Inclusivity is more than just a buzzword. It’s a powerful tool that, when wielded correctly and for the right reasons, can transform organizations, communities, and individual contributors alike. Inclusive leadership should be seen as a necessity for organizations looking to keep their people, and keep up with the competition—which all businesses should be. But what does leading with inclusion look like, and what shouldn’t it entail? Let’s dive in.
What Inclusive Leadership Is
Iterative: Inclusivity is something to be continuously worked towards, rather than something that can be accomplished. As such, leaders should always be learning and seeking to better understand and overcome their own biases and encouraging their teams to do the same. If this is the case, the resulting culture of continuous improvement is more likely to be an inclusive one wherein everyone feels valued, respected, and invited to contribute according to their unique perspectives and talents.
Committed to Diversity Beyond the Visible: Inclusive leaders recognize that different backgrounds, experiences, and viewpoints lead to better collaboration and more innovation. These differences must be understood as extending beyond ones like race, gender, or ethnicity. Inclusivity is at its most effective when it is practiced in a way that considers other differences like age, disability, sexual orientation, neurodivergence, socioeconomic background, learning preferences, and more.
In Pursuit of Genuine Collaboration: Inclusive leaders welcome all perspectives, especially ones they know might be in opposition to theirs, because this fresh take might illuminate a better way forward, or plant a seed for a solution for a future problem. Inclusive leadership also involves listening to understand, rather than just to have something to respond to. And, it certainly excludes hoping to have nothing to respond to. An example of this would be cc’ing people on email threads without asking a specific question or providing the context necessary for them to feel genuinely invited to weigh in.
Equitable Empowerment: Inclusive leaders work to ensure that everyone has equal access to opportunities, resources, and support. They also understand that some resources aren’t as helpful to some people, and that support needs to look different for different people. Some personality types are less inclined to join in public discourse. Leaders can practice inclusivity by attuning to their people’s needs and meeting them where they are—perhaps through a one-on-one conversation in person or via the phone. These leaders recognize fairness doesn’t mean treating everyone equally, rather it means providing everyone with equal access to what they need to succeed.
What Inclusive Leadership Isn’t
Performative Tokenism: As one Bright Wire Coach and Facilitator acknowledges, “as with diversity, it can be a challenge for some to think past their desire to be seen as being inclusive rather than actually doing anything useful.” Inclusive leadership isn’t concerned simply with maintaining an appearance of diversity. It’s about genuinely valuing and integrating a variety of perspectives into everyday operations.
Being Nice All the Time: Inclusive leaders aren’t pushovers who bend at the whims of their teams. They understand the difference between soliciting input and promising to implement or act on every idea they receive. And, when they invite people to collaborate, they set clear expectations, provide constructive feedback, and hold people accountable while providing them with a psychologically safe environment in which failure isn’t punishable.
Passive: Inclusivity doesn’t just happen. There has to be intention behind it. It takes deliberate effort on the part of leadership—effort to create an inclusive environment and to provide people with ongoing, appropriate opportunities to contribute, engage, and thrive. Remember, inclusivity is a practice.
Ignorant of Performance Metrics: Inclusive leaders seek to build diverse, high-performing teams, recognizing that such an environment can actually enhance everyone’s performance. As much as traditional notions of “merit” are limited and may overlook the diverse ways in which people contribute, there is absolutely room for inclusivity within meritocracies. In fact, inclusivity helps broaden the definition of merit to include different types of intelligence, creativity, and approaches.
Why is Inclusive Leadership a Business Necessity
While inclusivity is obviously beneficial for individuals within a given group or company, it’s also great for business. The closer an organization gets to true inclusivity, the greater the team-lift effect. Not only are more people involved in the work, they’re more invested in the work which inspires discretionary effort in addition to lessening costly turnover.
Inclusive leadership has become a business essential. And it’s about more than just embracing gender and racial diversity; it’s about creating an environment where everyone can contribute their best work. By committing to practicing inclusivity continuously, leaders are able to unlock unprecedented levels of innovation, engagement, and growth for their people as individuals and organizations as a whole. It’s time we all embrace inclusivity as a goal and as a fundamental driver of the way we continue to work and live together.
