Inclusive Leadership and Potential Barriers

Introduction

Despite advances in diversity that have occurred in the past, women continue to be excluded from top leadership positions in the corporate environment. Today's diverse and constantly changing environment requires more than masculinity as the norm and a command and control leadership approach. It needs a leadership style that will advocate for inclusivity of traditionally excluded voices in leadership. It needs a leadership style that will enhance the four critical processes that are mobilized by leadership (setting mission, actualize goals, sustain commitment, respond to change).

In this paper, I will explore the tenets of inclusive leadership style, along with its distinct characteristics, and will demonstrate its ability to have "all voices on deck" in top leadership. I will also explore potential barriers to effectively apply inclusive leadership.

As a millennial woman of color of the African New American community in the United States, the subject of inclusivity in leadership is deeply personal. It is an issue that I constantly struggle with and in helping others not to feel as if it's a "solo struggle". The reality is that an African refugee woman in higher management in America is a rare find, given that women, in general, are already underrepresented.

Additionally, the representation of leaders is inherently gendered in the current leadership landscape. Leaders are judged based on stereotypes and expectations grounded in "masculinist perspectives about leadership,". This reality shapes my leadership opportunities and how I would choose to participate. My hope is that the inclusive leadership style will expand the discussion beyond just the gendered idea of inclusion to include other minorities, particularly the newest member of the U.S society, refugee/immigrant leaders.

Source: Graduate Studies and Granite State College, https://granite.pressbooks.pub/ld820/chapter/chapter-15/
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 License.

What is Inclusive Leadership?

Inclusive leadership is about including everyone. This leadership style puts a particular focus on "having the courage to take conscious steps to break down barriers for people at risk of being excluded from society". African refugee/immigrant women are among the groups that are at risk of exclusion in top leadership, groups that represent different backgrounds, experiences, and abilities. The inclusive leadership approach appreciates diversity and the contributions of everyone. Furthermore, this leadership approach encourages full engagement in all aspects of organizational functioning. The objective the authors added, is "to create change and innovate whilst balancing everybody's needs". Essentially, inclusive leadership is centered around relationships and valuing differences.

Feelings of exclusion are common in my leadership journey and for many other women, people of color, immigrants, and refugees. I struggle to fit in and, when unsuccessful at that, I feel cut off from full involvement as a result. According to Bortini et al., "one of the primary needs of individuals at risk of exclusion is to be accepted as they are and not to be regarded as an equal, able to contribute with all of their abilities". Immigrants and refugees can face additional barriers to inclusion, including cultural (language, social life, religious) differences. Structural and socio-economic barriers are also contributing factors to exclusion practices. Feeling left out can be exacerbated by a hostile environment in leadership.

Inclusive leadership is necessary for all sectors of society and for all individuals, particularly those in top management. Inclusive leadership challenges and empowers people because it is based on everyone's inherent worth, on human rights, on awareness of interconnectedness, on the recognition that power influences inclusion efforts, and on shared responsibilities.

What Do Inclusive Leaders Do?

Dillon and Bourke identified six key characteristics that distinguish inclusive leaders. The first characteristic is commitment.

Champions of inclusive leadership are motivated by their values, including a "deep-seated sense of fairness that, for some, is rooted in personal experience". Inclusive leaders hold themselves accountable to create a welcoming culture in their organizations. They devote time, energy, and resources to nurture an inclusive workforce.

Courage is the second characteristic found in inclusive leaders. They demonstrate courage in challenging organizations to think beyond homogeneous attitudes and practices. Another way they show courage is by not being afraid to exhibit humility; courage and humility allow leaders to accept their limitations and seek guidance from others in overcoming them. They admit to not having all the answers, which for some leaders is a very difficult thing to do.

The third characteristic that distinguishes inclusive leaders is cognizance of bias. Inclusive leaders understand that both personal and organizational biases can negatively impact diversity and inclusion. As a result, they implement policies, processes, and structures to prevent infiltration of such biases in the workplace or any organization. The fourth characteristic found in inclusive leaders is curiosity. This includes being open-minded and having a passion for learning and a desire for exposure to diverse perspectives. "Inclusive leaders' ability to engage in respectful questioning, actively listen to others and synthesize a range of ideas makes the people around them feel valued, respected, and represented".

