Emerging leadership trends to skyrocket more inclusive workplaces in 2024

As we move into 2024, inclusivity matters now more than ever.

With a significant?10% increase in chronic conditions for Millennials ?in the last five years (58% in 2023 vs. 48% in 2019) and with an ever-growing portion of our population?self-identifying as having at least one disability ?(27% in both Canada and the United States), it’s never been more urgent – and relevant – for leaders to double down on their efforts to foster more inclusive workplaces and embrace the inevitable workforce diversity shifts that have been coming our way. Honestly, if you’ve been paying attention, you already know that all signs point to it…

Inclusive leadership calls for a fundamental change in how organizations approach management and collaboration – more than a flavour of the week; it’s an opportunity to transform our workplaces so they are more adaptable, empathetic, and inclusive than ever before. Peering into the new year, we’re faced with an unmatched shot to revisit our team dynamics and foster workspaces that are not only more flexible and understanding but also truly welcome everyone.

Lately, we’ve witnessed a sharp rise in the push for diversity and inclusion. This is due in large part to social movements bringing these issues to the forefront and amplifying the call for equity. More than the right thing to do, companies are waking up to the fact that building a culture where everyone feels welcome is also key to attracting brilliant minds and living up to what customers now demand.

The 7 key trends that should be on your radar this year

As we push through the lingering effects of a global crisis, and now more than ever, focusing on our collective mental health and well-being is absolutely pivotal. Now more than ever, leaders need to step up with empathy at the forefront to shape supportive workplaces that thrive and build workplaces where more people feel welcomed and valued. And with workforce demographics evolving rapidly and the growing influence of younger generations, the shift towards valuing diverse perspectives and experiences couldn’t be clearer.

Starting 2024 on the right foot means recognizing and adapting to such changes. Leaders ready to rise to the occasion will shape their organizations into places where each person’s voice matters and is respected – and in doing so, will also pave the way for work and social environments that are truly diverse.

01 - Cultivating an inclusive culture

More Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) inclined leaders will focus on cultivating inclusive cultures in 2024. Going beyond diverse team composition to focus on more inclusive environments will enable more individuals to feel truly valued and empowered. As a result, more of them will go from simply talking about inclusivity to confidently embodying it in their actions and decisions, guiding them to more actively embrace diverse viewpoints.

Prompted by perspective, these leaders will increasingly engage in intentional practices. Inclusive hiring strategies and regular education on diversity and inclusion while encouraging open dialogues on these topics are aspects that naturally come to mind. As a result, more leaders will begin to celebrate cultural differences more – through company events, recognition programs, as well as everyday interactions.

Vigilance against biases and discrimination will also increase, particularly when it comes to team members from underrepresented groups. Creating safe and supportive spaces will also lead to an increase in offers around mentorship programs and support for employee resource groups (more on that in a bit).

02 - Training for bias and cultural awareness

Leaders will also begin to focus more on coaching their teams on topics like implicit biases and cultural awareness in 2024. Motivated by the urgent need to tackle implicit and unconscious biases that often sway workplace decisions and relationships, organizations will lean heavily into this trend. As a transformational baseline, equipping their people with the know-how to recognize and tackle biases for a more inclusive and fair workplace is expected to be a major priority for businesses this year.

Leaders will also dedicate more resources to arming staff with the savvy to spot and challenge their own prejudiced thinking! Training on how to consider everyone’s unique background and experiences is key. Such coaching programs won’t just shed light on ways to communicate respectfully with team members, but also on how to zero in on biases tied to aspects like race, gender, age, and disability.

Inclusive leaders will champion expanded training confidently, understanding it strengthens teams and reputations. Watch for cutting-edge training to hit the scene this year, possibly immersive VR that makes learning stick and interactive simulations that put you right in the middle of the action! Leaning into this trend should help organizations meet their moral obligations while also nurturing an office environment where embracing and valuing diversity increasingly becomes the norm.

