One of the key pillars of creating family-friendly workplaces is inclusive leadership, which helps to build a culture where everyone feels valued, heard, and empowered to contribute.
Recently, we had the pleasure of hosting an exclusive event, “The Power of Inclusive Leadership,” featuring Dr Juliet Bourke, a leading expert on inclusive leadership, hosted Alison Hernandez, Chair of the Family Friendly Workplaces Advisory Group. Their engaging discussion delved into the importance of inclusive leadership in today’s rapidly evolving workplace and provided actionable insights for organisations looking to improve their leadership strategies.
Why Inclusive Leadership Matters Now More Than Ever
Dr Bourke highlighted that inclusive leadership has become essential, especially in an increasingly diverse and complex workforce.
Organisations are faced with a diverse range of talent, customers, and markets, all of which demand a leadership approach that encourages diversity of thought and embraces the richness of different perspectives.
“Inclusive leadership is about creating an environment where people feel they belong, where their unique perspectives are valued, and where they have the psychological safety to speak up,” explained Dr Bourke. This leadership approach not only improves employee engagement and retention but also drives innovation and business success.
Research has shown that organisations led by inclusive leaders are more likely to outperform their competitors by capturing new markets, solving complex problems, and achieving higher financial outcomes.
The Six Traits of Inclusive Leadership
Dr Bourke’s research, developed over more than a decade, identifies six key traits of inclusive leadership. These traits form the foundation of a leadership style that promotes equity and inclusion across all levels of an organisation:
*The six signature traits of Inclusive Leadership: Dr Juliet Bourke professor of practice of the University of NSW Business School
- Commitment: Inclusive leaders are deeply committed to fostering inclusion, both personally and organisationally. They are willing to challenge the status quo to ensure that everyone has a fair opportunity to contribute.
- Courage: Leaders must have the courage to be vulnerable, admit mistakes, and seek feedback. They need to create an environment where everyone feels comfortable challenging the leader and offering different perspectives.
- Cognisance of Bias: Inclusive leaders are aware of the biases within their organisations and actively work to mitigate them. This includes recognising their own biases and addressing structural biases that may be embedded in policies and practices.
- Curiosity: Leaders who are curious about different perspectives and open to ambiguity are better able to engage with diversity of thought and find innovative solutions to problems.
- Cultural Intelligence: In today’s global workplace, leaders need to understand and adapt to different cultural contexts. This trait emphasises the importance of knowledge, empathy, and the ability to adjust behaviour in diverse cultural settings.
- Collaboration: Inclusive leaders are adept at facilitating collaboration within diverse teams. They create psychological safety, empower their team members, and manage conflicts that arise from differences to build cohesion and shared purpose.
“It’s about making sure that diverse perspectives are harnessed and that leaders are creating an environment where people feel comfortable taking risks and sharing their ideas,” said Dr Bourke.
Launching the Inclusive Leadership Series
As part of our commitment to helping organisations build more inclusive cultures, Family Friendly Workplaces is proud to announce the launch of our new Inclusive Leadership Series for 2024 and 2025. The series is designed to be accessible to organisations of all sizes and sectors, offering a cost-effective way to embed inclusive leadership practices at all levels.
For organisations looking to ignite or enhance their approach to inclusive leadership, this series offers the tools, strategies, and insights needed to cultivate an inclusive, high-performing workplace culture.
The power of inclusive leadership lies in its ability to transform organisations by leveraging diversity of thought, enabling collaboration, and creating environments where everyone feels valued. As Dr Bourke so rightly put it, “Organisations that are not investing in inclusive leadership now risk being left behind.”
We encourage all leaders to take the next step toward building a more inclusive workplace. To learn more about our Inclusive Leadership Series download the pack now or explore how Family Friendly Workplaces can support your organisation, please click here.
