#EachForEqual
Coming from a family of the armed forces, I grew up in an environment where respect and empathy for everyone was a given. That shaped my identity and became a part of my natural self. My elder sister has always been my role model in academics and other fields of life. She went on to spend a decade away from home to pursue her higher studies in the field of medicine. She’s a leading doctor now, doing everyone in the family proud. Today, when I think about it, I never saw my parents holding my sister back on her aspirations. For them, her gender never came in her way of seizing opportunities.
The life experiences we go through in our formative years frame our views on inclusivity and diversity. I am no different and am deeply passionate about holding myself accountable for the difference I can make by contributing to more inclusive behavior. The journey we all have to make is the same…we just start from different points on the continuum and have unconscious biases to overcome.
I personally believe, there’s so much we, as leaders, can do in creating an inclusive environment. I have pondered over this a lot and here are my two cents. Feel free to pitch in with your perspective.
Being inclusive means giving our people that much-needed assurance - assurance of fair treatment, making them feel they’re respected and valued within the organization. The onus lies on us to arm our people with a strong sense of belonging. There’s honestly no one-size-fits-all formula to be an inclusive leader. Going by my personal experience, the journey involves having a non-judgmental, un-biased POV towards differences. There is also great power in acknowledging we all have our own biases and seeking help from others in having them pointed out so that we can address it. A leader who is willing to be vulnerable and learn is a bit more inclusive already. That helps create an environment of inclusion. We need to consciously nurture a positive, ‘win-win’ intent in our interactions with the team. And most importantly, be good listeners before being good speakers.
What’s your mantra of being an inclusive leader? #IWD2020 #EachForEqual
Founder of Global Immigration Seamlessly
4 年Sanjay, great message from a great leader. I have always found you a patient listner and a motivational speaker. ? I strongly believe that "An organization with a reputation for inclusiveness becomes a magnet attracting top diverse talent AND diversity is proven to make companies more successful".
ennovenger| Founder@goconsulting| Ex Vodafone india marketing | B2B and B2C story telling & story selling
4 年willing to be vulnerable thats? very important? , more often than not ,its viewed by many as a weakness . the other is unconscious biases all of us have , we need to steps to actively recognize and address the same