Why Being an Inclusive Leader Matters

I am a recovering perfectionist, so for too long, I have let that stop me from writing about topics deemed “controversial.” I am afraid I won’t get it right.

So, let me start off by saying that I will probably get some things wrong in this post. And also that I am asking for grace and compassion, and gentle correction where/ when needed. It is Pride Month as well as the celebration of Juneteenth this month, and one topic I often don’t cover nearly enough is inclusion and belonging in the workplace so I thought it a great opportunity in June to highlight the importance of inclusion and why it matters.

Here's what I know for sure as a former corporate leader, a leadership development and organizational development expert with almost 20 years' experience, and a current leadership coach and organizational development consultant: inclusion and belonging and creating safe spaces for people to speak up should be basic leadership competencies.

Here’s why:

• A report on 366 public companies found that those in the top quartile for ethnic and racial diversity in management were 35% more likely to have financial returns above their industry mean, and those in the top quartile for gender diversity were 15% more likely to have returns above the industry mean (Source: McKinsey, HBR.org)
• Diverse companies have 2.5 times higher cash flow per employee. (Source: Builtin.com)
• 75% of organizations with diverse and inclusive decision-making teams were projected to exceed their financial targets in 2022 (Source: Gartner, Builtin.com)
• Employees who feel included within their organizations are about 3 times more likely to feel excited by and committed to organization missions. (Source: McKinsey)
• Gender-diverse companies outperform their peers by 48%. (Source: Builtin.com)
• 88% of the top sales organizations have racially or ethnically diverse sales teams. (Source: Forester)

Now here’s also why: it’s the right thing and best thing for a leader to do.

A leader (whether in a formal role or not) is not a leader without followers. And the best leaders build more leaders. Who follows you?  Are you leading in a way that builds more leaders - better leaders - for the unseen and unknown challenges of the future? Challenges that will require all of the ideas and all of the brains?

For a long time, I’ve taught about how and why diversity and inclusion matter on a team. From a business perspective, you get the best results when you have a variety of ideas, constructive conflict, and big trust.

Diversity, by the way, is not just about how someone looks (or how you assume they are based on their looks). It is about diversity of thoughts, experiences, ideas - all of which come from a variety of backgrounds - whether it is racial, ethnic, socioeconomic, small company, big company, different industry, parents, caregivers, different ages/generations, genders, sexual orientation, military service, physical and mental abilities, education, and many many other components.

So, let’s say you hire for a diverse team. It means nothing and you don’t reap the most benefits unless you also create an inclusive environment with psychological safety for that team to flourish. If you’re not familiar with the term “psychological safety,” here’s a short and sweet definition: an environment in which someone feels it is safe to speak up, even with personal risk.

How do you do this? Here are 6 quick tips to get started (and by the way, these are just good leadership characteristics in general):

1. Create space in meetings for everyone to speak, not just your extraverts or most senior people
2. Ask every single person on your team if they feel comfortable speaking up (and if they don’t, start to build ongoing conversations where they can share feedback 1:1 with you)
3. Create team building activities where each person shares their background and highlights key milestones in their lives. 
4. Actively seek out people who think differently than you and that have different backgrounds than you. Invite them to coffee/ lunch. Start to build friendships with people who are different from you.
5. Educate yourself on what it means to be an ally to your team members. Educate yourself on your blind spots, and on different historical perspectives.
6. Be willing to be vulnerable and make mistakes. You won’t get it 100% right 100% of the time. None of us do. It’s important to show that it is important enough to you that you prioritize it, you make an effort to grow, and you humbly ask for compassion and grace when needed.

Belonging

Let’s now talk about belonging. Have you ever felt like you don’t belong? Likely yes. We all have. I certainly have. Now have you ever made it so that others feel like they don’t belong?  And…what does it mean for you to belong? We all have a different way that helps us feel like we belong.

Carin Taylor highlights 5 tenets of belonging in her Ted Talk (referenced below as well). Here are the 5 tenets: (Well worth the 15 minutes).

1. Psychological Safety
2. Empathy
3. Acceptance
4. Connection
5. Embraced (respected, valued, appreciated)

Resources

If you’re looking for some resources on the topic of inclusion and belonging, here are some of my favorites:

• LeanIn.org - lots of original research and while their main focus is on women, has great information for being an ally and creating an environment in your own organization that supports inclusion and belonging
• CultureAlly Reading List: a great list of books and other resources to aid you in your own inclusive leader journey
• TedTalk: Belonging: A Critical Piece of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: A TedTalk with Carin Taylor
• TedTalk: Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe: A TedTalk with Simon Sinek
• Diversity Wins: How Inclusion Matters - research from McKinsey

Inclusive environments where people feel that they belong are imperative to handle the uncertain circumstances of our future. Bringing care and compassion and humanity to your leadership, to your team, to your organization allows your team members to thrive, create their best work, and in turn, help your company grow and thrive as well.

Let’s be better together.