We’re living in a more globally diverse and more hyper-connected world and in a “gig economy.” The gig economy is altering where we work and the way that work gets done. It comprises contract workers, freelancers, crowdsourced workers, and others who are hired for limited engagements, such as Uber and Lyft drivers, Airbnb workers, virtual assistants, and anyone who can work digitally. In fact, according to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace report, more than 40% of U.S. workers are now working remotely or virtually in some capacity.
So why should leaders care?
The complexity of these demographic shifts calls for leaders to develop new competencies and skills. Workers’ needs, expectations, ways of thinking, and methods of getting work done are changing, and leaders must learn to not only value the diversity of this new generation of workers and adapt accordingly, but also to become inclusive leaders. The reality is that inclusive leadership fosters inclusive workplace cultures.
Becoming an Inclusive Leader
Being an inclusive leader is not as easy as it sounds. Inclusive leadership is much more than having a title, giving a hug, and being nice. It requires a paradigm shift, an openness to different ways of doing things, leaning into some discomfort, and demonstrating courage to embrace the unknown/unfamiliar. Many leaders have neither the basic foundational knowledge about effective leadership nor an idea of what workers expect from their leaders today. Leaders are uncomfortable, inexperienced, and lack the basic understanding of the value of diversity and fostering inclusion.
The list below presents some of the expectations that workers have of their employer and their leader.
- Workers want more flexibility. Leaders must be willing to accommodate workers who are constantly connected and as a result can work anywhere, anytime, so long as they are able to access technology. This way of working can attract and retain top talent.
- Workers expect to grow and develop new skills and they won’t stay if their leader is not invested in their success.
- Workers want to work for leaders who are trustworthy. Unfortunately, trust has declined over the past two decades. Leaders must learn how to foster trust among workers and how to sustain it within the team.
- Workers want consistent and effective communication. While it varies from generation to generation and from culture to culture, some workers prefer face-to-face communication, others prefer written communication or email, and others prefer digital means. Leaders must adapt and accommodate the multiple ways that workers need to communicate.
The new generation of workers want leaders who connect with them, understand their individual needs, inspire them to grow and become better, treat them fairly and respectfully, and give them a sense of belonging and meaning at work.
Below are the common competencies and skills that workers identify as being most important in their leaders. These competencies are consistent with what diversity and inclusion experts deem as inclusive leadership behaviors. As you review the list, consider which competencies have been added in the past decade and which of them you need to develop in order to be a more effective leader.
In my experience consulting with and coaching leaders and conducting employee engagement surveys, I have found that leaders are ill-prepared and underdeveloped in many of these competencies, and as a result, organizations suffer the consequences in their workplace cultures. When leaders become more adept in demonstrating the competencies that workers value in the workplace, they create an environment in which workers can thrive and organizations can succeed.
Inclusive leadership is much more than having a title, giving a hug, and being nice.
Impacts of and on Workplace Culture
The topic of workplace culture has been discussed in some organizations for decades, but as more institutions address organizational health and attracting top talent, it has become a global issue. Culture consists of the norms, values, behaviors, and attitudes that the company rewards or holds in high esteem.
In an article published in a June 2017 Harvard Business Review, authors Bryan Walker and Sarah A. Soule liken culture to the wind: “It is invisible, yet its effect can be seen and felt. When it is blowing in your direction, it makes for smooth sailing. When it is blowing against you, everything is more difficult.” Company culture can make or break a brand and reputation among top talent, customers, and clients; it can impact employee productivity, engagement, innovation and creativity, and retention. Additionally, it can affect bottom-line profits and company success.
A 2014 study conducted by the global nonprofit Catalyst that included responses from 1,500 employees from Australia, China, Germany, India, Mexico, and the United States, concluded that diverse teams outperform homogeneous teams. The study showed that employees who feel included are more likely to go above and beyond the call of duty, suggest new product ideas, be more innovative in how work gets done, and be more collaborative.
Additionally, according to Cloverpop’s report Hacking Diversity with Inclusive Decision Making, inclusive decision making drives better company performance and gives a decisive competitive advantage. According to the research, teams outperform individual decision makers 66% of the time, and decision making improves as team diversity increases. Inclusive decision making leads to better business decisions up to 87% of the time.
Diversity of thought brings broader perspectives and experiences to the table, which would be an impossible achievement with group think.
Inclusion and Employee Engagement
Let’s also explore the impact that inclusion has on employee engagement.
According to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report, only 34% of workers are actively engaged at work. An economic consequence of this global "norm" is approximately $7 trillion in lost productivity.
It is important to remember these three realities regarding employee engagement:
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Many employees quit a long time ago; they just didn’t leave.
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People don’t leave bad jobs; they leave bad bosses and toxic workplace cultures.
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If you’re hiring right, you hire highly engaged workers (not disengaged workers), so if they have become disengaged, something most likely happened inside of the organization to cause it. Most of the time, it’s a leadership issue.
I’ve been one of those employees who became disengaged, disenfranchised, and dissatisfied. I couldn’t stand working for my boss, I dreaded going to work, and the work environment was so toxic that it affected my creativity, productivity, and attitude. It happened because I was working for someone who was not inclusive, someone who marginalized my efforts and undermined my credibility yet took credit for my results. She provided me with no feedback and no guidance. I was training her to do her job, yet she was my boss.
I worked hard, put in long hours, and got the results, but it went unappreciated and unnoticed. It took me leaving that department in order to re-engage and become productive and happy again. Unfortunately, my story is not uncommon. More and more companies realize that they must focus on developing inclusive leaders because it has a direct link to employee engagement, job satisfaction, and team performance—which has a direct impact on the bottom line.
Other issues that drive employee engagement include having challenging work, developing new skills, having a sense of meaning and purpose that is tied to vision, having flexible work arrangements, and earning a competitive pay.
At the very least, employees are demanding that workplaces be more inclusive, welcoming, and respectful; create a sense of belonging; and be free from harassment. For some companies with legacy cultures and others that have existed for more than a century, this is an extremely difficult change management process. But it’s necessary in this time of demographic shifts.
Moving the Needle
So how does this happen? How do you really move the needle toward transforming your culture to be more inclusive and high performing?
In collaborating with clients on this effort I have seen the greatest success in moving the needle when leaders are willing to implement a more comprehensive and robust strategy rather than achieve a quick fix. It takes senior executive buy-in and engagement; it takes time; and it must be positioned as everyone’s responsibility.
Culture is everyone’s responsibility. Every leader and employee in the organization should be held accountable for living the values of the organization; however, it starts at the top. Leaders should be the role models and set the example that they want to see replicated. And when everyone walks the talk and lives the values of inclusiveness, they are fostering the kind of workplace culture that attracts top talent, increases engagement and productivity, fuels creativity and collaboration, and increases retention. Most importantly, they are building a high-performance workplace culture that contributes to business success and long-term sustainability.
Successful organizations recognize that an inclusive workplace culture is a critical ingredient in increasing employee engagement and job satisfaction and achieving sustained success. Achieving an inclusive workplace culture must begin and end with inclusive leadership.
References
Cloverpop. 2017. Hacking Diversity with Inclusive Decision Making. White paper.
Gallup Inc. 2017. State of the American Workplace. Washington, DC: Gallup Inc.
Gallup Inc. 2017. State of the Global Workplace. New York: Gallup Press.
Prime, J., and E. R. Salib. 2014. Inclusive Leadership: The View from Six Countries. New York: Catalyst.
Walker, B., and S. A. Soule. 2017. Changing Company Culture Requires a Movement, not a Mandate. Harvard Business Review, June 20, 2–6.