2020 was a pivotal year. Civil unrest made Americans not only acknowledge social injustice but act on changes. The global pandemic has created a fundamental shift in the workplace, causing businesses to come to grips with the fact that “corporate structure” doesn’t create the productivity that working from home has proven.
For decades, effective leadership has been defined by top-down, hierarchical approaches to driving business outcomes. But the workplace is changing — from the nature of work and how we accomplish it to the people doing the work itself. Profit-driven organizations focused on “what” and productivity are evolving into purpose-driven cultures focused on “why” and their people.
This is partly due to the talent pool itself. Twentieth-century employees were homogenous, predominantly male, and primarily consisted of Baby Boomers and Gen Xers, but today the talent pool is increasingly diverse, dominated by Millennials and rising Gen Zers. As of 2017, millennials were more likely to be employed and work full-time than any other generation. Their preference for collaboration, transparency, healthy work-life integration, a celebration of diversity and inclusion, and purpose-driven employment demands a new kind of leadership.
What’s more, the new world of work also requires leaders to comprehend the tremendous economic opportunity inherent in achieving genuine gender equity. Since 1981, women have secured more college degrees than their male counterparts. Today, women are the majority of the college-educated talent pool. Women constitute a rich trove of skills, abilities, and competence. Failing to attract and leverage female talent is a massive, missed opportunity.
Fortunately, there are ways you can set yourself up to be an inclusive leader and ally. Here are four inclusive leadership strategies to follow:
Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable
Have the humility to know that there’s much you don’t know about others’ experiences. Getting comfortable with discomfort and embracing risk are key to successful inclusive leadership. Having the courage to ask difficult questions about your own leadership style is an important place to start on your journey to being an ally. How are you truly supporting others at work and in your life overall? Ask about the experiences of others in your workplace; ask if they feel fully included, valued, and respected; and be willing to hear answers you might not like. If you’re comfortable as a leader, you’re probably not challenging yourself, your people, and your organization in ways that will ensure future success.
Make It Personal and Visible
Inclusive leadership has to come from the heart. Begin with an authentic narrative about why this is important to you personally, and then connect this personal story to how diversity and inclusion are important to your business.
Being visible also requires you to show up at events, conferences, and other initiatives promoting inclusion and equality. This encourages your peers to follow your example. When leaders fully participate, they demonstrate support, develop empathy, diversify their networks, and identify high-potential talent. Be that leader who not only attends but stays the entire time, engages fully, takes notes, and asks great questions.
Design Transparency into Your Workplace
Transparency about what you’re doing, why you’re doing it, and how you’re progressing is a game-changer. Don’t just say how you’ll close the gender pay gap, or recruit without discrimination – prove it; show what you’re actively doing. Poor transparency sows distrust in the organization. Transparency can also be influential with external stakeholders.
Design Accountability into Your Workplace
Today’s leaders understand they can impact change by ensuring that their governance policies align with their inclusion goals.
Although some leaders continue to practice legacy leadership, those they lead want to see authenticity, empathy, cultural humility, transparency, expressions of care and compassion, and an appreciation for the value of diversity in their relationships and on their teams. Public ownership, commitment to creating change, and transparent investment of your own social capital are hallmarks of allies in leadership. If your leaders are operating like we’re still in the 20th century, you need to act fast. Otherwise, your employees, your customers, and the world at large will act for you.
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