“Inclusive Leadership: Harnessing the Strength of Diverse Teams.”

In the world of business, there are many different styles of leadership. Leaders come from all types of backgrounds, have different beliefs and come from anywhere in the world. But at the end of the day, leaders are either inclusive or exclusive. 

To achieve success, instituting a culture of inclusive leadership will allow your employees to feel comfortable and valued as a part of the team. The definition of Inclusive Leadership is the ability to lead and manage a diverse group of individuals effectively, while respecting the person in an empathetic and bias-free way.

Inclusive Leadership values team members and allows diverse perspectives that allow employees to express their opinions and contributions to advance the company’s well-being. Inclusive Leadership is becoming a necessary form of leadership in order to see growth in the workplace from both management and staff. 

In order to create an inclusive environment, management needs to implement a structure to achieve this goal. Below are the key characteristics to create an inclusive culture.

• Communication – Leaders and management must be able to communicate and interact with employees regardless of ethnicity, political or religious views, sexual orientation, or background. Leadership will need to be aware of language that is not polarizing and be respectful of all cultures at all times. 
• Collaboration – In any business, the staff will inevitably be a diverse group of individuals who are from a variety of backgrounds. Leadership will need to be open to different ideas, perspectives and ways of doing things. It may be a challenge in the beginning to be accepting of ways that are different from the norm. By being open to these ideas will help to create an inclusive culture. 
• Problem Solving – The ability to solve problems creatively and include everyone’s opinions will establish the inclusive leadership culture that the company is trying to achieve. Finding solutions that everyone can agree on can prove to be a difficult task. Giving accolades to productive solutions will further the inclusive environment. 
• Commitment – The need to want inclusive leadership has to be more than words. This has to be put into action every day. Leadership has to make a conscious effort to ask for perspectives from everyone involved. This includes everyone being involved in the decision-making process, whether it is problem-solving or creative ideas. 
• Courage – Leaders have to have the courage to stand up for what is right. This is not always the most popular thing to do. Leaders that are wanting to be inclusive have the hard task of sometimes making unpopular decisions. 
• Cultural Competence – The staff of many businesses is made up of individuals from different cultures and backgrounds. Leaders need to always be aware and sensitive to these differences. Being slow to react and always giving respect will go a long way to creating the inclusive leadership that the business is trying to achieve. 

By following these characteristics, leaders will create the inclusive culture that is desired by businesses and the world alike. Living by example is the best way to show each other what is acceptable in this world.