Leading with belonging: The new edge of inclusive leadership

Modern-day high-speed organisations need leadership that transcends authority, vision, and decision-making to span spaces to make individuals feel they belong. Inclusive leadership is not a corporate buzzword or practice revolution but one that generates creativity, engagement, and resilience. As businesses struggle to hire and retain workers from diverse groups, building inclusiveness becomes a competitive advantage over the necessity to sustain moral obligations alone.

The power of belongingness

Belongingness is that psychological base that fills the gap between an employee and his/her work, colleagues, and corporate cause. In most studies, it was seen that employees performed better when they were appreciated and respected, became productive, and were willing to contribute new and innovative thoughts to the organization. According to a Deloitte report, employees who feel that they belong to the work environment work 56% longer and are 50% less likely to resign from their company.

But in order to institutionalize that kind of sense of belonging, there would have to be intentional leadership. Leaders must grasp that inclusion is a mindset that notices, values, and celebrates diversity of mind in the core business work of the organization, not diversity as a number.

What makes an inclusive leader

The first half of being an inclusive leader is to bring in awesome people from different backgrounds; the second half is making all of them contribute to the best. Here are some key traits that define inclusive leaders:

l Empathy and Active Listening: Empathetic and active listeners gain the trust of their leaders. Placing themselves in other people’s shoes, they go out of their way voluntarily to solve their problems.

l Cultural Intelligence: Through observing and appreciating differences in culture, leaders are able to bridge across cultures within their organisations.

l Psychological Safety: If employees feel they will be protected from attack or criticism, they will be more willing to challenge the current approach and offer innovative suggestions.

l Bias Awareness and Accountability: Inclusive leaders are responsible for creating a diverse setting where everybody is embraced and appreciated, whereas they themselves continually wrestle with their own bias and are attuned to their blind spots.

The ripple effect of inclusive leadership

When leaders demonstrate these attributes, the advantages extend to employee engagement. True inclusion is then a positive result of improved bottom-line performance, increased creativity, and stronger customer relationships. Inclusive leadership businesses also position themselves for success in a global economy by fostering varied thinking, which leads to improved problem solutions.

Inclusive employees will also be brand advocates, strengthening the employer’s brand and making talent acquisition easier.

The future of leadership is inclusive

The future of work is a workplace culture in which inclusion is woven into every aspect of leadership. Leaders who do the work to build belonging have workplaces in which everyone, no matter their background, identity, or experience, can grow.

(The author is Founder of Embrace Consulting & Co-Founder International inclusion Alliance)