How Inclusive Leadership Drives Diversity and Inclusion

By: Shelly-Ann Wilson Henry, CEO & Strategic Communications Leader

Studies and research on diversity and inclusion, and the impact of such initiatives on organizational success, make it clear that we should add inclusiveness to the list of leadership traits.

Like other essential pillars of organizational development, diversity and inclusion is a competency built over time. There are four stages of diversity maturity. At stage one, organizations are focused on being compliant with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The next level, stage two, sees organizations moving beyond compliance to valuing diversity and accepting differences. At stage three, organizations level up to creating a culture of inclusion and recognizing the importance of diverse teams in decision making. Stage four represents the gold standard. Progressive organizations work towards this level. At this stage, leaders are managing diversity, inclusion, and belonging as norms within the organization. Also, policies are in place for accountability, and there are metrics around belonging and equity considerations to ensure that everyone intentionally gets what they need to succeed.

Achieving the level of maturity, as described in stage four, is almost impossible without inclusive leaders driving an inclusive culture across the organization. Fostering diversity and inclusion (D&I) should not be the sole responsibility of the human resources leader or the D&I practitioner. To have a significant impact, we must spread D&I efforts across the organization, and this is only possible if the company’s leadership is walking the talk. Leaders have an essential role in driving inclusiveness, and organizations should bear that in mind as they recruit top talent or develop existing employees for leadership roles. As you move forward in building future teams, think about how important it is for your leaders to model inclusive leadership to get the best outcomes.

Hire for “culture fit” carefully

Leaders have the mammoth task of choosing top talent who are the right fit for the organization. However, they must choose people that align with the organization's values and mission and not just candidates that share a similar background. This blog post on Kellogg Insight titled Stop Hiring for “Cultural Fit” outlines that research shows “when interviewers said they “clicked” or “had chemistry” with a candidate, they often meant that they shared a similar background. Perhaps they played the same sports, or went to the same grad school, or regularly vacationed in the same spot. Then, interviewers would interpret that interpersonal comfort as an indicator that the candidate would be a good fit for the firm. And, on the flip side, when interviewers said that they didn’t think a candidate would be a good fit, it was often because that person didn’t have a similar background, not because the candidate lacked in skills or positive values.” Further, experience has taught us that when we choose people like us within the same social network, it limits different perspectives and helpful information.

Create safe spaces

Psychological safety is important in establishing an environment of belonging for employees. This recent Medium article titled Psychological Safety At Work: what do psychologically safe work teams look like? notes that “A team feels psychologically safe to its members when they share the belief that within the team they will not be exposed to interpersonal or social threats to their self or identity, their status or standing and to their career or employment, when engaging in learning behaviors such as asking for help, seeking feedback, admitting errors or lack of knowledge, trying something new or voicing work-related dissenting views.” Leaders must model psychological safety by being authentic, sharing risk-taking, and tolerating vulnerability to build trust within their teams.

Choose equity over equality

As inclusive leaders think about employee development, they should think about biases that may affect who gets mentorship or sponsorship, who receives a promotion and why, and whether there is a clear growth and development path for each employee on the team and not just a few. Understanding that you will need to meet employees where they are, and coordinate strategies based on their unique needs rather than provide the same tools for everyone is crucial. Leaders should choose equity as it focuses on outcome and impact, as seen in the image below.

Make better [inclusive] decisions

Inclusive leaders know that having more diversity on teams results in better business decisions. The same care taken in the hiring process discussed above is relevant in selecting diverse project teams that add value with varying views, ideas, and inputs for more successful outcomes. Leaders should beware of choosing the “usual suspects” to sit on teams. They should engage others outside their network with different perspectives, knowledge, and experiences and at various levels across the organization. Leaders should not only think about team members who will ultimately approve projects but also include employees who will execute the deliverables, and those the decisions will most impact.

It is important that leaders model D&I through recruiting, developing employees, and building diverse teams to drive better decision making. No matter what stage of diversity maturity you are, let us work together to create a strategy to take your organization to the next level. Schedule a consultation today!