How senior Leaders can do more to create inclusive workplaces

This post is about more than just inclusive leadership, it is about showing genuine commitment as well as having the skills to lead inclusively. In this work there are few things that feel worse than having a Senior Leader who appears to be consciously committed to diversity, equity and inclusion letting you down...

The five most common ways Senior Leaders have disappointed me are:

​1)   Ducking out of ED&I-related meetings/events early once you've given an introduction (or staying but being on emails the whole time)
2)   Not doing enough to recognise, reward and support colleagues working on inclusion effortd (whether full time or as part of an ERG)
3)   Just Asking to be 'kept in the loop' but never following up or being proactive about the work taking place
4)   Not being able to speak candidly and openly about inclusion topics without having a script written by someone else
5)   Not walking the talk when it comes to your own recruitment practices...

So how can Senior Leaders really show up how and when it matters to play their role in leading inclusion work? This infographic contains some of my advice based on experience of working with Senior Leaders who really demonstrated their passion and dedication through their behaviours.​

1. Make time to attend events or meetings and be fully present; don’t duck out early or multi task.
   
2. Proactively give support and recognition to those working on inclusion across the business, especially volunteers like ERG leads.
   
3. Don’t just wait for updates; see it as your responsibility to stay informed and proactively get involved in inclusion work across the organisation.
   
4. Seek 360 feedback on your inclusive leadership qualities and take the feedback on board.
   
5. Hold yourself accountable for progress by having inclusion objectives.
   
6. Connect with other external leaders to talk about and collaborate on inclusion efforts in your industry or local community.
   
7. Invest in targeted coaching to enhance inclusive leadership skills, rather than relying solely on free advice and mentorship.
   
8. Ensure you are role modelling best practice inclusive hiring practices and hold others accountable for this too.
   

Above all, be consistent, proactive and conscious in your approach. Even when you think you are passionate and doing enough, there is always more you should be doing!