Inclusive Leadership: a critical reflection

There have been significant shifts in societal values and leadership discourse in organisations. Increasingly, there is an understanding that leadership in the 21st century should foster equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and a compassionate culture. There is an acknowledgement that organisations need to do things differently in order to survive. I am reminded of an African proverb, “It's useless to tell a river to stop running; the best thing is to learn how to swim in the direction it's flowing”.

So, my simple message for all leaders and managers who are still struggling with the inclusion agenda is: adapt or your organisation will die - there is no looking back. Inclusion is neither woke nor a fard, it is ethical practice. It is the right thing to do.

However, drawing on Senge’s (2006) principles of Organisational Learning, I am aware that some organisations learn poorly (and there is many of them in this category!). This is due to the way they are designed, managed and led. Most importantly, it’s the way people are taught to think and interact in organisations and society in general that creates fundamental learning difficulties when it comes to inclusion.

Senge uses ‘the parable of the boiling frog’ to facilitate the conceptualisation of how some organisations fail to respond to the gradual changes in the landscape. He argues that when a frog is placed in boiling water, it immediately tries to scramble out. However, when it is placed in room temperature water and the temperature is increased gradually – it becomes increasingly groggy until it is unable to climb out of the pot. The frog’s internal apparatus for sensing threats to survival is geared to recognising and responding to sudden changes in the environment rather than the slow, gentle modifications. He argues that in most companies that fail, there is abundant evidence in advance that the organisation is in trouble. This evidence is unheeded … There is a propensity to find someone or something outside to blame when things go wrong.?

Therefore, to all leaders and managers who are still in denial and lead organisations that are not underpinned by equity, diversity, inclusion, belonging and a compassionate ethos – I have another African proverb to share with you: “A chameleon that wants to survive from the burning bush must abandon the majestic walk of its ancestors”.?