Self-aware of their own biases.
Authentic and creates a safe environment for others to be their authentic self.
Accountable with themselves and others’ actions to create a safe environment through educating, exposing, experiencing, and being empathic of others.

The third discussion deepened the topic of holding others accountable by practicing:

A five-step process to conduct difficult conversations.
A four-step process to receive difficult feedback.

With the use of various assessment tools and discussions, our people rated this time as highly valuable, noting they learned new skills they could immediately apply to increase inclusivity within their teams.

Since completing our roundtable discussions, we celebrated the Credera staff who attended all three series by praising them publicly (internally) and sharing their new accolades and skills with their supervising manager (i.e., career coach). We also converted the core content into an official learning and development training session that’s available on demand to all Credera team members. Stay tuned as we progress along on our diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) journey and work toward creating a more inclusive environment.

Learn More About Credera’s DE&I Initiatives

Diversity, equity, and inclusion are mission-critical priorities that collectively ensure every Credera employee is treated with respect and care and ultimately has the opportunity to be their whole and best self at work. We are committed to fostering a culture where everyone belongs and can thrive to make an extraordinary impact on our people, our clients, and our communities.

To learn more about our DE&I employee resource groups and initiatives, check out our DE&I page or reach out to us at findoutmore@credera.com.

Come Grow With Us

At Credera, we couldn’t be more excited about our future. If you’re interested in a career where you can grow and make an extraordinary impact with people who care, please visit our careers page.