Drive Success with Inclusive Leadership

• Inclusive leadership has become indispensable to organizational success.
• Inclusive leadership increases workforce productivity and innovation.
• Overcoming challenges associated with inclusive leadership helps drive success in organizations.

What is Inclusive Leadership?

As a contemporary leader, you already know leadership styles that prioritize homogeneity and hierarchy are a thing of the past. These days, rapidly changing workplaces prefer inclusive practices driven by diversity and collaboration. Inclusive leadership is a leadership style that strives to curate workspaces that make every employee feel included and empowered. In addition to creating a sense of belonging, it also increases workplace satisfaction and company revenue. 

Inclusive leadership refers to leading a workplace by being open to different perspectives. It also involves tackling unconscious bias within oneself and the organization. Being inclusive is making every employee, client and customer feel valued and important. Championing diversity and inclusion can be one of the ways in which employees feel valued and important. Organizing Diversity and Inclusion training and inclusive policies at the workplace also help. 

However, ultimately it all boils down to the leader the employees work with. Harvard Business Review suggests 70% of the difference in whether employees feel included or not depends on their leader. Building an empathetic work culture fosters a sense of belonging in employees encouraging them to raise their voice. This in turn helps in encouraging the spirit of collaboration boosting efficiency in the workplace.

What are the Benefits of Inclusive Leadership?

It is no surprise that there are several benefits of diversity and inclusion in the workplace. Employees with diverse backgrounds provide solutions to problems where homogeneous groups failed. The benefits can be categorized into three – Individual, team and organizational benefits. 

Individual Benefits 

Inclusive leadership in an organization helps in gathering talent from diverse backgrounds and cultures. This helps in gaining new perspectives from previously underrepresented groups which helps in two aspects. One, these perspectives can potentially help uncover blind spots and unconventional solutions where homogenous groups failed to. Second, their unique experiences can help organizations better understand overlooked customer and client groups. It also helps individuals be more authentic at work, empowering them to unlock their potential. 

Team Benefits

Various studies suggest diverse and inclusive workforces boost productivity and success. However, there might be conflict in the initial stages of having a diverse team work together. That’s primarily because of differing perspectives resulting from diverse backgrounds and cultures. An inclusive leader can manage the team effectively and help them overcome their differences. In the long run, these diverse perspectives result in innovation and greater levels of success.  

Organizational Benefits

A CECP whitepaper, Diversity & Inclusion in Corporate Social Engagement studies the effects of D&I in corporate settings. They found diverse and inclusive workplaces 70% more likely to succeed in new markets. Korn Ferry research also suggests diverse and inclusive organizations are 87% more likely to make better decisions. 

How to Be an Inclusive Leader?

Although companies are trying to become more inclusive, inclusive leadership determines whether those initiatives are successful or not. Studies suggest only 5% of leaders globally are truly inclusive. The following are some of the ways to learn how be an inclusive leader – 

Commitment to Diversity and Inclusivity

Leaders in an organization are responsible for making sure their employees feel like they fit in right to their workplace. It is essential that leaders incorporate DEI initiatives to become an inclusive leader. 

Courage

Let’s not forget that it’s only human to err. What makes someone a true leader is taking accountability for their actions and seeking feedback to make things better. 

Mindful

Leaders need to understand the fact that they might have unconscious biases. Not everyone sees everything similar as they do so through different cultural, social, racial and gender-based frameworks. Inclusive leaders combat personal biases and encourage others to do so ensuring fairness and equality. Additionally, it also helps leaders function as part of a whole. 

Curious and Open Minded

Inclusive leaders are naturally curious about different perspectives and ideas as they understand there is growth in diversity. Remaining open minded about different perspectives helps in increasing input from traditionally underrepresented voices. 

Cultural Awareness

Inclusive leaders are aware of diverse cultures and treat them based on their cultural knowledge. They also motivate team members to be culturally aware. 

Collaborative

Inclusive leaders understand that leadership is inherently collaborative and not dictatorial. They accept suggestions from team members. Additionally, they also encourage team members to actively participate in decision making. 

Empathetic

Inclusive leaders are inherently empathetic in nature as they understand the importance of connecting with employees on a deeper level. 

What are the Challenges to Inclusive Leadership?

Although leaders agree how inclusive leadership is the right way forward, they also face several challenges in becoming truly inclusive. The first step is to recognise that one might have unconscious biases through taking inclusive leadership assessments. Next, one can undergo inclusive leadership training wherein unconscious biases are mitigated. Resistance to change might be another challenge. The only way forward is to embrace diversity. In the process of making a workplace inclusive, it is important to avoid tokenism and pretentious efforts. 

The Way Forward

By recognizing the fact that inclusive leadership is not just a buzzword, one can drive success in an organization. The only effective way to tap a workforce’s potential is to ensure fairness, equity, trust, respect and inclusion. Although there are a few challenges, the benefits of inclusive leadership outweigh the former. In an evolving world, the significance of inclusive leadership will remain a driving force to ensure success in any organization. 

What does inclusive leadership mean?

Inclusive leadership refers to the ability to lead a group of diverse people while respecting diversity and overcoming bias.

What are the 6Cs of inclusive leadership?

The 6Cs are commitment, courage, cognizance, curiosity, cultural awareness and collaboration. 

 What inclusive leadership methods?

Assessing individual strengths of employees and assigning them roles that best fit them is one of the most important inclusive leadership strategies.