ArticleApril 25, 2022by included

Are you an inclusive leader?

Part of being an inclusive leader is practising empathy in the workplace. For example, recalling times when you have felt excluded, for example, and using this to deepen your relationships with your colleagues and clients and build trust.

You can make your workplace relationships more personal in a number of ways. For example:

  • Be your true ‘self’: This will help others feel like they don’t have to cover at work. This can include creating a space for open conversations about mental health.
  • Understand bias: Bias is naturally occurring and can be positive, negative, unconscious, or conscious. We can adapt to capitalise or counter it as needed. This may look like challenging biased language or behaviour in your workplace, such as offensive “banter” and actively practising allyship.
  • Increase touch points: Bring a range of different stakeholders and colleagues into your decision making and listen to a variety of perspectives.

D&I can be another tool in your toolbox, and by working at embedding it into your leadership practice it can become a natural habit. As leaders, when we are able to do this we will enable those around us to not have to cover as much. This in turn makes it easier to bring all aspects of our perspective to work, and to leverage the power of diversity in our organisations.

Share