How do you lead with equity and inclusion?

1 Understand yourself

Before you can lead others with equity and inclusion, you need to understand yourself. What are your biases, assumptions, and blind spots? How do they affect your decisions, actions, and interactions? How do you learn from feedback and mistakes ? How do you demonstrate humility, empathy, and compassion? Self-awareness is the foundation of servant leadership, and it requires ongoing reflection and improvement.

2 Listen actively

Listening is one of the most important skills for servant leaders, who seek to understand the perspectives, needs, and feelings of their followers and stakeholders. Listening actively means paying attention, asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing, summarizing, and clarifying. It also means avoiding interruptions, distractions, judgments, and solutions. Listening actively shows that you care, respect, and value the input of others.

3 Empower others

Servant leaders empower others by providing them with the resources, support, and opportunities they need to grow and succeed. Empowering others means delegating tasks, sharing information, giving feedback, coaching, mentoring, and recognizing achievements. It also means encouraging creativity, innovation, and risk-taking. Empowering others creates a sense of ownership, engagement, and accountability among your followers and stakeholders.

4 Celebrate diversity

Servant leaders celebrate diversity by acknowledging, appreciating, and leveraging the differences among their followers and stakeholders. Celebrating diversity means creating an inclusive environment, where everyone feels welcome, respected, and valued. It also means promoting collaboration, learning, and dialogue across cultures, backgrounds, and perspectives. Celebrating diversity enriches your team, organization, and community with diverse ideas, insights, and solutions.

5 Advocate for justice

Servant leaders advocate for justice by standing up for the rights, interests, and well-being of their followers and stakeholders. Advocating for justice means identifying and addressing the issues, challenges, and barriers that affect your team, organization, and community. It also means seeking feedback, input, and participation from those who are affected by your decisions and actions. Advocating for justice builds trust, credibility, and loyalty among your followers and stakeholders.

6 Serve a higher purpose

Servant leaders serve a higher purpose by aligning their vision, mission, and values with those of their followers and stakeholders. Serving a higher purpose means articulating a clear and compelling direction, inspiring and motivating others to join you, and making a positive difference in the world. It also means being ethical, responsible, and accountable for your impact. Serving a higher purpose gives meaning, fulfillment, and satisfaction to your work.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?