Cultural intelligence is the fifth characteristic identified in inclusive leaders. These leaders understand that knowledge of other cultures is fundamental in fostering inclusiveness. Cultural intelligence allows a leader to better respond to different cultural norms and behaviors and enables leaders to adjust their style accordingly. Additionally, they understand ways in which culture can shape world views and stereotypes. This is very important in setting and communicating expectations in any organization. Lastly, inclusive leaders are collaborative, which is coupled with an ability to willingly share ideas. Key to successful collaboration is creating a psychologically safe environment in which "people feel empowered to express their opinions freely with the group" "to create an environment that offers psychological safety is a high task", especially "when covering up has been the dominant reaction to contrary or contradictory information". Furthermore, leaders pay attention to team processes to allow a diversity of thinking to take place.

Potential Barriers to Inclusive Leadership

Although the benefits of inclusive leadership are clear, smarter teams, better decision making, effective problem solving, better financial gains, and customer satisfaction, to name a few, there are common barriers that can hinder an organization's ability/efforts to implement inclusive leadership practices. These barriers can influence companies away from becoming inclusive and prevent them from making the most of any diversity within their organization. According to Gully and Phillips, some of the common obstacles are the "like me" bias, stereotypes, the perceived threat of loss, and ethnocentrism. Described below, these exist in many organizations and can get in the way of organizations' efforts to maximize their diversity. These barriers can arise from decision making, psychological factors and employees' lack of awareness, the authors noted. Therefore, it is important for organizations to understand and proactively address these barriers to minimize their impact and enhance inclusion.

Although it is human nature to associate with those like ourselves, the "like me" bias tendencies can negatively impact recruitment by focusing solely on people who look like the existing staff. This can contribute to the unwillingness to employ people of different backgrounds, creating a culture of ingroup and outgroup dynamics in an organizational setting. The result is a homogeneous work environment. This can be a disservice to efforts to increase diversity and inclusion.

According to Gully and Phillips, stereotypes, "beliefs about individual or group based on the idea that everyone in that group will behave the same", have the power to diminish inclusion opportunities for minorities, women, individuals with disabilities, and older workers. Stereotypes are extremely harmful due to the judgemental tendencies implied and the lack of consideration of individual uniqueness. In some cases, the results can be subtle racism, sexism, prejudice, and discomfort. These beliefs can determine what makes good/poor employees, can control the distribution of employment opportunities, and can undermine diversity efforts.

Another common setback can come from those who perceive inclusive efforts as a threat to their career opportunities. The authors further noted that this perceived threat of loss can lead members of groups who are traditionally the predominant employees of a particular workforce or occupation to grow anxious or angry. The need to protect their own prospects can impede those of others. The authors also noted that the perceived threat of loss "influences employees' willingness to help mentor minority employees, recruit diverse candidates for positions and support diversity initiatives".

Ethnocentrism, a belief of one's language, native country and cultural rules/norms being superior to all others, is similarly impactful in a negative way to an inclusiveness attitude. Every organization is susceptible to these challenges, especially when advocating for inclusive leadership practices. However, the extent to which an organization will succeed in its inclusive efforts is due to consistent efforts to be vigilant about these challenges.

Conclusion

Inclusive leadership is a promising model for capitalizing on the existing diversity in the modern workforce. This model helps leaders to lead innovative teams and, at the same time, create an environment where people feel they can bring their whole selves to work. Acting inclusively is linked to employees' increased satisfaction, performance, commitment, motivation, creativity, innovation, engagement, and well-being. These outcomes benefit both employees and organizations.

Additionally, inclusive leadership has the potential to positively contribute to efforts to engage groups that are traditionally excluded from senior leadership. When the organization recognizes the value of its senior leadership team reflecting the diversity in its workforce, principles of inclusivity need to be embedded and implemented throughout the employment environment. For employees of a more diverse workforce to follow and respect an organization's leadership, the inclusive leadership model is more likely to achieve that result.