Why DE&I lies at the Heart of Sustainability!

The overexploitation of natural resources required to achieve economic growth and development has negatively impacted the environment and negatively affected their availability and costs.

So it's easy to understand why the idea of integrating sustainability into a company's strategy is taking hold across the world.

However, to achieve companies' ambitious?goals, we also need to build a diverse?and inclusive culture where everyone?contributes to the innovation?and generation of clean, reliable,?affordable energy and drives equity?to ensure prosperous economies?and thriving communities.

Done well, diversity and inclusion maximize the performance of individuals, teams, and organizations in the workplace, and they outperform their peers,

·???????70 % are more likely to capture new markets

·???????36 % are more likely to outperform on profitability

·???????Diverse and inclusive teams make better decisions 86 % of the time

·???????76 % are more likely to see ideas become?productized

·???????19 %?higher innovation revenue

·???????87 %?of the most admired?Companies see a positive?impact of diversity and inclusion?on their business performance

(Source: McKinsey, Boston Consulting Group, Center for Talent Innovation, Erik Larsson and Korn Ferry).

While many think of sustainability as an ecological concept, at its core, sustainability is also about?people.

You can’t take care of the planet if you aren’t also taking care of your people.

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Working with over 100+ company’s we’ve seen there is a wide gap between what organization’s are doing in changing business strategy, operational goals, and technology to achieve sustainability goals, and what they are doing around the people-related components.

This has to be overcome!

For example, while many companies have been working to find their path to net-zero, they have not considered the behavioral science behind what their people will need to do differently and how.

Knowing how to deal with the different worldviews of different demographic groups will be crucial for application of behavioral science, which also needs to be cross-cultural.

The role that DE&I plays in Sustainability needs inclusive leadership.

This is about integrating the effects of diversity and gender equality into all aspects of sustainability in order to generate greater benefits beyond just profits.

Equitable and diverse representation across executive leadership teams is a powerful step in fostering inclusive leadership, but it’s not the only piece of the puzzle. So, what is inclusive leadership, how does it benefit professionals and society at large, and where do organizations begin?

What is inclusive?leadership?

I would like to say the definition of Inclusive leadership is;

the capacity to manage and lead a heterogeneous group of people efficiently, while respecting their uniqueness in an empathetic, bias-free way and allowing employees to feel valued for their own input.

It is an authentic and compassionate leadership style that excludes the seven grounds of discrimination, which are:

• sex
• transgender identity or expression
• ethnicity
• sexual orientation
• religion or other belief
• disability
• age-discrimination

Not only do inclusive leaders need to lead without bias, but they also need to understand their existing biases and preferences before being able to form heterogeneous teams.

With businesses increasingly optimizing their diversity and inclusion activities, inclusive leadership is more relevant now than ever.

No matter how great your company’s diversity metrics get, in for example new hires you make, or deals you close, if you don’t have an?inclusive environment?that embraces all these differences and creates a workspace where everyone can bring their true selves to work, your DE&I initiatives will fail. That’s why inclusive leaders are needed to set the right tone!

What are the top qualities of inclusive leaders?

Inclusive leaders adapt quickly to diverse scenarios and alternate perspectives with an open, non-judgmental mind to bring on the best results possible. And?research ?shows that, when done right, there are many benefits; teams perform better and more collaboratively, and make better overall decisions.

According to?Deloitte, teams with inclusive leaders are 17% more likely to report that they are high performing, 20% more likely to say they make high-quality decisions, and 29% more likely to report behaving collaboratively.

These are the top strengths inclusive leaders possess according to Deloitte:

1.???They are committed to and are loyal ambassadors of diversity and inclusion – they never miss a chance to spread the word of DE&I significance at work.

2.???They are vulnerable and show it – they understand their team holistically, as individuals and as humans. They are self-aware, culturally sensitive, and understand the benefits of having diverse voices at the table.

3.???They are courageous and are not afraid of questioning status quo and old-fashioned paternalistic leadership styles.

4.???They’re self-awareaware and culturally intelligent. And they tend to question their own biases and challenge their habitual patterns.

5.???They’re collaborative and understands that collaboration works only after seeking everyone’s perspective, without question.

6. They are curious, open-minded and excellent communicators – and ask for other perspectives to minimize their blind spots and improve their decision-making.?

7.???They’re team players, eager to help and do what’s best for the team.

Best practices to boost inclusive leadership at work

When recruiting for a senior role or promoting someone to a managerial position, it’s good to keep these best practices in mind.

• Attend inclusive leadership training:?

Effective listening, leading with empathy, building key communication skills, and developing the ability to encourage cross-functional thinking—these are all leadership functions that can be taught.

For example, through storytelling you can learn what the most triggering biases are for you and ways to overcome them. You can recall and practice them on a regular basis to stay bias-free.

• Find a mentor

Talk to someone with more experience in the area, and who has excelled in managing diverse teams. It doesn’t have to be your own manager – it can be an external Mentor you trust and look up to for their inclusive leadership behaviors and skills.

• Ask for feedback

Seek feedback on whether you are perceived as inclusive, especially from people who are different from you. This will help you to see your blind spots, strengths, and development areas. It will also signal that diversity and inclusion are important to you. Schedule regular 1:1 meetings with your teammates to discuss openly how inclusive your managerial approach is and how you can make them feel more included. Do they feel valued as a member of their team? Do they feel like they can call you when something is wrong?

• Be visible and communicative

Tell a compelling and clear story about why it is important for you personally to be inclusive. For example, share your personal stories in public forums and conferences.

Dare To Lead - and be the change you want to see in the world!

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Eva Vati is a Business Strategist who helps Executives, Businesses, and Entrepreneurs future-proof their companies.

She is the CEO and Founder of VATI of Sweden, which is the first company in the world to give certification on integrating sustainability into business strategy. She has a loyal community of over 25,000 people who are committed to creating a better world by running businesses that promote sustainability, equality, and diversity.

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