To be included is to belong, is to survive and to thrive. This pattern of being is coded deep within us and applies now just as much as thousands of years ago. If we hold that alongside the idea that leaders tend to drive and shape groups, being a leader comes with a significant responsibility: to include others as a foundation of their health and overall flourishing.
To help with that responsibility and lighten the load let’s frame some other motivations for inclusive leadership and look at some helpful practices for the committed inclusive leader.
Why focus on inclusive leadership
Underpinned by this neurobiological need for inclusion, a leader might have at least three other motivations to behave inclusively:
A moral motive which comes from believing everyone deserves to be valued, heard and has the right to express their full potential
A performance motive based on the idea that a better performance comes from having a diverse organisation where everyone is expressing their full potential
A motive based on feeling coerced to be inclusive because it is what society, the prevailing work culture and legislation demand of us and doing it avoids sanctions or loss of status
All are some of these might appeal to you but my hope is that as many people as possible feel the moral pull towards inclusion driven by a deep sense that inclusion is a human right and makes us all greater. Performance, success and status come as happy by-products of this, while avoiding legal sanction is just something real leaders do effortlessly every day.
Just in case you do want to hover over the benefits of inclusive leadership the research is clear it promotes and incredible range of outcomes including more: innovation, engagement, goal alignment, job satisfaction, organisational learning, feedback seeking behaviour, commitment to change, individual task performance, empowerment and personal wellbeing - I really could go on.
What does it look in real life?
If you are committed to walking a path of inclusion as a leader, what does it look like? A recent series of studies offers four ways to be an inclusive leader:
· Expressing gratitude
· Recognising the uniqueness of people
· Growing a sense of belonging
· Focusing on inclusive practices
Gratitude: why wouldn’t you say thank you – a lot?
I believe saying “thank you” is a hugely undervalued behaviour in the workplace, particularly by leaders. I have a vague suspicion that appearing to be grateful for “small” things is somehow linked with being seen as weak as a leader. By withholding gratitude until something “big” has happened leaders deny their people a sense of being included, that what they do counts and matters.
In his book The Culture Code, Danial Coyle shares how in some great cultures the level of gratitude can seem almost over the top. So I urge you to be extravagant with your praise and gratitude – it doesn’t mean you never offer ways things can be improved, in fact it probably makes it lot easier when the time comes.
Recognising uniqueness: fighting the primal urge to blend in
Each of us has our own sense of what makes us unique and also what we hold in common with others. In groups these views are often hidden partly because the risk of standing out raises the possibility that we separate ourselves from the group in a damaging way. This kind of group separation was potentially lethal for our ancestors so inclusive leaders are up against some deep patterning that has served humans for millennia.
The opportunity for inclusive leaders is to develop the skill of creating safe spaces for deep sharing. This is all about modelling open vulnerable sharing as the leader and by using reward and sanction for team members who are willing to offer their uniqueness to the group. Link it back to gratitude by openly and warmly thanking anyone who constructively shares their a unique perspective or idea that could only have come from them.
Building belonging: aligning the present, past and future
I recently had the chance to ask an emanant DEI expert the difference between being fully included and having a sense of belonging – they said “not much!”. This could mean belonging in the present is a sense my uniqueness is accepted and can safely be expressed. I believe it is possible to reinforce this by aligning the present with the past and the future.
To truly belong I believe people need to know and find personal alignment with the history of the group. They also need to look to the future and find meaning and excitement in the vision and purpose of the group. If the past, present and future all have meaning and align for someone then the chances of belonging are so much greater.
Inclusive practices: taking a systemic approach
No one is at their best at all times and this is when having practices, policies, systems and initiatives come in to their own. They can seem inauthentic and lacking in humanity, but a good framework plus some light process stops our tired brains drifting with our biases and helps us be our best selves.
What are you doing to have diverse and inclusive recruitment panels? How do you check who you are accidentally excluding from workgroups or from getting the resources they need? Do you have channels people can reliably use to voice exclusion in your organisation? How are promoting and allying with traditionally excluded groups?
These are all inclusive practices leaders can promote and pursue to build in resilient forms of inclusions.
Where does your brain rest?
Finally, I was recently reminded of the simple idea that our brains build and reinforce synaptic connections through repetition. If your brain rests on the question of building an inclusive work environment and you really engage with the four pillars of inclusive leadership you will get more of what you want. Your brain is going to rest somewhere so why not choose to find a way to remind yourself everyday of your commitment to include others by building systems and cultures of gratitude, safety and belonging.
About me: Gary Armstrong helps people, teams and organisations who are stuck to find joy, fulfilment and high performance. He uses coaching and consulting to help people become clear on their purpose and goals and make transformational shifts in how they achieve them. You can email him on gary@pinnaclecoaching.net or book time with him here. He also likes being with his family, spending time in the outdoors and he’s the cohost of The RunAlive podcast.
Primary source for this Newsletter: Article in the July 2023 Edition of The Oxford Review: What Does Inclusive Leadership Behaviour Entail and What Are Its Outcomes?