What Is Inclusive Leadership?

In my work as a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) consultant, I encounter many organizational leaders during my training and presentations who are unsure of why they’re there. They’re uncertain about what they’re going to gain from the experience, and frankly, what inclusive leadership even means. 

What I promptly tell them is that inclusive leadership is not just good to do—it's a need to do—especially if they want long-term success in their organizations as well as in their own careers.  If we’re looking for just a definition: Inclusive Leadership is a combination of knowledge, skills, and strategies that create both a healthier bottom line and a healthier world. While words like “diversity” and “nclusion” can sound like buzzwords, a lot of fluff and not a lot of action, Inclusive Leadership is the tool we use to create measurable impact for our organizations.  

According to the Center for Creative Leadership, inclusive leaders are more aware of their own biases and actively seek out and consider different perspectives to inform their decisions. They are more likely to collaborate and have proven to communicate more effectively, as well. Inclusive leadership is intrinsic to hiring and maintaining a diverse workforce, which countless studies by the Harvard Business Review and others have uncovered as an indicator of positive financial performance. 

Ultimately, if the leaders I work with achieve a greater, more in-depth understanding of what inclusive leadership means during our time together, that’s fabulous. But oftentimes, they also end up realizing that inclusive leadership can have a profound impact on them both professionally and personally.

Perhaps there's a particular relationship at work, or even the culture within their entire team, that could improve with the practice of inclusive leadership skills. Or maybe they are better equipped to recruit diverse talent through renewed attention to the elements of inclusive leadership. They may even realize that there's someone at home or in their community, with whom they can improve their relationship thanks to their new skills.

Any human resources director will tell you that an organization is only as good as its talent. And nearly every team leader knows that their profits increase when they have a capable team with invaluable skills. 

Inclusive leadership helps companies attract and retain the key talent of the future. It helps leaders understand the barriers that people from marginalized populations face, and how this impacts behaviors in the workplace and relationships with their managers.

My work as a DEI consultant focuses on the LGBTQ+ community, of which I am a member. Viewing the talent pool through that lens, more members of the workforce are identifying as LGBTQ+ than ever before. A 2022 Gallup poll showed that between 10 and 15 percent of Millennials identify as LGBTQ+. Among Gen Z, that percentage is even greater, at 24 percent. In a new study from Ipsos, when members of Gen Z were asked if they identified as strictly heterosexual, 30 percent said “no”. 

Many organizational leaders, managers, and even well-meaning DEI staff lack competency and experience in supporting LGBTQ+ employees. They need support to attract, retain, develop, and engage this growing segment of the workforce. Within the next ten years, our workforce will become primarily Gen Z. 

Is your organization ready for 30 percent of its staff and employees to identify as LGBTQ+?

Let me share a real-world example of what happens when employers are not.

I worked with a client recently who was employed by a mid-sized company in the Midwest. At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, my client was offered a promotion that would mean moving to another state. My client decided this was a good opportunity for their career, and accepted the position.

During my client’s correspondence with their new office, one of their colleagues responded to an email and asked, “What does the Mx mean in your signature?”

My client responded that they identify as gender fluid, that they use the pronouns they and them, and their signatory is Mx. It's a gender neutral form of Mr., Ms., or Mrs. that is used throughout Europe and Latin America, and it is rapidly becoming more common in the United States. 

My client’s new colleague responded that my client looked like a woman, so “we’re going to treat you like a woman.” The new colleague also said, “Don't expect any special snowflake treatment here.”

Obviously, this response concerned my client. But because of the uncertainty building during the pandemic, they still decided to move, hoping the unfair treatment was a one-time thing. Unfortunately, the harassment continued and my client’s new human resources department was unwilling to provide support. My client brought a lawsuit against their employer that eventually settled, and while it worked out quite well for my client, it did not for the company.

Had my client received the support of inclusive leaders, those leaders could have taken charge of the situation, squashed any abusive treatment, and made strides in creating a safe and inclusive workplace environment. Leaders in the company could have advocated for this employee and retained a staff member with valuable skills who had been a loyal part of the company for five years. All while simultaneously saving their organization time and money.

Which brings about another important point in support of inclusive leadership—it also greatly affects the bottom line for companies when it comes to legal costs. 

In June 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court decided that gender identity and sexual orientation are explicitly protected in the workplace, and courts have begun hearing lawsuits in regard to these issues. 

The average out-of-court sexual harassment settlement, of which sexual orientation and gender identity harassment cases fall under, cost an organization $175,000 in legal fees alone. Many of these settlements are done privately so additional costs are not always known, but these cases average almost a year eating up further resources and time. Affirming leaders with the tools to address complaints related to mistreatment regarding gender identity and sexual orientation in the workplace through inclusive leadership strategies, will save their companies both time and money. 

Another idea that is inextricably linked with inclusive leadership and has been proven to increase profits and employee retention is psychological safety. Harvard Researcher Amy Edmondson is credited with coining the term, defined as “a shared belief held by members of a team that the team is safe for interpersonal risk taking.”

Multiple studies have found that when organizations are able to achieve psychological safety through inclusive leadership, they see a decreased employee turnover of 27 percent. Plus, psychological safety allows company culture to thrive. When employees know they belong, they are more comfortable taking risks and pushing boundaries, leading to innovative strides for their companies.

 During my trainings and presentations, I frequently suggest that organizational leaders return to their teams and set aside time to define together what psychological safety means at their particular workplace. This will not only create buy-in from their employees through this team building exercise, but the creation of a collaborative definition allows for a giant step towards inclusive leadership.

Psychological safety also leads to growth for employees and the inclusive leaders who encourage them—both professionally and personally. 

In my presentations, I frequently cite an example that occurred during one of my trainings to show how broadly inclusive leadership can affect change.

I was speaking at an all-hands conference for a company of which about 250 people were in attendance. While onstage, I noticed a gentleman at a front table in his suit and tie, and the whole hour I was on stage, he sat with his arms crossed. At the end of the presentation, he was the first one to raise his hand during the Q&A portion.

I called on him and he told me his name. We’ll call him Bob. Bob leaned forward, looked me in the eye, and told me that when his sister came out in college he didn't handle it well. He shared that they hadn’t spoken since and asked me point blank, “what can I do to make it right?”

I was speechless, as was the rest of the room. It turns out that Bob was a C-suite executive, but not even his closest co-workers knew about this part of his personal life. But at that conference, in front of everyone and in that safe environment that we had created, he found the strength to be vulnerable.

Before I could say anything, a woman who had been leaning against the back wall of the room took a few steps forward. I later learned she was one of the warehouse managers. She said, “Bob, the same thing happened to me when I came out to my big brother. But we figured it out. Let’s go to lunch, I got you.” 

This moment illustrates the impact of inclusive leadership on many different levels—on workplace culture, interpersonal relations, and personal growth among them. Imagine what ideas could thrive and what innovation could occur when bridges are built between departments, teams, and management levels. 

Inclusive leadership is about understanding the meaning of allyship, developing the skills that are required to be a good ally, and creating a culture of safety and belonging. Being an inclusive leader is possible both within the workplace and in your relationships outside of work. But perhaps most importantly, inclusive leadership not only creates a stronger and safer organizational culture and a more profitable business—it makes the world a better place.

If you’re interested in bringing an Inclusive Leadership Skills training to your organization, you can get more information by scheduling a call with me here.