5 Unconventional Ways to Boost Inclusive Leadership

It’s never been more important to be inclusive. According to the Harvard Business Review, “inclusive organizations are 73% more likely to reap innovation revenue, 70% more likely to capture new markets, up to 50% more likely to make better decisions, and up to 36% more likely to have above-average profitability.” Inclusive leaders are paramount to creating and sustaining inclusivity. Furthermore, they help attract and retain top talent, produce better outcomes and are correlated with higher rates of innovation.

Simply put, inclusive leadership is about ensuring everyone on the team feels seen, heard, respected and that they belong. While this concept seems simple, very few workplaces have leveraged the full competitive advantage of inclusive leadership. Oftentimes, leaders overestimate their inclusive competency in relation to how their employees perceive them.

In my research on allyship and inclusive leadership, I have found five key ways to demonstrate inclusive leadership. Consider these strategies to boost your inclusive leadership game:

1. Share your story and invite others to share their stories. Stories are one of the most primal human relationship building techniques. Our ancestors told stories around the fire in the evenings to help pass down survival techniques. Studies show that stories stick in our brains up to 22 times more than facts and figures. We can empathize and relate better to someone once we know their story: where they’ve been, where they are now and where they want to go. I often facilitate workshops where people share their stories with how they began their careers, how they see themselves today and what their career aspirations are. It’s super engaging. You can adjust the exercise to fit the setting and team culture.
2. Do more walk and talks. Most people dread their one-on-ones or team meetings if they’re not interactive or inclusive. One way to increase inclusivity is to move your bodies. When we’re moving our bodies, we tend to be more creative and open-minded. Walking with someone signals that you’re on the same side moving in the same direction, creating more alignment. Walk and talks remove the physical barrier of looking at each other on a video screen or across from a barrier like a desk and invite more creativity and inclusion. Even if your team is not physically together, you can do walk and talks over the phone with similar results. My mentor and I started doing walk and talks during the pandemic and have continued to do walk and talks instead of a formal meeting setting. I find that we have more creative ideas and alignment when we walk rather than meet in an office.
3. Ask people what they want. This question may feel daunting as you may not have the means to grant people on your team what they want, but research shows that simply asking this question facilitates connection and inclusion. Everyone has different motivators. Not knowing what motivates someone puts you at risk of communicating with them in a way that’s not inclusive for them. By asking people what they want, you can better understand their motivations. It may be money, flexibility, family time, healthcare, spiritual time or other hobbies. Early on in my coaching certification, I learned about this exercise to ask people what they want multiple times in different aspects of their lives from career to financial to health and spiritual desires. While these questions may feel unprofessional, I find that people want to bring their full human selves to work and not knowing someone personally risks not knowing them fully professionally.
4. Be fully present. This may sound obvious, but even the most well-intentioned leaders are distracted at times. It’s easy to slip away from giving someone your full attention with phones, notifications and emails constantly interrupting our conversations. Whatever the temptation is, find a way to create a barrier to it and be fully present. Have a mantra before you engage with somebody that you will be fully present. Ask for them to reciprocate being fully present. Create ground rules or team expectations around what full presence looks like. It’s important as inclusive leaders that you model what being fully present looks like for others to follow. When your team knows that you care enough to be fully present, they are more likely to feel fully seen and heard and that they belong.
5. Improve your self-awareness. Another seemingly obvious, yet unconventional way to demonstrate inclusive leadership is by truly knowing yourself. Tasha Eurich’s research found that 85% of people believe they are self-aware and that only 10%–15% of the people studied actually fit the criteria. Awareness is an attractive quality to people seeking inclusion. It’s a competitive advantage as an inclusive leader. Take assessments, ask people that care about you for feedback, or do some self-discovery around key behaviors and values you hold.

Inclusive leadership is crucial for attracting and retaining top talent, producing better outcomes, and fostering innovation. Five key strategies to boost inclusive leadership include sharing stories, conducting walk and talks, asking people what they want, being fully present and improving self-awareness. Inclusive leaders create environments where everyone feels seen, heard, respected and belonging.