Inclusive Leaders are always good for organizations. Here is how you can be one?
Since class and communities are so prevalent in the social atmosphere we are living in, it won’t be a shocker to find people struggling to give inclusion. After all, they have been fed by their exclusively superior status since birth. But the fact that exists here is simply that in the present context, being inclusive is important, especially in the workplace. A good leader can become great only when they become inclusive. In fact, an inclusive leader can bring wonders to their team and the organization.
To define inclusive leadership, it can be simply called leadership that assures equality for all team members, ensures that all team members are being treated fairly and respectfully. Inclusive leadership is to accept and value the values of all the people in the group and work with them without conditioning or questioning the place and groups their team members belong to. Good leadership can do wonders for a team as it will open gates for talents from different walks of life, irrespective of where they come from. But while we say this so easily, we agree that it is easier said than done. But let’s see first, how can you be an inclusive leader.
1. Recognising your conscious and subconscious biases
You can understand all the values, ethnicities, and beliefs and consciously tell yourself to not exclude anyone around on that basis, but there will still be a possibility for you to not be able to understand all of it. You can control your biases consciously, but there can always be space for subconscious, subliminal biases. An inclusive leader should be well aware of that subconscious bias too. This can be as simple as gender, class, religious or cultural biases. But since your position of responsibility and majority status is with you, it is not really possible to not have biases, but you can know how to identify and stay aware of them.
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2. Cultural Intelligence
To even think of becoming inclusive, the first and foremost requirement is to have knowledge of other cultures. It is not just about the bookish knowledge but about how a leader sees and reacts to the different cultural and ethnic environments. An inclusive leader will think and speak in modesty to the cultural environment they are in.
3. Consciously Committing to diversity
If you want to cultivate diversity, believe in diversity. It is definitely quite an effort taking to find and form a team that is talented and a perfect fit. To make so, inclusive people will always be seen as motivated by their beliefs and have a strong sense of understanding of the story of the people they have in their team. They value personal experience and journey. They invest in time, in knowing about the person, their traits, and establishes all of them in their work culture to make an inclusive workforce.
4. Curiosity
Inclusive leaders are always curious, curious to know, curious to learn, curious to know what people think about a particular thing. They are open-minded and open to discussions and arguments. Such people always have an ear that welcomes diverse opinions and viewpoints before making any decisions. And this thought of giving voices to people’s opinion and showing curiosity for that is what makes them different and inclusive.
5. Collaborative
An inclusive leader is collaborative and understands the value of the prospects of each member of the team. They would not feel empowered if they are not collaborating with people. For a diversity of thinking, effective collaboration is always the vent they look for.
So, these are the traits of an inclusive leader. Identify for yourself, if you are inclusive or not and try to inculcate these ways in yourself to be inclusive.
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