Cultivating Inclusive Leadership is recognizing the importance of creating a sense of belonging for all members of your team. Representation is essential in the workforce. There are few things more encouraging than seeing someone who looks like, thinks like, or had a similar upbringing as you, excel in their particular industry – especially in a leadership capacity. However, for many companies this concept is still relatively new and they are challenged with figuring out how diversity and inclusion can serve as a catalyst for effective leadership.

‘Diversity’ refers to the differences in people’s background, experiences, and characteristics like gender, race, age, religion, disability, education, socioeconomic status and sexual orientation. ‘Equity’ is the quality of being fair and impartial. ‘Inclusion’ is defined as the action or state of including or being included within a group or structure. Applying these concepts to hiring and promotion processes have been proven to promote innovation, leading to new and refreshing ideas.

Changing the structure of a company is a huge commitment, especially in the DE&I space. But through continuous learning, self-reflection, and consistent improvements you should begin to see positive changes around your organization. Is diversity a core value of your company, or would you like to make it one for the future? Let’s highlight some of the ways incorporating DE&I initiatives will assist in not only helping leaders in your organization, but also the employees on their respective teams.

• Establish clear diversity goals and a budget to achieve them
• Identify and acknowledge unconscious biases
• Revamp hiring and Human Resources processes if they do not reflect the desired direction your organization is headed in
• Address pay gaps, career progression and how resources are distributed
• Provide education/training for leaders and employees in the areas of diversity, equity and inclusion
• Ensure effective communication in branding (ex. internal communications, social media, company website, etc.)
• Explore new avenues for finding diversified talent

Valuing and embracing diversity, equity and inclusion in leadership creates an environment where different ideas are heard, leading to better creativity, innovation and solutions through enhanced decision-making. Overcoming age old “systemic barriers” helps ensure fairness and promotes equal opportunity. Creating an equitable workplace fosters trust and loyalty; generating a higher rate of retention and improved organizational performance.

In the end, remember that employees are a reflection of the leadership a company has in place. Be mindful of the role representation can play, inspiring the next wave of leaders to continue pushing diversity forward in a positive manner.