Leading with Inclusivity-How to Foster a Culture of Belonging

In any role, and in particular leadership roles where you are leading by example and motivating others, we need to foster Inclusive Leadership.  Inclusivity is a word that we hear about a lot and for good reason.

When looking at what Inclusive leadership is, in a nutshell, it’s a style of leadership that focuses on fostering diversity, equity, and belonging that ensures everyone feels valued, respected, and empowered to contribute.

Inclusive Leadership: 

• Emphasises diversity, equity, and belonging
• Values diverse (all) perspectives for innovation
• Creates openness and psychological safety (a safe space)
• Includes empathy, fairness, and self-awareness
• Assists in promoting engagement, productivity and success
• Drives innovation through diverse perspectives
• Makes people feel important and heard
• Fosters trust, fairness, and collaboration
• Enhances engagement, productivity, and retention

Diversity focuses on the makeup of the workforce. It includes factors such as the demographics, age, gender, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, experience, values and diversity of strengths and motivation. Inclusion on the other hand, is a measure of culture that enables diversity to thrive.

When we think about it, diversity is about the “what” whilst  inclusion is about the “how.”  

Research shows that greater diversity in the workforce results in greater profitability and value creation. The same holds true at the executive level, as McKinsey research revealed. They found a statistically significant correlation between diverse leadership and better financial performance. Companies in the top quartile for ethnic diversity at the executive level are 33 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile. When it comes to gender diversity, companies in the top quartile are 21 percent more likely to have above-average profitability than companies in the bottom quartile.

By leveraging what makes us different from each other we can complement skills gaps, experience, opinions and backgrounds. When we appreciate diversity in the workplace, we can become a dream team.

The most Inclusive Leaders I know, actively seek diverse perspectives and understand that varied experiences and viewpoints lead to more innovative solutions and stronger performance. When this approach is taken it helps create a culture of openness and psychological safety, encouraging team members to share ideas and challenge norms without fear of judgment. They practice empathy, fairness, and transparency, making decisions that consider the input of all voices. We all have something to share, and we should all be heard and included.

The key elements of inclusive leadership include self-awareness, humility, and a commitment to continuous growth. Leaders acknowledge their own biases and work to overcome them, striving for an equitable environment where everyone has the same opportunity to succeed.

I believe and know to be true, that when leaders embrace diverse perspectives and leverage these, this drives innovation, stronger performance and encourages open communication and collaboration.

This leadership style promotes equity, fairness, and trust, leading to higher employee engagement, productivity, and retention, which ultimately enhances business success in a diverse and interconnected world.

Self-enquiry  

How are you identifying and understanding the differences and diversity of your peers and individuals within your team?  

What forums are you creating to leverage diversity to create a dynamic and inclusive workplace? 

Written by Renée Giarrusso.

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