Diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging (DEIB) initiatives are critical to your company’s success, impacting employee performance, retention, and job satisfaction. Yet despite the current focus, ​25% of employees say they don’t feel a sense of belonging, and only 31% say their leaders are inclusive (source: BetterUp). 

Here’s why you need to nurture inclusive leaders for DEIB to succeed. 

In this guide: 

• What is inclusive leadership? 
• Why your managers are your secret sauce 
• Qualities of inclusive leaders 

What is inclusive leadership? 

An inclusive leader is observant, fair, and empathetic. They set the tone and model the behaviours for their team to create a psychologically safe environment where each person feels like they belong and are valued and included. As the Centre for Creative Leadership defines it, inclusive leaders are aware of their own biases and actively seek out and consider different perspectives to inform their decision-making and collaborate more effectively with others. 

Why managers are your secret sauce 

While your DEIB initiatives may come from the top, it’s your managers and leaders living, breathing, and modelling these behaviours in the everyday that most influences the successful adoption of DEIB principles across the organisation. 

Think about it… managers are responsible for deciding who joins their team, and how engaged, included, and valued their team members feel throughout employment. No matter how much money you throw at DEIB, it’s your managers and leaders who have the greatest influence, authority, and capacity to impact behavioural change. 

Which is why inclusive leadership is your secret sauce to making an impact with ​DEIB. 

Qualities of inclusive leaders 

Intentionally inclusive leaders will usually possess these six qualities. 

Empathy 

Inclusive leaders are empathetic. They make time to understand where others are coming from and how they may be feeling without any judgement. They are warm and encouraging, creating a safe space for team members to be vulnerable. 

Relationship-focused 

Inclusive leaders value genuine relationships and will invest time into getting to know their team members and peers, both personally and professionally. When they better understand the whole person, they are better able to support them. They also encourage social bonding amongst the team. 

Collaborative 

In the early days especially, inclusion needs to be a formal invitation. Inclusive leaders actively seek input and feedback (especially from those lacking confidence to speak up), driving a whole team collaboration. 

Self-awareness 

They’re self-aware and confident enough to share their limitations. They acknowledge their learning journey, reflect on their own social identity and privilege, admit to mistakes, talk candidly about their own experiences, strengths, and weaknesses, and ask for (and accept) feedback. 

Appreciative 

Reward and recognition of individual effort can impact our sense of feeling valued and included. Inclusive leaders proactively recognise good work in a way that matters to each employee. 

Committed 

Inclusive leaders believe in the DEIB purpose and commit to doing the work to make impactful change. They communicate the company’s vision and goals and invite others to contribute, ensuring that everyone is working together. 

Inclusive leadership is critical for DEIB success. If you’d like to learn more about how you can become a better ally and DEIB champion in your workplace, reach out to us.