“Management literature is brimming with thoughts, opinions theories and models about the role and key competencies of leaders within organisations. In the fast paced and continuously adaptive world it is postulated that leadership is one of the most influential predictors of employee innovation, employee engagement and organisational development. Organisations are increasingly reliant on diverse, multicultural, and multidisciplinary teams to deliver its objectives. However, the act of bringing diverse groups of people together does not lead to team or departmental performance, it requires a specific type of leadership, referred to as inclusive leadership. 

Inclusive leadership is emerging as the modern-day leadership front runner. It is deemed to be the critical capability in helping organisations respond to both the needs of its diverse talent and ever increasing and demanding diverse customers. The success of inclusive leadership lies in addressing the fundamental human needs of people which emerge when we join or belong to groups of others. It seeks to ensure all team members feel valued, are treated fairly and respectfully, and have a sense that they belong, whilst also maintaining a sense of individuality and uniqueness. 

Inclusive leadership is complex. What are the specific actions leaders can take to be inclusive? Juliet Bourke and Andrea Titus in their research published in 2019, propose there are 6 key traits of inclusive leaders: 

1. Visible commitment: They articulate authentic commitment to diversity, challenge the status quo, hold others accountable and make diversity and inclusion a personal priority. 
2. Humility: They are modest about capabilities, admit mistakes, and create the space for others to contribute. 
3. Awareness of bias: They show awareness of personal blind spots as well as flaws in the system and work hard to ensure meritocracy. 
4. Curiosity about others: They demonstrate an open mindset and deep curiosity about others, listen without judgment, and seek with empathy to understand those around them. 
5. Cultural intelligence: They are attentive to others’ cultures and adapt as required. 
6. Effective collaboration: They empower others, pay attention to diversity of thinking and psychological safety, and focus on team cohesion. 

These traits are not simply a checklist of behaviours. What makes them more important than other leadership behaviours are they do not lend themselves to one off grand gestures or actions. These traits are not buzz words; they are not a fad. To be effective they must be practiced and demonstrated over time; they constitute a way of ‘being’ not just ‘doing’. For example, if you become alert to your own biases and are a practitioner of visible commitment, this automatically leads to the active seeking of the opinions and views of others which has been proven to better inform decision making. These traits demonstrably impact whether individuals feel a sense of belonging and being valued when in a team. Both CIPD and ENEI studies in 2016 into inclusive leadership, report that people working with inclusive leaders are more productive, satisfied and engaged than those working with non-inclusive leaders.  

At ABSTRACT cultural competence and Inclusive leadership is in our DNA. We develop leaders to cultivate a new level of awareness about themselves and others, develop their inclusive leadership brand and become culturally competent”.

Our Cultural Competence Programme high-level journey in 3 moves:

Creating an Environment of Conscious Inclusion

Forming Active Allyship

Repositioning Acculturation

The Key Learnings with application are:

• Understand the key elements of inclusive leadership
• Increase trust and cooperation
• Improve participation and inclusion

• Encourage creativity and diversity of thought
• Create a fairer and better place to work

• Enhance productivity and performance

For more information about these and other ABSTRACT programmes contact us today nick@abstractuk.co.uk