Friday Facts: Are You an Inclusive Leader? How do you know?

Posted on Friday, July 26th, 2019

This week I’m going to again invite you to be self-reflective on the traits of an inclusive leader, and invite you to consider assessing your individual competencies in this area:

To reiterate again, here are the six traits or behaviors that Deliotte research shows distinguishes inclusive leaders from others:

  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.

However, the research also shows that most leaders in the study were unsure about whether others experienced them as inclusive or not. In addition to conducting some self-reflection, consider asking a trusted colleague, manger or direct report for feedback on your skill in the six areas above.

Then take some action. Here are four ways for leaders to get started (source: HBR 2019):

  1. Know your inclusive-leadership shadow: 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. Scheduling regular check-ins with members of your team to ask how you can make them feel more included also sends the message.
  2. Be visible and vocal: Tell a compelling and explicit narrative about why being inclusive is important to you personally and the business more broadly. For example, share your personal stories at public forums and conferences.
  3. Deliberately seek out difference: Give people on the periphery of your network the chance to speak up, invite different people to the table, and catch up with a broader network. For example, seek out opportunities to work with cross-functional or multi-disciplinary teams to leverage diverse strengths.
  4. Check your impact: Look for signals that you are having a positive impact. Are people copying your role modeling? Is a more diverse group of people sharing ideas with you? Are people working together more collaboratively? Ask a trusted advisor to give you candid feedback on the areas you have been working on.

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