Current State
Many organizations are transforming their culture from top-down leadership to inclusive leadership. Brandon Hall Group’s most recent HCM Outlook Study supports this.
Complexities
Inclusive leadership is not intuitive to many people, especially veteran leaders who worked for many years in cultures where leaders were expected to have all the answers and be in control. Transitioning to inclusive leadership is now more difficult for some organizations because of the increased number of employees working remotely.
In fact, only 45% of organizations believe inclusive leadership is demonstrated to a high or very high degree among their leaders and most organizations have seen no real change in inclusive decision- making, according to our Improving the Business Impact of DEI Study.
Traits of Inclusive Leadership
✦ Being aware of one’s biases and preferences
✦ Actively seeking and considering diverse views and perspectives to inform better decision-making
✦ Demonstrating commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion
✦ Exhibiting humility
✦ Curiosity about others
✦ Exhibiting cultural intelligence
✦ Demonstrating and championing collaboration
Consequences
Inclusive leadership requires development of behaviors that need reinforcement and practice. But most leadership development is classroom-focused and many organizations don’t provide leaders with needed time for self-reflection or provide targeted skill exercises that they can do quickly as time allows. Therefore, most organizations don’t believe their LD programs have a significant impact on the business.
Inclusive leadership is critical for organizations for a number of reasons:
✦ Boosts innovation and performance: Diverse teams with a range of perspectives bring a wider range of ideas to the table, fostering creativity and leading to better problem-solving and decision-making.
✦ Enhances employee engagement: When employees feel valued, respected and heard, they’re more likely to be engaged and productive. Inclusive leadership creates a sense of belonging that motivates employees to contribute their best work.
✦ Attracts and retains top talent: In today’s competitive job market, talented individuals are looking for workplaces that foster diversity and inclusion. Inclusive leadership helps organizations attract and retain the best people.
✦ Improves decision-making: By considering diverse viewpoints, inclusive leaders can avoid blind spots and make more well-rounded decisions that benefit the organization.
✦ Strengthens business relationships: Inclusive leadership fosters trust and collaboration, not just within the organization but also with clients and partners from different backgrounds.
Critical Questions
To develop inclusive leaders, organizations should answer several critical questions, including:
- What types of leaders are needed to make our organization successful?
- How do we build a culture of collaboration that embraces the inclusive leadership needed to navigate new challenges through collective wisdom and innovation?
- What must we do to develop the types of leaders we need?
- How can we build a culture that is inclusive by design?
Brandon Hall Group™ POV
Inclusive leadership is the foundation for leveraging the diverse capabilities and experiences of the workforce to drive organizations forward. The foundation of inclusive leadership is self- awareness of biases, habits and triggers that can impede employees’ sense of belonging and feeling valued and heard.
Inclusive leaders are humble enough to acknowledge their vulnerabilities and collaborate with others to create the best environment and workplace. The keys to inclusive leadership are prioritizing collaboration and open-mindedness over control and enabling others to actively contribute to the organization’s success. This enables an environment of psychological safety that gives everyone an opportunity to bring their true selves to work. Inclusive leadership takes many forms.
EXAMPLES OF INCLUSIVE LEADERSHIP
✦ Actively show empathy and support when employees express a viewpoint that is different from yours or the majority opinion.
✦ Advocate for employees being allies, coaches and mentors for each other.
✦ For team meetings, take turns having employees set the agenda and run the meeting. This promotes shared ownership and drives engagement.
✦ Be proactive in ensuring remote employees are actively included in virtual meetings. It is not enough that they are included in video conferencing. Make sure they have a chance to be heard.
✦ Recognize employees on a regular basis for meaningful contributions; ensure no one individual or a few individuals are disproportionately acknowledged.
✦ Ensure opportunities for promotions and high-visibility projects are equitably provided to everyone. Candidates should be evaluated according to the same standards. Be aware of your biases and collaborate to make decisions that mitigate them.
✦ Collaborate inclusively. Every person has unique strengths. People who might not appear to be the best fit for a discussion may have a different experience or viewpoint that can make a difference.
✦ Be comfortable with conflict and disagreement as long as it is expressed constructively, respectfully and professionally.