03 - Diversity in recruitment

Something else that should rank up as a key initiative for leaders in 2024 is more intentional diversity in recruitment that will lead many of them to move away from the shallow goal of filling tokenistic quotas, and, instead, truly enrich organizations with diverse perspectives and experiences that will make their organizations smarter and more efficient. With the understanding that enhancing their workplace innovation and problem-solving capabilities implies diversification, leaders should actively be seeking candidates from various backgrounds this year, as all signs point to a progressive evolution of the recruitment process.

Job descriptions and advertisements crafted to be more inclusive will appear more appealing to a broader range of candidates. Recruitment channels will likely expand as a result, with the ability to reach out to diverse groups through various partnerships with specialized organizations, job posting platforms, and career fairs. Inclusive interview practices should also become increasingly standard. A rising number of interviewers will be trained to recognize and combat their own implicit biases, despite the inequalities caused by biased artificial intelligence algorithms. This will naturally lead to more inclusive, diverse, and fair recruitment panels, with standardized interview questions asked of all candidates.

This year, I expect the focus on diversity in recruitment to slowly shift from building a representative workforce (though a lot of work still needs to be done in that space) to valuing the richness of different viewpoints for greater organizational success and innovation. As the months roll on, leaders will realize how vital a mixed bag of perspectives is and will step up their game to build workspaces where more people feel welcomed and acknowledged for who they are.

04 - Accessible and flexible work environments

Driven by the necessity of recognizing the diverse needs of a modern workforce, leaders will increasingly prioritize the creation of more accessible and flexible work environments in 2024. As a result, expect to see an increase in workplaces designed with the purpose of eliminating physical and digital barriers – which will benefit everyone. Physical workspaces will continue to become more wheelchair-accessible, while uptakes on digital inclusion should mean more tools will be designed with accessibility in mind.

More inclusive workplaces will cause a snowball effect for employees with disabilities, who will become more assertive in requesting assistive technologies or voicing their needs to fully contribute to the workforce – a much needed transformation. Acknowledging that a one-size-fits-all working model is no longer viable and pressured by younger generations promoting different values, flexibility in work arrangements will have no choice but to become the de facto standard.

Flexible working hours, remote work options, as well as part-time opportunities will be offered more and more to accommodate different talents, lifestyles, and responsibilities. Since greater engagement and productivity depend primarily on how well the workforce feels supported in both their professional and personal lives, we can expect more leaders to understand this over the next few months! I believe that by 2024, the most innovative companies will be the ones who have caught on to the idea that welcoming workspaces where every employee’s uniqueness is not just accepted but celebrated will be their golden ticket to keeping the best and brightest on board.

05 - Inclusive communication practices

Inclusive communication practices will also become a fundamental aspect of leadership in 2024. Acknowledging that effective communication patterns are key to inclusivity, more and more leaders will also want to ensure that all employees, regardless of background, conditions, or preferences, have equal access to information.

Clear, jargon-free language will slowly carve its way into becoming the standard in workplace communications. This will make them that much more accessible to a workforce that has very diverse needs and expectations. Materials should increasingly be provided in multiple alternate formats by default, accommodating a broader range of team members. We should also experience more meetings and events offering sign language interpretation or human-powered captioning by default, ensuring everyone can participate fully.

As they learn to prioritize active listening, leaders will also learn to genuinely value feedback and ideas coming from all team members. Diverse communication styles will be more widely recognized, with multiple channels for feedback – think one-on-one meetings, asynchronous conversations, and group discussions, among other options.

In 2024, new digital tools facilitating inclusive communication will inevitably be launched and widely adopted. New digital platforms will ramp up our ability to connect and collaborate more inclusively, bringing a level of flexibility and support that goes beyond what we’re used to today. Leaders who will adopt ways to communicate that include everyone will push organizations closer to the collective goal we all share of promoting diversity in our work environments.

