Inclusive Leadership: Strategies for Building Diverse and High-Performing Teams

Leaders leverage inclusion to attract and retain talented people. Inclusive organizations are 73% more likely to witness revenue growth driven by innovation. Additionally, such companies are 70% more likely to diversify into newer markets, improve decision-making by 50%, and 36% more likely to enjoy higher than average industry profits.

What is Inclusive Leadership?

Inclusive leadership recognizes, values, and leverages diversity in all aspects. It aims to foster an organizational culture where every individual feels a sense of belonging driven by motivation and higher engagement. Inclusive leadership eliminates all barriers to inclusion to promote an open culture ensuring everyone’s opinions are heard and respected.

6 Traits of Inclusive Leadership

According to Deloitte, the six traits of inclusive leaders include:

§  Commitment: They are very committed to inclusion and diversity. Additionally, inclusive leaders value diversity and show their commitment through advocacy and actions.

§  Collaboration: They foster a collaborative organizational culture and understand team diversity can result in better outcomes ensuring every employee has an opportunity to contribute.

§  Courage: Inclusive leaders are open to challenging the status quo and addressing and confronting biases to create a positive work environment.

§  Cultural Intelligence: They can navigate through cultural differences are sensitive to diversity and use their awareness to drive an inclusive environment.

§  Cognizance of Bias: Inclusive leaders are aware of their biases and work towards their mitigation to create an equitable and fair work culture

§  Curiosity: They are curious and have an open mind to seek different perspectives and value the input of their team members.

Strategies to Develop Diverse and High-Performing Teams

Promote Inclusive Culture

§  Leaders must regularly communicate the importance of inclusion and highlight how it aligns with the overall organizational goals and values

§  Offering leadership team coaching programs to address unconscious biases, and cultural diversity, and teach inclusive practices

A partner in a law firm recognized the challenges faced by first-generation lawyers from underrepresented backgrounds in comparison to their peers. They offered additional support to these lawyers by sharing more examples and allocating more time to study the cases, ensuring they participated in client meetings and included more details in their performance reviews.

§  Companies must formulate and implement policies that support inclusion, such as diverse hiring, work flexibility, anti-discrimination, and others

Diversified Recruitment and Retention

§  Management must use diverse panels and standardized interview questions to reduce bias in their recruitment process

§  Offering team coaching programs to support the development of their people

§  Regular review and adjusting retention strategies based on honest and open feedback

Fostering Inclusive Environment

§  Employee Resource Groups (ERGs) offer a platform for people to connect and share their experiences

§  Offering inclusive leadership programs emphasizing inclusive strategies and preparing future leaders to manage diversified teams effectively

§  Celebrating and recognizing achievements of employees from different backgrounds using awards, events, and internal communication

Measuring and Improving

§  Organizations must establish measuring metrics to determine the progress of the various inclusive strategies and make required adjustments through regular reviews

§  Providing open channels for employees to offer feedback on the company’s efforts to create an inclusive environment and continuously improving strategies for higher effect

§  Sharing the challenges and progress across all levels ensures accountability and transparency

The HR leader in a manufacturing company offered a training program to managers. The program focused on developing the listening skills of the participants. They were then asked to share ideas on how they would modify their behaviors based on their team members' feedback.

Impact of Inclusive Leadership

Inclusion creates diverse and high-performing teams that offer innovative ideas and different perspectives driving organizational growth. Such diversity offers several benefits, such as:

Higher Innovation

Diverse teams are innovative as they bring different perspectives and ideas resulting in out-of-the-box thinking and creativity. Teams driven by inclusive leaders are 17% more likely to improve their performance.

Enhanced Decision-Making

Almost 20% of teams led by inclusive leaders make better decisions. Such leaders encourage and respect different viewpoints resulting in thorough and well-rounded decisions.

Increased Employee Retention

Inclusive organizations foster a sense of belongingness where employees feel valued, which increases their involvement and motivation. Even a 10% improvement in employees’ perception of inclusion increases attendance, which reduces absenteeism. It also reduces attrition by 76%.

Improved Organizational Performance

Inclusive teams are 29% more likely to collaborate reducing conflicts and stress. Driven by innovation, enhanced decision-making, and highly performing employees, organizations can witness significant growth in their revenue and profitability.

Leaders committed to inclusion offer a better workplace and ensure the long-term success of their companies. In the evolving world, the importance of inclusive leaders will continue growing. To know more about this and to foster an inclusive environment, join CoachMantra’s coaching program today.

Source - https://www.coachmantra.org/inclusive-leadership-strategies-for-building-diverse-and-high-performing-teams