5 scenarios that call for inclusive leadership

Lost perspectives 

It’s easy to utilize perspectives from those we know well or are close to, but it’s a bigger challenge to ensure all perspectives are heard and utilized in decisions that affect everyone.   

Transgressions 

Microaggression, discrimination, and exclusion are situations where discriminatory comments, biases, and unfair treatment of employees from underrepresented backgrounds occur.  

Left behind 

This refers to uneven participation of diverse team members, including disconnection or reduced participation in team activity by historically underrepresented group members (e.g., racial minority employees, junior members, women in men-dominated teams, and remote team members). Leaving them behind can occur in everyday team interactions, including regular meetings, social events, task assignments, and new team formation.  

Sticking out  

This is where mainstream practices present challenges to individuals with non-mainstream needs. Examples include a lack of appropriate bathrooms for gender-non-conforming individuals, those who struggle with fixed work schedules (such as parents or people with caregiving responsibilities), LGBTQ+ individuals, those not comfortable with social events determined by majority group members, those wanting to celebrate holidays outside the dominant culture, and a lack of suitable office equipment for individuals with disabilities.  

Confused DEI initiatives  

This relates to DEI initiatives whose positive intentions may be derailed by unclear processes and unintended consequences. Questions abound, such as who should be involved in developing DEI action plans, what DEI strategies should be developed, how to address a wide variety of needs and goals from diverse stakeholders, how to encourage participation in DEI initiatives from all employees, and how to facilitate conversations around issues such as pay equity.   

How often have you encountered situations like the above?  

• Never 

• Sometimes 

• Frequently 

If you do encounter them, what have you done to address them? 

Take this short test to see where you are on the spectrum of great, good, or frankly inadequate leaders when it comes to including everyone in the organization. 

Key takeaways 

Great inclusive leadership is deliberate, principled, and systematic. It involves assuming and affirming differences, ensuring full participation, leveraging formal and informal channels, and innovating out of entrenched practices. It is a superpower leaders can acquire to elevate the well-being and performance of their people, teams, and organizations.  

Further reading… 

Five steps to drive a DE&I movement in your company  

Is it time to think differently about difference? 

Potential or performance? We should value and reward both  

Creating an LGBTQ+ community in the workplace  

… and listening 

‘You have to bring hearts and minds with you’ 

From Boomers to Gen Z: Managing generational dynamics in the workplace