Ever since my daughters were young I’ve coached them to use their words to solve their problems. After decades of working with organizational leaders in pursuit of more inclusive workplaces, I find the narrative hasn’t changed. To increase inclusion awareness, we have to use our words to start the conversation. We must be willing to step into the awkward and uncomfortable to build a firm foundation for any kind of lasting, impactful change to take place.

But how do we get started? In some cases, these conversations come up organically. A majority of them, however, must be intentionally initiated. Our Inclusion at Work Calendar is a great resource for monthly conversation starters. For example, March and April contain several religious holy days, as well as Earth Day and Arab-American Heritage Month. April is also set aside as Autism Awareness Month, which celebrates and promotes greater inclusion for neurodivergent individuals, a topic that we’re seeing more frequently among organizational leaders.

Ultimately, our goal at Rework Work is to help people have more productive and inclusive conversations. To that end, as we approach 100k followers on LinkedIn (thank you followers!), we’ve launched the 100K Conversations campaign. We are challenging our readers to commit to having one intentional conversation with a friend, neighbor, or coworker, that fosters inclusion awareness. Although this can be intimidating, we’ve provided guides and resources to support you along the way. So take a step towards transformational action — join thousands of other game-changers and commit to the 100K Conversations challenge today!