We have all worked with leaders who have a way of expanding the circle. These leaders are collaborative and have a knack for finding creative solutions to "sticky" problems. They have a way of seeing possibility, and of harnessing the minds and hearts of their teams; often beyond their direct teams. When someone on their team undergoes a difficult situation professionally or personally, they respond with empathy and create space. Such leaders are principled, and understand the difference between equity and equality. Their teams are connected, innovative, empathetic, responsive, and most importantly, teams have trust amongst themselves and with the leader. Trust that allows them to ebb and flow with all the "happenings". How do they do this?
We have also worked with leaders who have the kind of presence that is disengaging and makes people shut down. They have their favorites, most of them look and sound the same. They may be great at "rinse & repeat" type of work, but when faced with novel challenges, their ability to find new ways is limited. They simply cannot tap into the brilliance that surrounds them. Often it is because they cannot recognize and trust the talent they are entrusted to lead. When someone on their team undergoes a difficult situation personally or professionally, they respond with ultimatums. Their idea of fairness is a "one size fits all" approach that is centered on their own life's experiences. Their teams are fearful of their reactions, avoidant, and learn to play the "blame game" to protect themselves.
Most of us fall somewhere between these two prototypes of leadership depending on the situation. Given a choice, we all want to work with leaders who fit the first description. We may also aspire to be like them. We want to know how they do what they do. The key is inclusive leadership!!! And I have good news! Inclusive leadership is a learnable skill and we can all develop it with practice and commitment.
Some (most certainly not all) of the key tenets of inclusive leadership include:
- Awareness of bias: I once had a brilliant and high performing leader on my team who was diagnosed with a chronic health condition. She shared this news with me, along with her concerns about balancing motherhood, her professional commitments along with her evolving personal healthcare needs. We had a great relationship and I was fully committed to supporting her. We had a fairly significant project at hand, and with the best of intentions, I decided to task someone else with leading a significant portion of the work. I wanted to create space for my team member as she prioritized her wellbeing and navigated a new diagnosis. A few weeks later, during our 1:1, she hesitantly raised this with me and asked to have a role on the project. She felt overlooked, and my decision had made her feel less capable. We talked openly about it, the practical pieces, and the emotional bits. I realized, I had assumed that she wasn’t able to handle the added work. I meant well, but the impact of my decision did not align with my intention. She expressed that she wanted to be involved, and to have an ongoing dialogue about the degree of her involvement and the supports she’d need to ensure her success at that. I apologized to her, and we found a role for her on the project. In fact, she ended up being critical to the success of the project. I am very grateful to her for her trust and candor, she gave me grace through a teachable moment that taught me that good intentions can have hidden biases behind them and can lead to a harmful impact unless identified, examined and mitigated.
Most people find themselves getting defensive when they become aware of their biases. My first instinct was the same. The truth is, most of us are good people and we do not intentionally think or behave in ways that could potentially harm others. We develop our perspectives over time, and these perspectives are informed by our own life experiences. Often the impact of these experiences on our decisio-making is unconscious. The same is true about other people's experiences - experiences we may presently know nothing about. Inclusive leaders engage in deep listening, with the goal of cultivating a more contextualized understanding. Inclusive leaders actively work on bringing greater context to their understanding of situations, and people. This helps them address their biases, and become more equitable decision makers.
- Empathy: I served as a caregiver to my dad who became progressively ill over a decade. During this time, in my professional life, I worked with leaders who fell into both of the camps described above. I had one leader tell me how she handled her parents' illness followed immediately by the judgment that I was way "too close" to mine. This really hurt. How could I have explained my life to her? Was she owed an explanation? The situation evolved and her expectations from me grew as my need for support grew. The relationship got to the point where it was no longer sustainable. On the other hand, I worked with a leader who created so much space, and ease for me. She too had her own experience with her parents' illness. She shared some of those with me along with tips on how to navigate situations including work commitments. When I fell short, she was honest about the impact, and gracious at the same time. Empathy requires us to have trust, compassion, and an ability to recognize that people come to experiences from where they presently are, with the resources, and tools that they presently have. People often feel their way through novel experiences (particularly those that are traumatic), and, while doing this, may already be bearing burdens about which we know nothing. To have empathy, and to offer support in an empathetic way, is to remain mindful that one’s particular set of life experiences are not universally shared. Mental health is an ongoing priority and a global one at that, inclusive leadership skills like empathy are the key to finding connection that helps us endure. Simple things like listening, and pointing to resources like Employee & Family Assistance Programs that offer more navigational support, skill building and coping mechanisms can make a world of a difference. (PS: I am often asked how one may approach a conversation with their leaders, or how to ask for help when they don’t know what exactly they need. This is important, leaders are not mind-readers and they can’t help us if we do not ask – I will write a post on this in the coming weeks. Please stay tuned).
- Inclusive Communication: One of my clients worked with a leader who selectively shared information with the members on her team. Neither my client nor I had reason to believe that this leader's communication style was grounded in malice. It was, however, clear that she was a busy woman with a large team and likely forgot the details of what she had said to whom.. The unintended consequence of her communication was a state of anxiety and distrust within the team. It was understandably tough for my client to share this with her boss. However, once her boss learned about the impact of her communication style, she immediately instituted a weekly meeting to disseminate broader messages to the team outside of 1:1 meetings. Inclusive leaders are thoughtful and intentional about making sure that they communicate clearly, consistently and transparently with their team. They are also open to feedback and input from all team members (even input that they may not want to hear).
Other inclusive leadership behaviors include, collaboration, commitment to nurturing diversity, accountability and continuous learning. All learnable, and masterable through practice.
The Opposite of Inclusion HURTS!
In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine brain activity in participants who were playing a computerized ball-tossing game. The game was rigged so that some participants were excluded from receiving the ball, while others were included. The researchers found that the participants who were excluded showed increased activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, a part of the brain that is associated with physical pain.
Feeling like one is being excluded literally hurts.
Some of us like STATISTICS!
There is a growing body of research that suggests that companies with higher levels of diversity are more likely to have above-average profitability. Despite this, we have work to do to achieve levels of diversity and inclusion that reflect the diversity of our societal demographics in North America. In Canada, for instance, only 4% of CEOs are from visible minority groups, while in the US, only 10% of executives in the top 1,000 companies are Black. Women and Indigenous people are also underrepresented in the workforce, with only 28% of women holding senior management roles in Canada and Indigenous people making up just 4.9% of the Canadian workforce.
Immigration adds another dimension. In 2019, Canada welcomed an unprecedented 341,180 immigrants, the highest number in over one hundred years. India has consistently been one of the top source countries of immigrants to Canada in recent years, along with China and the Philippines.
In addition to these trends and dimensions of diversity, we have a whole spectrum of the human experience to navigate - personal health, financial circumstances, caregiving responsibilities, loss, new relationships, homes, babies, parenting... When we add that to the mix, we realize that diversity is not just a rainbow, it is a whole shape shifting kaleidoscope that is both beautiful and complex making inclusive leadership an essential skill for the future of work.
To support leaders and teams with assessing and developing their inclusive leadership capability, we have created a FREE Inclusive Leadership Assessment and Resource Guide.
Inclusive leadership is ultimately rewarding on many levels. It may also bring the discomfort of tough moments that require time, space and new ways of learning to be with each other. As leaders, it is up to us to show the way. This is the nature of leadership. If we are going to lead this wonderfully diverse and brimming with potential workforce that is eager to learn and contribute, then we must elevate our leadership capabilities to recognize, nurture and support them.
Comments