Journey to inclusive Leadership………

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In my last article, I touched upon the “inclusiveness” element of our thought process and promised to follow it up with another giving a deep dive into the concept. This article is delivering on that promise, hoping you have read that article Are you conscious of your unconscious bias?.

Everyone is talking about diversity, identifying biases and these has been the buzzwords for years. The current talent landscape is continuously changing and the objective of almost every workplace is to attract talent from different spheres, including men, women, millennials, gen Z, et cetera. However, just hiring talent from different cultures, places, non-traditional education backgrounds, et cetera is not going serve the ultimate objective, which is to develop a high-performance, inclusive culture. It is just a very small part of it and brings along a fair share of challenges:

·????????How to work with a team comprising such distinct people with different needs and motivators?

·????????What capabilities are essential to address these diverse set of needs?

·????????As the war for talent rages on, it is more than just breaking down barriers; it’s about attracting and then making your team feel a part of something bigger

The leaders in an organization should be on-board to build, sustain and grow such a culture of Inclusiveness in an organization. it’s not just the leadership skills but the ability of being aware of our own biases and some level of curiosity towards understanding such a diverse population; it requires “Inclusive Leadership “. One can pour all efforts into creating a high performing team with members from diverse backgrounds and experiences, however if the workplace is not inclusive the retention or utilization of talent will always the chief concern.

Inclusiveness isn’t just something nice to have.?Research?shows that it directly enhances performance. Teams with inclusive leaders are 17 percent more likely to report high performance, 20% more likely to say they make high-quality decisions, and 29 percent more likely to report behaving collaboratively. At the same time, according to research firm Gartner, the attrition rate has risen from 10% in 2020 to?20% in 2021; key reason being employee dissatisfaction due to indifference with their leaders. When someone feels a sense of purpose, belonging or engagement, they can perform at their best.

This brings me to another question:?Is INCLUSIVENESS a leadership trait or only a leader’s responbility?

Well, if anyone would have asked me this question couple of years ago my answer would have been a straight yes. However, I have realized that to make a workplace inclusive, where everyone feels belonged, requires contribution from every quarter. A single person cannot create a culture. Whatever you choose to call it—skill, trait, competency, —it must manifest in your and my words and actions; It’s beyond the title and role. I bet everyone has heard that “Action speaks louder than words” ??.

From my experiences, I can say that if we follow certain practices from the very start of our career, it can go a long way in developing an inclusive outlook towards others.

?Some of the traits which can be developed to make ourselves “Inclusive leaders”?

Humility- Admitting mistakes; learning from criticism and different points of views, be it your juniors, peers, someone from other team; acknowledging and seeking contributions of others to overcome our limitations makes a difference. What has helped me: -Admitting mistakes when made and not repeating them.

Courage- Putting personal interests aside to do what needs to be done, acting on convictions and principles. Speak to your team and ask feedback about how you came across in a meeting. Courage also comes into play in a willingness to challenge status quo. For example – look at your hiring trends, rejection criteria, performance evaluation. There can be pattern pointing out the familiarity or other bias which might have got neglected from time to time. That’s where courage is required to challenge your status or any kind of stereotyping.

Commitment- when we commit to treat everyone equally and provide equal opportunity, our actions become in line with the cause. The need of inclusiveness is a compelling business ask but it can work only when it connects with the mind and the heart. It takes time and energy to stay committed for a long time and it also needs to be visible in your personal brand.

Few simple things which we can do staring right away are:

1.??????Active listening: to listen with intent and purpose.

2.??????Be Mindful of subtle differences within your team or even outside your team.

3.??????Communicate with an open mind without letting your personal biases get in the way.

In the end, when I imagine myself as a leader of future times say 2025 or 2030, inclusive culture at workplace provides a competitive advantage. It will make me a more resilient and adaptable to disruptive technologies will give an access to a wider and deeper talent pool; prepares to serve a diversity of ideas, markets, talents, customers across industries and enables to design and build platforms that serve?all?users with care and empathy.

AND it will always remain an undisputed fact: People want to be part of a more inclusive culture?wherever?they work.

Thank You!