06 - Supporting employee resource groups

More than ever in the coming year, leaders will actively contribute to developing diverse and inclusive workplaces by promoting and participating in Employee Resource Groups (ERGs). Recognizing how crucial ERGs can be, leaders will begin championing these groups at a yet unheard-of level. Thanks to the increased recognition and buy-in, leaders will also get clearer about providing these groups with the necessary resources, support, and executive sponsorship needed to fulfill their important purpose.

Since this support will invariably improve the visibility and importance of ERGs within the business, we can expect the increased recognition that comes with it to also improve the perceived value of ERGs across organizations. As time and energy are poured into ERG projects, the workforce will also contribute to the perceived relevancy in their own way, further enhancing just how much ERGs need to be treasured within the workplace as a key hub for personal and professional growth – demonstrating a genuine effort to understand and address the unique challenges faced by diverse employee groups.

With their thoughtful and inclusive lived experience-based approach, ERGs will serve as platforms for broader employee engagement and raising awareness, creating understanding and empathy across their respective organizations in the process. This increased support of ERGs will be a telling manifestation of an organization’s commitment to diversity and inclusivity in 2024 – it will speak volumes about how an organization understands and addresses the unique challenges faced by diverse employee groups – and whether they take action against them.

07 - Encouraging feedback and adaptation

Last but not least, it’s also reasonable to expect that in the coming year, leaders will actively seek feedback and adaptation as a critical element of creating inclusive workplaces and so, developing channels for such an exchange of information will become critical. As encouraging feedback and adaptation becomes central to inclusive leadership moving forward, the diverse and unique needs of the workforce will need to be voiced in ways that make every team member feel safe when disclosing personal information or sharing their insights and experiences with their managers and each other: one-on-one meetings, anonymous channels, emails, group discussions, and more are examples of ways in which this feedback will likely be collected and acted upon.

Organizations that prioritize acting on the feedback they receive will demonstrate their credibility in their commitment to inclusion. Leaders who also regularly review and update their diversity and inclusion initiatives based on the feedback they receive and what they learn will be the ones coming out on top and will remain effective, relevant, and trustworthy in environments where the workforce pays close attention to how committed organizations really are to these important questions.

I expect inclusive leaders to increasingly want to embrace a culture of continuous improvement in this process – modelling behaviours, encouraging progress over perfection, and showing their teams that their voices are not only heard but are instrumental in shaping the way forward, creating tangible, positive changes that enhance inclusivity and employee engagement for everyone.

Embracing these trends in practice

As we reflect on the top trends for inclusive leadership in 2024, it’s pretty clear that while Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts may have come a long way in recent years. These ideas are no longer isolated practices – they are still needed more than ever when it comes to disability inclusion, and fit into a larger movement for inclusive and equitable workplaces. A movement that is finally starting to acknowledge the disabled workforce. My call to action for inclusive leaders in 2024 is unequivocal yet simple: embrace these trends not just in theory but also in practice! This year, commit to going beyond token gestures and superficial changes – if you haven’t already.

Granted, a shift towards inclusive leadership calls for a genuine commitment to understanding and addressing the diverse needs of our team members. Yes, there’s no doubt that this can be quite uncomfortable, which is why you should always keep in mind that growth never takes place in the comfort zone.

Shaping workplaces that acknowledge diversity is our responsibility as leaders – no one else’s. Fostering environments that actively celebrate collective success is a real opportunity. To make it a reality, proactively start by assessing your current practices.

How inclusive is your organizational culture? Are you attracting a diverse enough range of candidates through your recruitment strategies? How accessible and flexible is your work environment? What steps are you taking to ensure that communication within your organization is as inclusive as it could be? Are you supporting Employee Resource Groups effectively? And perhaps most importantly, are you listening to and adapting based on the feedback from your team?

So, why don’t we skip the fleeting promises of New Year’s and focus on real, impactful goals that we’ll actually stick to? Step up this year and show what true leadership, inclusive leadership, looks like – it’s your chance to set a standard for inclusivity that others will follow. Leading by example and embracing inclusivity – demonstrate that diversity drives innovation! Dive into this with real zest, because while building an inclusive world hinges on each of us shaking up the norms at work, it really begins with you.

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