Traditional leadership is changing because of the dynamic times in which we live. Today’s leaders must adapt their management styles and principles to what is needed in different contexts.
Senior managers must be able to attract, engage and retain people from diverse groups if they want to achieve excellence. Their teams should reflect the diversity of those they serve. Therefore, it is important that companies demonstrate their commitment to inclusion and inclusion to the public, and leaders must express their conviction of the proven business benefits of inclusive leadership approaches.
What does inclusive leadership mean in practice?
Inclusive leaders are inspirational leaders. They are experts in adapting their leadership style to different groups and situations. This allows them to communicate effectively with people from different cultures and visibly protect difference and diversity. By successfully managing unconscious biases—in themselves and in others—they can unlock top talent and build inclusive, high-performing teams.
What are the benefits of inclusive leadership?
There are many arguments for the economic benefits of diversity. These include increased staff engagement, employee retention and faster decision-making.
Diverse teams, including those with cultural differences and diverse religious and even age perspectives, are much better at solving problems than more homogenous groups. Homogeneous groups can be susceptible to unconscious biases such as groupthink, while diverse teams can use a greater variety of perspectives and are likely to consider information more thoroughly and accurately.
Many businesses see the biggest loss of revenue in recruiting as companies perceived to lack diversity or inclusion struggle to attract or retain qualified candidates from minority groups.
Employees at diverse and inclusive companies are not only more creative, but also happier and, as a result, much more profitable.
Research shows that workplaces that prioritize diversity and inclusion benefit from happier, more effective staff and tend to perform better in selling to an increasingly diversity-conscious audience.
